Great Wall Hobby have had more than one shot at their
excellent little Fw 189 kit in 1/48th scale – we have some limited images of
the CAD drawings and excellent boxart of their newest version “Sonderaktion
Schneekufen.” Or special action Ski equipped Fw 189A-1
From what we can see from the CAD images this is their first
release Fw-189A kit but with the extra nacelles which cover some large skis
under the Argus engines and in the tail wheel position between the booms.
All of the other parts are standard to the Fw-189A kit they
released as their first in this series. This is an excellent and I have to say
brave move by them to depict an aircraft so rare. I had trouble finding
pictures of any – but it is a good move because by the very physical nature of
the Fw-189 this is an unusual “bird” and these skis will add to the appeal of
the quirkiness of the airframe.
As we saw by their boxing of the Fw-189A-2 nightfighter version we reviewed and built GWH are not afraid to model rare aircraft - we like that very much
Let’s get down to the model features:
All-Clear Cockpit - as the original kit the glasshouse is
there and an impressive little nose it is too – PE additions of rudder pedal
harnesses top this off
Wing-surface Details – The access hatches remain unchanged
and for a good reason – these look great with the right weathering to draw attention to them.
Cockpit Inner Details – an easy to assemble cockpit comes
with the PE additions of seat harnesses and fine dials inside the cockpit
Engine Details: The Argus engines build up to a nice
standard and are made more impressive by the PE wiring.
Main Undercarriage Skis: The unusual addition only seen here
in CAD form - but a great addition to this kit
Tail Ski: of course necessary for this version…
I can see many winter schemes coming out over the next few months
after this kit’s release – we already have word that this kit will be available from Airbrushes.com in the UK. Until we have more info look up the Great
Wall Hobby site for all of their other kits.