Vital Stats

• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Scale: 1:48
• Aircraft: Focke Wulf Fw 190A-3
• Markings: Hauptmann Hans “Assi” Hahn | III/JG 2 | May 1942
• Aftermarket: Eduard PE harness

Mini-Review

After a move-enforced break from modeling, I wanted to tackle a nice, simple kit, both to get used to Bench Mk.II and to get back into the swing of things. For the most part, Tamiya’s Fw 190A-3 fit the bill perfectly.

From an engineering standpoint, the kit is very much a Tamiya single-engine kit. Like the P-51, Bf 109 and Spitfire, it’s a mix of low parts count, solid engineering and mostly solid detail. It builds up quickly and well, and I’d recommend it in an instant for anybody looking for a quick and mostly painless Fw 190 build.

That said, the kit does stumble in a few areas. The pitot tube and wing gun detail is rather lacking, and if I were focusing on areas of improvement, these would be top of the list. The landing gear alignment is tricky and, I must admit, bested me this time around. The canopy is pretty solid, but there’s a slightly misaligned angle between the windscreen and canopy hood that kept me from displaying it closed – which I feel better suits the lines of the aircraft.

The biggest issue, however, is the decals. Typical Tamiya sheet problems – including overly thick carrier film, a penchant to silver, refusal to suck down into surface detail, and some flaking issues. These completely botched the port side of the plane, so if you build this plane, get yourself some aftermarket markings.

Recommended, but replace the decals

Check out the Fw 190A-3 Build Log

Photos

• Photobucket

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