FINISHED-My FW-TA 183 Build

[YT]

Filling on the spine and some primer.


Milliput for the wing gaps and the intakes.

[normandy]

Progress is looking good YT!!!

[pizzaguy]

Update on Canopy Gate.
How's this looking? The new canopy is 1/3 smaller than the original. Makes a huge difference. Let me know if you think it needs anymore reducing. If everyone is happy, I will add some bond and get it ready for framing.

[pickelhaube]

[quote="YT"]

OK

[pickelhaube]

Looks like just a little more rounded on top from that gray square back just a little more round and less flat.

The grey square ( in the background ) looks to be a perfect point to make the frame separation. Where you have the point in the balsa .

[pvanroy]

I agree withe PH - it's close, but the sliding hood is a little too flat. In fact, the canopy reaches its highest point just behind the windscreen - it first goes up a little further, before curving down. So, if you raise the roof behind the windscreen just a bit, and then curve it down towards the rear from there, you should be ok. Have a look at the plans, you'll see what I mean. Hope this helps, I really think you're doing a great job!!!

[normandy]

Now thats the ticket! That looks real good Nathan, you've got it now.

[Snake Man]

Looking great now. You might consider simply painting on the frame so as not to have it look thick and "clunky". Perhaps try it both ways to see how it looks....

[cnq]

It looks much much better already. Nice work.

[YT]

It looks much much better already. Nice work.

Yes agreed. And canopy gate...

[DocTodd]

Very cool, nice work!

[YT]

Filling and sanding done, whew!


Primed with self etching primer, a must for fiberglass IMO.


Painted panel lines, not my best work. Too much coffee? Too many beers? Must be liquor, because I don't recall.


Aluminum bits, I wish I would have used Modelmaster instead of Tamiya.


Fins! Lots of fins! Another poor paint choice.

[pickelhaube]

YT looking good.

What type of airbrush do you use ?

[pizzaguy]

Great job! What kind of SE Primer do you use? Will you wait for the revised canopy?

[pvanroy]

Mind me for asking, but: is it possible one of the wings is slightly warped? In the front views, the wings don't look symmetrical, the trailing edge of the right wing (left in frontal view) seems to be lower... Or is it just the camera angle?

[pizzaguy]

I am sorry I have to say this, but if we are going to nit pick every detail I can't continue. I'm making this out of my garage, in my spare time and without 100K injection molds or 3D printers. If anyone wants to do a better job, I'll sell you the molds and have at it.

[YT]

What type of airbrush do you use ?

Testors Aztek, it's not the best but has a lifetime warranty and I bought a bag full of nozzles on clearance, so I will probably have it forever...

Great job! What kind of SE Primer do you use? Will you wait for the revised canopy?

Thanks Nathan, I'm using Rustoleum on this one. I just buy it at the auto parts store I think I actually like this kind better than Duplicolor but it's basically the same thing. I am trying to get this done on my vacation and I'll just swap out the canopies later, shouldnt be a big deal, right?

[YT]

Mind me for asking, but: is it possible one of the wings is slightly warped? In the front views, the wings don't look symmetrical, the trailing edge of the right wing (left in frontal view) seems to be lower... Or is it just the camera angle?

I have no idea what you are talking about.

I am sorry I have to say this, but if we are going to nit pick every detail I can't continue. I'm making this out of my garage, in my spare time and without 100K injection molds or 3D printers. If anyone wants to do a better job, I'll sell you the molds and have at it.

Don't let the armchair quarterbacks get to you, this is a beautiful model. I have a LOT of building experience and this is one of the simplest to build and best engineered kits I have ever had the pleasure to build. The fact that this is your first model of this complexity amazes me every time I lay hands on it. The fact that you instantly stepped up to improve the canopy without kit buyers even asking, on your own dime in your own time speaks volumes for your character. I appreciate your work and thank you!

[[CAT]CplSlade]

Mind me for asking, but: is it possible one of the wings is slightly warped? In the front views, the wings don't look symmetrical, the trailing edge of the right wing (left in frontal view) seems to be lower... Or is it just the camera angle?

If I am seeing what you're seeing then it is camera angle.

[pickelhaube]

I am sorry I have to say this, but if we are going to nit pick every detail I can't continue. I'm making this out of my garage, in my spare time and without 100K injection molds or 3D printers. If anyone wants to do a better job, I'll sell you the molds and have at it.

People have no idea what goes into these builds and by making a scratch build you have to make every single nut and bolt by hand .

Some parts that can hide under a dime may take a full day to make then you could have 100 of those.

I am not sure how many Hortens I made but I know that I made the prototype as perfect as I could and after making about close to 20 full builds not a single wing lined up with the main body perfectly .

I made each one work with a little effort but these resin/fiberglass kits are not for the beginner builder they are made for an experienced modeler who can make the parts work.

[pizzaguy]

Please take my post with a grain of salt. I'm highly medicated because someone couldn't stay home with the flu. Somethings you shouldn't share.

I just want everyone to know these are not perfect. I will admit there are imperfections. Not everything is 100% to the tee. The canopy was an example. When Pvanroy pointed this out is a separate post, I asked if it was going to be an issue or should I retool it. No one replied. Then it becomes a huge issue.

I always encourage feedback. I can't do it better in the future without input. There has to be a happy medium between perfection and what looks acceptable. My kits are not for rivet counters and never will be. Please take that into consideration. I'm going back to sleep.

[Crazy Kraut]

All my best wishes.
And keep on going on that project. I love it and I believe with that new canopy it is an eyecatcher for every collection.
Counting rivets in the 1:18 sector?!?! If you want it nearly 100% perfect pay 2000 or more $ at MPM or HPH models. And these still got failures too.
So, everything is more than fine with you Huckebein!! This sound nice, could be song

[pvanroy]

I am somewhat unpleasantly surprised by some of the reactions to my previous post.

First, I've always been unanimous in my praise for Pizzaguy's work on this model. From the very beginning, I've said I was very much looking forward to getting at least one full kit, and there's nothing that has changed my mind on that - it's an excellent piece of work. Never anywhere did I claim that I could do a better job - or would even be capable to pull off anything like this myself. I am very well aware of the tremendous amount of work that goes into an effort like this, and I'm definitely not expecting a 100% perfect model (in fact, no model ever is, and some of the very expensive HPH models have rather glaring shortcomings - their FW 190D comes to mind.). I've never made a secret of my appreciation and admiration for Pizzaguy's work; without his efforts, a 1/18th scale Ta 183 would very likely never see the light of day, and I'm grateful he's offering us the possibility of having a large-scale model of this significant project. I've never said anything else.

Second, I only made two (2) remarks that could possibly be construed as mildly - and constructively - critical. The first concerned the height of the canopy in another thread; it was a one-sentence post, and I never pushed the issue because I had determined that it probably would be fairly easy to fix myself by making a new canopy frame, and re-trimming the vac canopy. However, later on, the issue was revisited by several other board members, and Pizzaguy graciously re-worked the canopy - something I appreciate very much, but for which I never asked. My other, apparently offensive remark concerns a query about possible warping of the trailing edge of the right wing (to be clear I'm not talking about attachment of the wing, I'm talking about the wing profile). Mind you: I never even said the wing was warped - I just asked if it might be. And even if it is, it should be fairly easy to correct - limited-run kits often have issues like this (although, admittedly, deformations are easier to rectify in resin than in fiberglass). I just asked, because it is nice to have some idea beforehand about the work a kit will take; even if there is some slight warpage, that is no deal-breaker to me, nor did I ever imply it would be. So, this seemed like an innocent enough question to me.

Third, I have a reasonably good eye for detail, and have been involved with Luftwaffe aircraft for some 28 years now, and Soviet/Russian machines for about 20; I think it's fair to say I do know my flying machines, and had thought that maybe my contributions could be of some use or assistance that way (I did provide some documentation on the Ta 183 at the start of the project).

Those of you that have read my review of Nick Karatzides' magnificent Fl 282 will have seen that I listed a number of minor inaccuracies in what is otherwise a stellar effort. I actually got a very positive reaction from Nick to my review, which rather contrasts with the current situation. I'm used to having my own work continuously scrutinized by colleagues internationally, and I've always welcomed constructive critical discussion. I'd hoped this would be possible here too, but it seems this is not particularly appreciated by some members. For that reason, I suppose it's maybe best if I just refrain from posting on this forum altogether in the future.

Regards,

Peter

[Crazy Kraut]

For me all this sounds like everbody got the flu and is highly overdosed with several kinds of medicine
Cool down everybody. I´ve got such unnecessary problem discussions here nearly everyday with my 2 boys (10 and nearly 7 years old).
Stay tuned both (one with projects and the other one with tips, tricks and hints)
Happy new year to everybody!!!!

[YT]

Going forward I would appreciate if we could keep all the general kit discussion and apparently the associated drama out of my build thread. I was trying to be patient but it seems to be getting out of hand.