The Focke Wulf FW-190 was probably the best fighter used by the German Luftwaffe during the course of World War II, and there is a wealth of information available on the type in various resources. So much has been published on the type that it is unnecessary to repeat it here. Over 20,000 were built in numerous variants. Towards the middle of the war, the designer, Kurt Tank, decided to improve the design to get better high altitude performance. This meant using a new powerplant, the Junkers Jumo 213 liquid cooled engine. Although prototypes were built and flown, Tank was not totally satisfied with his design, but the type was already in production. However, improved versions, designated TA-152C and TA-152H, were developed, and these were placed in production at the end of the war, although they did not appear in quantities that made any difference in the outcome of the war. The FW-190D-9 and subsequent versions was produced in quantity, but these were seen as temporary replacement for the radial engine types until the TA-152’s became available.

The FW-190D-9 was intended to follow the FW-190A-8 radial version, and although it became the major production version, small numbers of subsequent variants, designated FW-190D-10 through D-12 (Jumo 213), through FW-190D-14 and D-15 (DBN-603) were built, and tested. They were basically similar in appearance, and modelers can easily modify existing kits into any of the experimental variants.

There is a wealth of information available on the FW-190 series, and probably the best source is the Monogram Close-up series, with Vol. 10 covering the FW-190D series and Vol. 24 describing the TA-152 series. There are many other sources available, but I have found these to be the most udeful. In addition, there are numerous decal sets available providing good material for many of the colorful examples of the “Long Nose” FW-190’s that were operational during the war.

There have been numerous kits produced of the FW-190 series in 1/72 scale, probably over 100 different kits since the sixties, dealing mostly with production models, although some prototypes can be made from them. Most kits are of the radial engine variants, although “D” models have been produced by Lindberg, Airfix, MPM, Italeri, Hasegawa, Tamiya, Academy, and Hobby Boss. The Smer kit probably came out in the seventies, although there is no indication of this on the box top or kit instructions.The kit has been previewed by Scott in the kit previews section, but I haven’t seen a kit build review. Originally, Smer kits were reissues of older kits, but this one is an original.

Using the FW-190D-9 kit, I built a model of the prototype FW-190-V56, which was one of the prototypes of the FW-190D-11. It was flight tested at the plant in Germany during August, 1944. I am not aware of its eventual fate, but it probably did not survive the war. There are a few photos available of the plane in various books, and it’s an easy conversion.

The kit represents a standard FW-190D-9, but there are some major outline problems that can be corrected without major surgery. Wingtip shape is too square, but this can be rounded off with sandpaper. The rudder is hopeless, so I just reconstructed one from card plastic, trimmed to the proper shape. There are no aileron trim tabs, but these are inserted in the aileron rather than protruding like they did on the real airplane. The major components are acceptable. The cockpit interior is fairly visible through the canopy (both types are provided) although I added a control stick. The forward fuselage gun deck fits quite well in position, although this might be trimmed down on some variants that don’t have the fuselage mounted armament. Some filler is required for the major parts. One weakness is the landing gear, which is not very substantial and the gear legs are too thin. The gear doors or covers are very thin and on my kit, they were warped, requiring bending back to a flat shape. The wheels are good, however, although they should fit closer to the vertical strut.

Most FW-190D-9’s were finished in standard Luftwaffe camouflage of two tone grey or two tone green Luftwaffe numbered colors, with some mottled spots along the fuselage and vertical surfaces. Many of the prototypes had a combination of colors, which aren’t readily noticeable in the black and white photos usually published in books. You just have to use your imagination on that issue. As far as markings go, aside from the regular crosses and tail swastikas, most types had colored numbers or geometric patterns along the fuselage sides, with a werke number printed high on the vertical stabilizer. I make black letters and numbers on my computer, printing them on decal paper and spraying them with clear coat before application.

Although I have heard many bad things about this kit, I wanted to build it for the experience. Aside from the outline errors, which I corrected, I assembled it pretty much as per instructions. As a result, it was fun, although it is not Haseqawa quality. But it looks klike an FW-190D, although my plane is the FW-190V-56 fighter prototype, as it appeared in August, 1944, during flight tests. Since I have a LOT of built FW-190’s in my cabinet, it fits in quite well. It’s not worth spending a lot of money on unless you are a serious kit collector, but if you can find one cheap, it will provide some entertainment. Not recommended for serious modelers.

Brian Baker

July 2023

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