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Focke-Wulf Fw
190D-9
J. Rutman
Reviewed by Brett Green
One of the exciting "finds" during my trip to the IPMS Nationals this July was Jerry Rutman's table of resin and vacformed treasure. Jerry's range of 1/32 scale kits and conversions include a full resin and vacform Ta 152H, a vacform Bf 109G and 109K; and many accessories for the classic (by definition of nostalgia, not necessarily quality) 1/32 scale Revell and Hasegawa kits of the 1960's and 1970's. The newest release from the Rutman stable is a resin replacement wing for the Hasegawa 1/32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 "Hi-Grade" kit. This model has recently been re-released as Hasegawa kit number 08120 "Special Version". Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Dora was released in 1986. The fuselage sprue was newly tooled and represented the state of the art for its day. The basic shape was accurate and surface detail was crisply engraved. Detail parts unique to the Dora 9 such as the propeller blades, wheels, cowl flaps and tyres were supplied in white metal, photo-etch and vinyl as appropriate. This significant multi-media content earned the model its "Hi-Grade" label. That is the good news. The bad news is that this hybrid kit inherited the horrible wing, horizontal tail and most of the cockpit from the old 1/32 scale Hasegawa Fw 190A kit. The wing featured a vast field of rivets, hopelessly overscale fabric effect, peculiarly shaped cannon bulges and a totally bogus wheel well. As bad as the wing was, it looked even worse when mated to the nicely engraved fuselage. Until now, the only solution was several days in a rubber room with the old wing, sheet styrene, several sanding sticks and a scriber. After 15 years, J. Rutman has supplied an alternative.
The Rutman wing set comprises 20 parts in crisp pale yellow resin. The three main components are the two upper wing halves and a single lower wing half with the dihedral correctly set. These large parts are warp-free and feature fine, consistently engraved surface detail. The lower and upper wing parts incorporate detail for the open flap well. The wheel well sub-assembly includes the cannon barrels and structural detail. The centre section of the wheel well is accurately open to reveal the rear of the engine and the machine gun ammunition magazines. These parts are also supplied in resin.
The engine plug is a single piece. It is adequately detailed with the main features such as the oil tank, supercharger and hydraulic lines clearly identifiable. Separate flaps and ailerons complete the package. The inside of the flaps are beautifully detailed, and six hinges are also supplied. In common with most major conversions, this set will benefit from frequent test-fitting. I have already conducted some dry-fitting of the resin parts to the kit fuselage.
My initial impression is that it may be necessary to add a spreader bar for the fuselage, and that some trimming of the wing-root saddle and/or thinning of the top of the wheel well will be necessary. Some more filling and sanding will likely be required at the leading edge of the wing. The engine plug will also need trimming. However, these tasks should not present a barrier to the experienced modeller.
J. Rutman's 1/32 scale Fw 190D-9 wing in 1/32 scale will be an essential accessory for anyone with the old "Hi-Grade" Dora kit, or the re-released version in their collection awaiting assembly. The high-quality resin wings do justice to the kit's fuselage and multi-media parts. The inclusion of the engine plug, separate flaps and ailerons are a welcome bonus. You will still need to pay attention to other aspects of the kit such as the rudder, the horizontal tail and the cockpit, but these are quite manageable compared to correcting the wings! Highly Recommended to anyone planning to build the Hasegawa 1/32 scale Fw 190D-9. Thanks to Jerry Rutman for the review samples. The full range of J. Rutman's kits and accessories may be viewed and ordered from his new website at http://jrutman.playnet.com/
Review and Images Copyright © 2001 by Brett
Green
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