just wondering if anyone knows what the most common plane was that the luftwaffe used to "intercept" enemy bombers...preferably in or around 1944...need to decide what kind of luftwaffe fighters to have in the project that i posted about in the Dioramas section...im having an aweful time finding anything on google...thanks in advance for all the help...

Folke-Wulfe 190 was the main fighter in 1944, although there were still plenty of ME-109's in still in action.

Generally speaking, yeah, the heavily-armed Fw-190 was assigned to intercept the bombers, while the more nimble Bf-109s were assigned to keep the US fighters off the 109s. Look up Sturmgruppe 1 - they had specially armed and armored 190s and were especially tenacious. They'd hang behind the bomber stream, taking all the fire from tal gunners while pouring 20mm and 30mm cannon fir into the formations, knocking down bombers like crazy.

That's not to say 109 units weren't also assigned to bomber attack - they were, plenty. By the end of the war, almost every fighter group in the Reich was brought back to Germany and used to defend against bombers.

Check out some of Keith Ferris' painting of JG 300 in action:
http://keithferrisart.com/search_result_image.asp_Q_Product_ID_E_020RealTrou ble
http://keithferrisart.com/search_result_image.asp_Q_Product_ID_E_014Rauhbaut zMarieSpl
http://keithferrisart.com/search_result_image.asp_Q_Product_ID_E_016TestofCo urage

Here's some of JG54's 109s in a typical screaming head-on attack:
http://keithferrisart.com/search_result_image.asp_Q_Product_ID_E_013Fortress esEngaged

thanks everyone...and thanks JohnP for sharing those paintings...those are pretty awesome......the only other question that i have for right now is...is there any way of (easily) making a piece to replace the propeller to make it look like it is moving...but something that wont look cheesey...thanks...

Well, I haven't done this in about 25 years, but what I used to do was;

Take a sheet of slightly tinted dark clear plastic,
Lay the propellor blades down on it, and mark the sheet in the locations of the tips of the blades by drawing a circle in the same diameter of the prop tips, making a template.
Cut it out as a circle.
I would then slice off the propeller blades from the hub, and insert the clear circle in their place.

As I recall, the final effect wasn't "cheesy", and I had a ceiling full with the 2 British fighters, 2 German fighters and 3 German bombers all representing the planes that fought the Battle Of Britain. I didn't bother including the JU-87 Stuka, because those aircraft didn't last very long in that battle. ;)

has anyone put together any of the Tamiya (sp?) models...specifially the Fw-190 and the Me-109(aka Bf109)...found the B-17's and the P-51's from Revell...1:48 scale...i couldnt find the luftwaffe planes on the revell site...so i am wondering how the Tamiya models go together...

thanks

Hasegawa has the best late Bf-109s. You'll probably be wanting the G-6 gunboat model with the underwing 20mm cannon gondolas. Eduard's brand-new Fw-190 kits are the best ever, but pricey. Failing that, the Tamiya 190s are, of course, damn good.

im actually looking for the A-8 model with the heavy armor...i have found several...but all are either too expensive or the wrong scale...im trying to stick with the 1:48 scale...mainly because i like it better than the other scales and most of the models that i have built in my life have been 1:48...kind of my comfort zone so to speak...

I think Eduard's new "royal pack" has an A-8, but of course it's $150 :eek:

Do a search at www.squadron.com - they'll have every FW kit that's currently available.

thanks for the tip John P...i looked but nothing came back in 1:48...i did find a site yesterday that has the Tamiya kit for a 1:48 Fw-190A8/R2 which is exactly what i am looking for...so hey...that works out...not the cheapest models ive ever seen...but a lot cheaper than $150 for Eduard's...i saw that while i was searching and about had a heart attack...lol...i dont need it that bad...

On the other hand there are two complete kits in the Eduard box!
It's still cheaper to buy THREE of their single-editions, though. :lol:

that would still be a little steep in my eyes...lol...even if there were 3 models in the eduard box...most ive spent on a model is a little less than 30 bucks after tax...im more of a budget modeler...probably cause most of my modeling was done when i was between the time that i was 8 and 14 or 15...i saw a completed eduard kit...looks amazingly nice...but cant bring myself to consider something that expensive...maybe when ive got the extra money to blow and nothing more important to blow it on...

do you happen to know how much the single editions are?...since they are nice models might look into them if they are more affordable...

thanks for all the help JohnP...think id be strugglin with the modeling side of this project if it werent for the help that ive gotten from this site...

And to think, in 1974 I used to buy 1/48 Monogram Fw-190s for 70 cents at HiWay Hobby.

I got my Academy BF109G6 kit for 15 bucks through Tower hobbies. It would make a good start for any of the -6 versions. There are tons of add-ons for Gustavs of this scale. A good reference for all the iterations for the 109 and other Luftwaffe aircraft is the book "Warplanes of the Third Reich" by William Green. And yes, the Tamiya kits I have built are very nice.

tom

thanks machine shop to...ill have to check out the 109's there...maybe ill be able to cut costs a little bit...

john p

i was just looking at your website and saw that you have a eduard fw190 on there...is it worth the high price for the kit...like does the kit go together as well as you would expect it to for the money...just wondering cause i just found the eduard single kits of the Fw190A-8 for $34...might look into those if i think that its worth the little bit of extra money...

thanks

It can be a bit of a challenge! The kit seems to be made to be built with all the hatches open, so it may be a problem to build them closed. Plus, no pilot.

i guess the no pilot pretty much throws that one out for me...oh well...ill just stick with the tamiya probably...not sure yet...but it would be kind of weird having a focke wulf flying around and shootin down planes without a pilot...ive heard of auto-pilot before...but that would just be a little rediculous...

thanks...

How about a Stuka pilot from a Revell 1:48 kit? I've got one I probably won't be using........

Or maybe the gunner?

Either could probably made to look proper for your pilot.


to(m)

i guess the no pilot pretty much throws that one out for me...oh well...ill just stick with the tamiya probably...not sure yet...but it would be kind of weird having a focke wulf flying around and shootin down planes without a pilot...ive heard of auto-pilot before...but that would just be a little rediculous...

thanks...

I know NOTHing...I see NOTHing!

How about a Stuka pilot from a Revell 1:48 kit? I've got one I probably won't be using........

Or maybe the gunner?

Either could probably made to look proper for your pilot.


to(m)


thanks...ill have to see which model i decide to go with...but either way...thanks for the offer...