Gern's FW 190 GB

[Gern]

Help please!

Having found the u/c doors don't get within a mile of fitting, I'd like to show them sort of half open - as if the hydraulics have leaked or some locking mechanism has failed. (The pilot wouldn't have landed on water with them down.)

There's a folding strut attached to each leg (not the support for the shock absorbers) which connects to the u/c bay. Does anyone know which way it folds? I reckon I could cut it in half by the pivot and 'fold' it to suit.

Gern

[stona]

Hi Gern. First who's to say what would have happened after 60 something years underwater. The strut is called a radius strut and as you have spotted hinges about 2/3 of the way along (making it technically a composite of two struts I suppose). It was attached to a drive unit at the rear of the wheel well. This was powered by an electric motor which was mounted in the main wing spar,there were no hydraulics involved. If you have the main gear in a slightly lowered position it may be useful to know that the inner gear door was closed by the tyre hitting a striker plate on that doors strut lifting the door with the gear. If the gear is slightly down the inner door would be too.

You can see how the rotation of the drive unit both lifted the gear and hinged the strut in this piccy:

And here you can see the little black plate which the tyre hit as it raised the inner door:

Sorry about the crap scans,I might need to check some settings!

Cheers

Steve

Edit. I found the diagram,cunningly hidden in a Bf109 folder!

[Gern]

OK, I can see what's happening. Thanks for your help Steve. I gotta tell you I'm now worried about the inner doors on this kit. There aren't any! Did all FW 190s have them, 'cos I might be able to cobble some together.

Gern

[stona]

Did all FW 190s have them, Gern

No they didn't,I forgot what model you're basing this on. As a matter of interest to anyone doing something Ost Front they sometimes removed the main gear doors. Slush and mud would build up and freeze causing problems raising and lowering the undercarriage which,I imagine,could seriously ruin your day!

The shape of the bottom of the main gear door varied quite a bit from dash type to dash type for reasons of ground clearance and also depending on whether inner doors were fitted or not.l

Cheers

Steve

[Gern]

Thanks Steve. One less bit of 'scratching' to do.

Gern

[Gern]

Here's my next lot of pics. I've tidied up the control surfaces a little, but I'll leave them as they are now 'til I've got some paint on them and then see how they look.

Just a couple of minor niggles to sort. There are some gaps around the wing roots, and when the two wing halves are joined there's a step between the wing and the fuselage. I'll probably put a shim in the leading edge of the wing or just leave the gap and fill with putty rather than trying to hide the step. Whichever fix I use, I don't think it's a real problem. Then it's on to the painting.

Gern

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[Guest]

Dave its coming along nicely mate can't wait to see the finished product.

[spanner570]

I like your build so far Dave, nice work removing the fabric.

Sorry I didn't reply to your question earlier.

I have had a look at the U/C this morning but as Steve (Stona) points out, after 60 odd yrs. in the 'oggin they would be in a right mess, barnicles and all, so the rougher the better really!

Ron

[stona]

I'm liking this a lot. There may be something wrong with me but I particularly like the skeletal pilot,a very nice touch.

Cheers

Steve

[Gern]

Nothin' wrong with skeletons Steve, there's a lot of 'em about. It's just that you don't see many in 1/48 scale!

Anyway, new pics after painting. I've not spent too much effort on this. Most will be hidden completely and I only need enough to give a hint of the colours.

Next step will be the markings. I'll be using a mixture of signs and numbers 'cos I'm not trying to represent a specific airplane. Those 'in the know' will be able to spot where the various bits and pieces come from no doubt, but I'm only after a sort of 'generic' look to the markings. My apologies if I offend anyone with some sort of impossible mixture!

Gern

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[Gern]

Well I've got some markings, but the Gods alone know how!

Ron, if you read this before you put your markings on, try to find some others! The ones supplied with the kit are awful. I think I'd have been better off trying to fix them on with screws and Rawlplugs! There's a couple of coats of Klear holding them down (that's where the odd colour stains have come from) so I've got to wait and see if they settle without silvering.

Gern

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[stona]

99 times out of 100 those odd stains will go with time and/or another Klear coat. If not put it down to the ravages of a watery environment!

Cheers

Steve

[spanner570]

Dave, you have probably seen the set of photos of your aircraft on Google images, did you see the close up of cross and lettering after it was raised from the 'oggin? You could hardly make anything out so I wouldn't be too worried about them. As Steve points out, the aircraft has been underwater for 60 odd years so everything will be covered with marine growth anyway....

Thanks for the warning..

Ron

[yak face]

coming on nicely dave, cant wait to see it get all muckied up! cheers tony

[Guest]

It is curious that on Saturday at the History Channel, I saw the recovery of an Fw 190 that was submerged about 20, 30 meters. Missing a propeller blade, had no glass cockpit and the rudders and drift were like your model. Y could see perfectly the German symbols and one identification number, 6. I could not see the other items of identification. From what I saw was not hit by projectiles. He had no marks at least visible.

Ah, had no pilot.

Good job.