Eduard 8173

[speedgraflex]

Fw-190 A-8/R2

Double Black Chevron
W.Nr. 681382
IV. (Sturm)/JG3
Hptm. Wilhelm Moritz
Schongau, August 1944




Built by Fiesler in Kassel
Modified Sturmjäger
30mm armored glass
Armored panels surrounding cockpit
Mg131 removed/Mg151-20 added



Profile from “German Fighters 1939-45” by Claes Sudin, page 86.

Eduard 8173

[BlackSheep214]

Nice. I wanted that kit but they’re discontinued. I gotta ask...what the heck happened to the box?

[speedgraflex]

Actually this is the second kit I picked up after giving away the first. The crushed box is quite possibly why it was reasonably priced on eBay. I like giving old and battered things a second chance as well. I hope you find one; I will look forward to whatever you build. TGIF

[keavdog]

Great looking scheme. Ya, that box has seen better days. Water damage?

[speedgraflex]

No water damage; this looks like it was crushed when the previous owner stored it in a cabinet or a closet or a barn sideways? It came outta Topeka, Kansas—maybe a twister did that! I like the profile very much, indeed. It’s quite striking. TGIF

[Stikpusher]

Oh very nice! Unless you want the box for collector purposes, all that matters is that the contents within are intact. The Eduard profipack 190s are NICE!

[KSaarni]

Has its charm to see a box like that, but the ”internals” still in tip-top condition!

- Kari

[jkim]

Yeah, as long as the plastic inside is in good shape, the box condition is negligible. Unless you are a collector or something.

Heads up... this is the old tool Eduard 190. Not exactly old as it was released in 2006 but for whatever reason(s), Eduard released a completely re-tooled set of 190's starting in 2017. From what I remember, there were some accuracy issues with the 2006 release as well as difficulty in assembly with all of separate panels.

Also... Eduard has released a comprehensive set of 190 sub-types with both releases. If you are interested in doing the A-8/R-2, there is an old tool and new tool kit with the specific modifications included.

2007 Kit #8175


2019 Kit #82145


You may have the armored glass pieces but not the fuselage armor, since the A-8/R-2 included the fuselage armor as part of a brand new fuselage.

Recommendation from someone who has tried to convert a Ta152H-1 into an H-0, if there is an available kit that offers you the sub-type you want to do, TAKE IT!

[mostrich]

I can only double what John said. And that scheme is very cool. Love the light blue colored armor plate.

[speedgraflex]

Apologies to everyone. I was not subscribed for replies. Thank you, Carlos, Kari, John and Torben for your replies, ideas, critiques and thoughtfulness. I obviously forgot that the initial tooling was criticized for being incorrectly proportioned in a rare case of Eduard failing to use accurate measurements, I believe. I think I researched this in 2016-7 when I was interested in the kit then I forgot about it and went forward with a purchase twice of this version - a case of you get what you pay for... or as my pappy would say, “You pays the price, when you ride the rides.”

Re the heavily armored version, that is my mistake as well. Two for two. Well I know my initial response was to build the “headstand” version that was photographed in Belgium! So, I’m back to that idea. This will, I believe, work with what I have. I was planning that in 1/72 with a beautifully tooled Hasegawa, but plans do change.

Hasegawa



Headstand