Following on the heels of their gorgeous FW-190A-4 Eduard has released the next variant in the production line, the A-5. The A-5 differed from the A-4 in that its engine was moved forward. This would become the standard position until the D-9 variant came into production.

Having built the A-4 and found it to be simply gorgeous I was anxious to see what the later variants would look like.

Packaged inside of a beautifully painted boxtop with a sturdy cardboard box protecting the parts are some beautiful plastic. There are five sprues of plastic is the light grey kind with no flash or blemishes that I could find. Three of the sprues are the ‘common’ sprues found in all the FW-190 boxings. The other two are aircraft specific with a new fuselage and a new wing. This speaks well for the fit as the A-4 was near flawless. Since there are common parts on the sprues, be careful that you remove the correct ones. There will be lots of parts left over for the spare parts box or later builds.

There is a single sprue of clear plastic for those parts. Again make sure that you remove the correct parts for your aircraft. It is easy to get confused.

A fret of pre-painted photo etch is included which features some exquisite detail on the instrument faces. A mask set is included which will make that tedious task significantly easier.

Decals are printed by Eduard and provide all the markings for five airplanes. There is a separate decal sheet that includes all the stencils for one airplane. The instructions are printed on high-quality paper in full color and are very easy to understand. Be sure to go through and mark what aircraft you want to build so you don’t forget to do something, like open up the drop tank panel.

Now that we know what is in the box let’s see how it builds Out of the Box.

Once we decide which version we are going to build the constructions starts as usual with the cockpit. Right away we have some decisions to make. Use the pre-painted photo etch, or the plastic parts or decals. I elected to use the pre-painted option. Assembly of the cockpit is very easy. Most of it can be built up before painting. I don’t add the pre-painted stuff until after I’ve added Tamiya Dark Grey and a wash of Lamp Black artist oils thinned with turpenoid. A little bit of wear is simulated with a silver and #2 pencil. Details are picked out with acrylic paints. The PE is added now and then the whole thing is then flat coated. The instrument glass is simulated with a drop of Krystal Kleer and just like that the interior is done. It was all very fast.

The fuselage is now ready to close up once the exhausts are added and the simplified engine. When I say simplified engine, I don’t mean that in a bad way. It is very recessed and didn’t need to be overly complicated like the initial release of the A-5. The fit of the fuselage is perfect.

The wings are next and building up the wheel wells is simple if you follow the instructions. Since I elected to build up Version E of Schl.G 1 from Poland I needed to open some stuff up. First I had to remove the center section of the wheel well and then open the holes for the bomb rack. The fit of the wings is impeccable just like the fuselage. Some pre-shading in the wheel wells prior to assembly and a squirt of RLM 02 and the wings were done before I knew it.

The fit of the wings to the fuselage is perfect just like everything else in the kit. Pay attention when adding the control surfaces as there are two types on the sprue. Make sure you get the correct ones. Adding the cowl ring finished up the nose.

I added the landing gear at this time to protect the ETC rack under the belly. The fit of the landing gear is very sturdy and worked as advertised. That needed to dry completely before it was time to mask up the model.

The canopy masks were added. Before I added it I added the gunsight and the anti-glare shield. The fit of the forward section was added and the fit was perfect. I left the sliding portion of the canopy off until later. Tamiya tape was used to close up the cockpit area and the wheel wells.

The model was wiped with Testor’s Plastic Prep and then the area around the canopy was sprayed Tamiya Dark Grey. Then the whole model was sprayed with Alclad Primer. Areas that required touch up was and re-riveted.

The whole model was pre-shaded with Tamiya Dark Grey. Yellow was added to the lower cowling and the rudder. After this had dried it was masked off with Tamiya Tape. The Mr. Paint RLM 76 was added to the lower surfaces. Then the Mr. Paint RLM 75 as sprayed on the upper surfaces and this was followed up with Mr. Paint RLM 74. Mottling was added to the sides when the respective colors were sprayed. They were then toned down some with RLM 76 overspray and that was followed up with some Mr. Paint RLM 02. A coat of Tamiya Clear thinned with Gunze Leveling Thinner was added to prep the model for the decals.

The Eduard decals are really nice. They do require a lot of water and you have to be careful as they will try to curl on you. I typically add all the stencils first, just like the real thing and then I add the personal markings. The hardest one was the tulip petals on the nose. One of mine curled slightly, but that was my fault. Everything set up pretty well with Solvaset. Any touch upon them was done with Mr. Paint Richtofen Red which was a perfect match for the red and I was able to touch it up the white with AK White.

Because the decals are so thin, I seal them with Alclad Flat in preparation for the weathering. I start my weathering with a wash of thinned burnt umber in the panel lines and add some spots here and there, particularly where the maintenance crews would be working. The next step in the weathering phase is to fade the paint slightly. As this was a propaganda favorite and an ace’s airplane I kept the weathering to a minimum. So only a few dots of titanium buff and white artist oils were used. Burnt umber was added around the exhaust area to dirty it up. The dot filters were blended with a flat brush damp with turpenoid.

Some chips were added with a sponge and Model Master Aluminum and Magnesium. A silver pencil and #2 pencil was used to put specific scratches. Again since this was an ace’s aircraft the dusting of heavily thinned Tamiya Buff was airbrushed from front to back on the wings and top to bottom on the fuselage. This was purposely kept light.

The exhaust staining was accomplished with some Mig Pigments of Russian Earth and Black Smoke. The bottom gets more staining than the sides just because it wouldn’t need to be washed for photos.

This aircraft operated from an airfield as opposed to fields so the wheels were weathered by painting the outside radius with a very light grey. Very little ‘dirt’ was added to the wheels and the gear doors. The wheels are added to the model at this time. They are sloppy on the axle so you have to get them aligned properly. I really wish Eduard did a better job on this one area.

A few streaks of fresh oil was added to the belly. The oils are black, burnt sienna and burnt umber and streaked aft with some turpenoid.

With that, the weathering was done. I just added some minor parts and removed the masks from the canopy sections. The sliding portion was secured with white glue. After it had dried, an EZ Line antenna was added to the model. With that, the model was done.

It looked every bit of the real thing. One thing I did notice afterward was that the landing gear doors should be closed up and not displayed down. A very minor point. The fit of the model was great, with the exception of the wheels. I loved the low parts count. That doesn’t mean the detail is lost. Quite the opposite, I found it to be exquisite. It is hard to find anything bad to say about this model. It was fun from start to finish. The decals are quite nice, if a bit sticky but as long as you keep them wet from underneath no problem.

This is another great kit that cements Eduard as an industry leader. With the Profipack items, like masks, world-class decals, and pre-painted photo etch, you would be hard pressed to find a better value and more fun from a model.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can obtain yours directly from Eduard at www.eduard.com or your local hobby shop or online retailer.