Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner
 

"Too Little, Too Late" 1/48 & 1/32 Fw 190D-9 Decals are available online from Squadron.com

 

FirstLook

This is Part 1 of at least three new sheets from AeroMaster Decals, focusing on the Fw 190D-9 “Dora”.
No doubt the popularity of the subject has been heightened by the recent release of the Hasegawa Fw 190D-9 in the larger scale.

This release is available in both 1/32 scale and 1/48 scale.

Three subjects are catered for and each is clearly represented with a colour profile and description:

Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 of II/JG301 (sic),
Straubing, Bavaria, spring, 1945.

A bit of a controversial aircraft this one. The instructions give the upper surface colours as RLM 83 Dark Green and RLM 75 Grey Violet. RLM 76 is used for the lower surfaces as well as the light mottle along the fuselage and tail. The spinner displays a black/white spiral and the fuselage carries JG301’s yellow and red RVD bands.

The fuselage Balkenkreuze is a black outline B4 type. The under wing Balkenkreuze is a black/white 800mm B3 style with the upper wing version consisting of the standard 910mm B6 white outline.

Latest research informs us that this aircraft was “Yellow 15” of 3./JG301, (I Gruppe) W.Nr. 500 666.

One photo from which the aircraft profile comes from gives the impression of a II Gruppe bar on the fuselage but another photo shows that this is not so.

Further details surrounding the colours of this interesting aircraft can be found at:
http://www.stormbirds.com/experten/research1.htm

Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 of II/JG6,
Furth, Germany, Spring 1945.

Very interesting markings adorn this aircraft. The finish is stated as being RLM 83 Dark Green and RLM 75 Grey-Violet on the upper surfaces and RLM 76 Light Blue on the lower surfaces. Again a light mottle is used for the fuselage and tail but this time in RLM 83 Dark Green. The fuselage extension plug has been deliberately over painted in another colour and is depicted as Dark Grey.

No spiral is applied to the spinner and the unusual fuselage code was applied in black with a white outline.

Simplified National insignia was applied, consisting of the usual B4 style black outlines for the fuselage Balkenkreuze and white outlined 910mm B6 types for the ones on the upper wing. The lower wings feature the solid black simplified 900mm B1b style. As expected, the standard H3 type 420mm Hakenkreuze is displayed on the tail.

Focke-Wulf Fw-190D-9 of II/JG26,
abandoned at Celle, Spring, 1945.

This aircraft is depicted wearing the lower contrast scheme of RLM 81 Brown-Violet and RLM 83 Dark Green on the fuselage. Rightfully AeroMaster question whether these colours were repeated on the wing upper surfaces. Photos clearly show that this scheme was not followed and that one of the colours could indeed have been RLM 76 as stated in one of the references quoted. A photo on page 75 of the Squadron/Signal Publications “Walk Around” on the Dora shows this contrast.

Heavy weathering covers the fuselage mottle and apparently this mottle extends to the undercarriage doors.

Photos of this machine after it’s capture by the Americans suggest that the doors also might have been tarnished metal.

Markings consist of the black/white RVD bands around the fuselage with the aircraft number and Gruppe bar also being black. There is speculation that the numeral may have been of a different style on each side of the fuselage. This idea coming from photos of the airframe seen before and after the National Insignia was painted out. Thoughtfully AeroMaster recognize this and supply an alternative. Nice touch.
The fuselage Balkenkreuze is again the B4 black outline type and the Hakenkreuze is the familiar 420mm solid black H3 style. The upper wings were the standard 910mm B6 Balkenkreuze while those below follow the simplified 900mm B1b pattern.

There is enough stencil data for two complete aircraft and this is always a welcome addition from any manufacturer. Despite the small size, all lettering was perfectly legible.

The decals are printed in perfect register and the colour density looks good. Previous experience shows that the thin carrier film allows the decal to conform nicely to the model’s surface and will accept softening solutions without protest.

 

Conclusion

This is another well-printed decal sheet from Aeromaster.

With parts II and III to follow, a comprehensive collection of markings will be available for those who missed out on Dora markings the first time around.

Recommended
 

Review Text Copyright © 2002 by Robert Baumgartner
Page Created 01 October, 2003
Last updated 01 October, 2003

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