FW200C-3 Condor. 1/72 Trumpeter kit

[Mark]

Thanks to Corelki's very generous offer earlier this year, I'm now the proud owner of Trumpeter's 1/72 FW200C-3 Condor. As promised, here is a build diary. However, before I get started I need some assistance - probably from James and his encyclopaedic knowledge of Germain paints.

The colour call-outs in the kit leave a lot to the imagination ! Some brief mentions about the interior, but no mention of the colour interior of the bulkheads, scant details about the cockpit, no mention at all of the engines or undercarriage. I'm struggling to find any colour references. Can anybody point me in the right direction where I can find some decent references. Thanks !

I'll post pics of the kit etc. when I start it in the near future.

[Morris]

Sitting in my chair with my pop corn to watch this one. - never seen a Condor built

[Mark]

I'm hoping for a fairly quick build (by my standards anyway !) The Whaleboat is almost finished, and the final pics will be posted soon.

[casper]

Nice kit Mark, what were the interior tanks used for?
casp

[snapdragon]

Wow! summoned to the bosses office!

Ok.. so the FW Condor was a maritime aircraft. First of all lets look at the interior.

These aircraft, like bombers and transport aircraft never changed in regard to the paintwork throughout the war. So the entire of the interior would be RLM 02 (VAL 71044). Cockpit instrument panels etc would be RLM 66 (VAL 71055) as would be the fuel tanks in the fuselage with RLM 02 tie down bands.

I would paint the engines in a very dark metal colour such as Magnesium.

Propellers would be RLM 70 (71021) with the prop boss either the same or a different colour according to squadron and deployment.

Exterior for all maritime aircraft was a splinter pattern upper surface of RLM 72 (71263) and RLM 73 (71256) and a lower surface of RLM 65 (71255).

Other metalwork would be aluminium/steel

Vallejo's Desert/maritime set:

http://www.bellesartsferran.com/shop/set-vallejo-model-air-8-u-17-ml-luftwaffe-maritime-tropical.html

Should see you right for this and desert aircraft!

[steve131]

Sitting in my chair with my pop corn to watch this one. - never seen a Condor built

Same here ,will enjoy this

[builder76]

Sitting in my chair with my pop corn to watch this one. - never seen a Condor built

Nor me .There`s a first for everything so they say.
Looking forward to seeing the build Mark
John

[Mark]

Thanks James, very helpful. Do you have any idea bout the u/c bays and gear ? Would they be the same and the overall underside ?

[snapdragon]

For the uc and bays you have a choice.

It depends on the level of detail inside the us bays. If there is none or very little, which could be the case then I would use RLM 02. You could also do the U/C bays in a Aluminium or a light metal/ silver.

With the undercarriage I would paint that a Matt Aluminium with the oleo a polished chrome/steel.

For the U\C bays both either metal or RLM 02 is right.

I would do the inside of the engine covers and covers a polished aluminium as it will bounce light around the engines and give the dark metal paint of the engines a highlight without spending hours drybrushing.

[Mark]

Thanks James. Very useful info. I think I'll go for the RLM02 bays and legs, with metal added where appropriate.
Sadly there is virtually no detail inside the bays. I'm building it OOB, so don't plan on adding much extra in the way of detail. I'm hoping for a fairly quick build, as I want to build up my appetite for my next project. Mind, I'll still be plodding on with the Rally 037. However, that it so fiddly I can only do a little at a time without risking my sanity !

[Mark]

Right - let's start with a mini review.

Box art.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

It's BIG !!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Lots of plastic !

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Basic engine detail, but OK considering it's hidden inside the cowls.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Nice panel lines on the kit. Not too deep, not too shallow. However, look at the window hole !! It's nice that you can add the windows from the outside, but look at that huge lip !! Think I'm going to have to thin that down somewhat !!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

No wheel well details at all. More nice panel lines though.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Nice engraving on the engine nacelles.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Glazing is Ok, but not up to Tamiya standards

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Nice colour guide. Shame they forgot to put many colour call outs on the interior though. I'll go for this scheme. The other is a Russian version.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The only extra I went for it the Eduard masks. I didn't fancy trying to cut masks for all those small panels !!

The decals include swastikas cut in half. Good for Trumpeter. The have diplomatically left them off the box art and printed instructions. A good compromise, which other companies could learn from.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

I've got all the paints for it too, and will be starting the model sometime soon.

[Morris]

Thx Mark - recessed lines don't look too heavy handed - looking forward to this build....

[Andy616]

I don't blame you for getting the paint masks, I will be doing the same for future models unless they have them included.

I'm looking forward to seeing the build.

[snapdragon]

That looks quite a nice kit for Trumpeter 1/72 with quite a lot in the box. The Condor was a huge aircraft as the dimensions show even in 1/72. I think that the detailing and panel lines on the outside will look really nice under paint.

It is quite an old kit from trumpeter as you can see by looking at the detailing compared to their new releases for which the panel lines and engine detailing is much more finer and refined as the technology they use has advanced and they have updated their equipment and CAD systems.

I wonder what their 1/48 FW Condor offering is like!

James

[Mark]

Just making a start on this. I've assembled the interior ready for painting. However, a quick dry assembly shows that the interior will be all but invisible, so I'm not going to bother putting any detail on it.

The fit is good so far, and the basic assembly will be quite quick.

Photos to follow soon.....

[Mark]

Photo as promised. nicely detailed, and almost completely hidden......

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The fit is good so far. Much better than my previous experiences with Trumpeter. Mind, this kit is a newer toolling than the others I've built.

[Mark]

I hadn't realised that it'd been such a long time since I touched this model. Anyway, I needed a break from photo-etched parts.... so I picked this up again.

I didn't do much to the interior. Just sprayed the whole thing grey, then sprayed the fuel tanks a darker grey. I did start painting the tanks traps, but they were almost the same colour and the tanks, so it seemed a pointless exercise.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The cockpit got a little more attention, with dark grey interior, black seats and joystick, and some decals on the instrument panel. Again, not much will be visible, so I didn't put too much effort into it. This isn't an "I know it's there!" model! If I can't see it, I'm not painting it!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

I've assembled the wings too. As you can see (It's a 12" cutting mat) the model is big!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Not much detail in the wheel wells though!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

[Mark]

More progress. The fuzz is buttoned up, and attached to the wings now. The fit isn't too bad, if you stand back a bit!!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

But if you look closely......

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

There was a bit of a sink at the rear of the wings.....

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

As you can see, it needs a fair bit of filler. I generally use Mr Surfacer 500, but I did use Tamiya putty for the big sink. Mr Surfacer is excellent as it softens the plastic like plastic cement does and really bonds to the plastic, so it doesn't pull out of small cracks. However, it does shrink, so needs several coats in places. It sands beautifully though.

[Morris]

Looks a pretty good kit so far - they all need something done to them - even the hyper expensive Tamiya and HK ones.....watching with interest also...

[Mark]

I've been plodding on with this one, on and off. Here is the main airframe more or less finished. I quick squirt of paint to see if I've filled and sanded the join properly. Not perfect, but close enough.

IMG_3846 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

And the underside. The underside pod (cowling, call it what you will) took a lot of work. Sanding, filling, fairing in the glass.... took ages!!

IMG_3847 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The u/c bays are painted as well. Now I have the tedious task of applying all the window masks. The Eduard mask set is looking like remarkably good value for money!!