The “beast” is finished. I used two sizes of EZ Line for the structural and the control rigging. I did use monofilament, 0.007”, for the rigging on the tail booms. The booms support a lot of weight when the FE is up on its landing gear, so it needs actual rigging support. Monofilament is called for here. However, the EZ Line wasn’t so…EZ...

The Fw-190A-5 was different from earlier versions in that the nose was extended forward 6 inches to help change the center of gravity. This would help with a planned addition to the armament.

The Kit

This kit is made up of 108 parts. It has 5 injection molded grey sprues and 1 clear plastic sprue. The moldings are very crisp and the clear parts are also flawless. The decal sheet is not so flawless. My copy had nicely printed decals that were semi-gloss but had spots of very high gloss over them (like something spilled on it). This worried me just a bit. Looking at the parts, I noticed that Hasegawa supplies the wrong wheels and tires for this type. Resin aftermarket parts are easily available, though.

I’ve reviewed a couple of these products before and was impressed with the quality of their workmanship. Master continues the trend with their latest release. The MiG-29 set includes the pitot tube itself and two small, photo etched strakes. On the real machine, the strakes are positioned on either side of the area where the pitot tube meets the nosecone to help direct airflow when the aircraft is at high angles of attack (AOA). As you can see from the photos, this little masterpiece is a definite improvement over the kit-supplied piece. In this case, the kit is the Italeri MiG-29. Master’s rendition accurately captures the multi-diameter shape of the original.

The pitot tube has a peg which fits neatly into the nose of the model. Though I haven’t done so, I think gluing the strakes to the pitot tube and nose will be a challenge. There just isn’t much surface area. Perhaps slicing a small groove on either side of the nosecone will offer more purchase.