History Brief

The Fw 190F-8 was based on the A-8 Fighter, having a slightly modified injector on the compressor which allowed for increased performance at lower altitudes for several minutes.

Armament of the Fw 190 F-8 was two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and two 13 mm (.51 in) MG131 machine guns above the engine. It was outfitted with an ETC 501 Bomb rack as centerline mount and four ETC 50 bomb racks as underwing mounts.

Set Contents

• 1 x 32372 Fw 190F-8 Landing Flaps 1/32
• 1 x 32842 Fw 190F-8 Interior S.A. 1/32
• 1 x 32843 Fw 190F-8 Seatbelts 1/32
• 1 x JX181 Fw 190F-8 Painting Mask

Set 32372: Landing Flaps

Starting with the first photo etch set I commenced cutting the parts from the plastic kit and preparing them for modification, and boy I was not prepared for the work that lay ahead of me. It was very detailed and precise to the very end so close attention is required.

After prepping and reading further I saw I was replacing parts 23 and 24. The Ridges on the bottom flaps can just be scrapped of with a hobby knife and then sanded smooth.

I had to figure out creative ways to roll the photoetch and make the intricate curves which can be done without special tools. A lot of tiny folds and bends and now that I have built these flaps I can tell anyone for future reference - SOLDER, it will make life easier and you won’t find yourself regluing some parts as I had to later.

Subset 32842: SA Interior

The cockpit is certainly the busiest part of any plane and had 2 frets dedicated to it. The first set was a non-painted fret of the canopy and interior frames and mounts, side wall armor panels and so on. The second Eduard self-adhesive painted interior fret certainly made my cockpit the gem of the build.

I was very pleased with the ease and amount of detail packed into the photoetched parts and I didn’t really have to do much modification at all to make it all fit.

The bending, folding and conforming of these parts to the interior was a blast and the more dials and panels I saw appear on the tub the more excited I got.

The non-prepainted parts of the second fret of the interior all received the same RLM 66 Schwarzegrau compliments of model master enamels followed by a few coats of Testors Dullcote.

Subset 32843: Seatbelts

This is one of those frets you could have mixed feelings on, I know I certainly did. I have never had really great results with photoetched seat belts no matter the manufacturer or the technique applied.

I tried to bend these a little to apply them and the color portion of the seats started to peel off so I used a little white glue to hold them together. After several attempts I was finally able to get them to settle down in a position that worked for me and I was happy.

All in all I invested about 35 minutes of tinkering with the seatbelts to finally satisfy me, so I would say if this set had any vices it was the seatbelt harnesses.

Subset JX181: Mask Set

These items look and work great. The masks are the usual pre-cut yellow tape. They worked like a charm and were easy to use.

Conclusion

I had a lot of fun using this set, it always makes for a fun time when the goodies you are using on a model are for a subject that actually interests and captivates you. My thanks to Dave and the rest of the IPMS review corps and especially to the fine folks at Eduard. It was my pleasure. I recommend this set to anyone who has the 1/32nd newly released Revell FW 190F-8 and would like to spruce it up in a major way.