About 13 years ago now, the Czech model concern Eduard released their first new-tool Fw 190 in 48th scale. I've avoided it - until now. I (perhaps rather naively) imagined that I could complete it to a reasonable level and call myself a 'real' modeller! I'm working on one at the moment and I can safely say that it will easily make it into my listing of the Top 10 worst model kits ever released..I'd go further. It is quite possibly the worst kit ever manufactured and sold to the general public. Of course some people on model forums and in blogs actually maintain that they have built it - to which I would say, not as the model company intended you haven't! There are a whole range of fit issues with it - from the small 'triangular' part that you must align and glue behind the wheel well spar to the wing root gun bays and covers, the upper cowl MG mounts -far far too large- which clip into the upper wheel well part and are supposed to represent the ejector chutes to the horrible horrible (yes, twice for emphasis..) engine assembly - so bad Eduard provide a 'template' for you to align the individual exhaust stacks to the multi-part cowling. I could not even get the wings together properly. To get anywhere with the kit you must immediately deviate from the instructions - glue the fuselage halves together and then slide the completed cockpit in from underneath - the fuselage halves are so thin and flexible doing it this way is fairly straight forward.Obviously checking all the while that the forward cowl cover and windscreen will fit without leaving a 'lip'. The way the instrument panel is supposed to be located - 'clipping' into the coaming is dreadful, but there is not a lot that can be done here. That's about as far as I've got with the kit at the moment and while I never bin anything, I'm seriously contemplating doing it with this one. I'd been saving this one up for a long time as well - 13 years. I've read all the reviews, collected all the advice, from Fridell and others. Even Eduard issued a page of guidance to 'help' modellers with the build - and it still didn't work for me. Do they not perform test builds at the factory before unleashing stuff like this into the modelling community? Evidently not as they managed to completely screw up the first new-tool '48th' scale Me 109s they released as well. No wonder both their 48th scale 109s and Fw 190s had to be re-tooled!
This is part 1 of this build report - who knows whether there will be a part 2.
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