The Focke Wulf Fw 190 Radial Engine Versions Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | December 2019 | Title | The Focke Wulf Fw 190 Radial Engine Versions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Richard A Franks | Publisher | Valiant Wings Publishing |
| Published | 2019 | ISBN | 978-1-912932-08-5 |
| Format | 240 pages, softcover | MSRP (BP) | £20.95 |
Review
If you missed this handy handbook the first time around, grab it – now.
Nazi Germany’s legendary “Butcher Bird” gets full Valiant Wings treatment in The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Radial-engine Versions – revised edition of the seventh “Airframe & Miniature” title.
Ably authored and edited by Richard A. Franks, text deftly details all radial-engine Fw 190s – prototype, A, B, C, F, G, S, and, yes, turbojet variants. And format follows the publisher’s proven prescription.
That includes illuminating introductory notes, 16 more pages than the original imprint, new-kit releases since the first 2014 edition, and plenty of eye candy.
Plenty.
Determining the actual subtype of your Focke-Wulf project? Forty-five pages of astonishing “Building a Collection” isometrics will sex your subject.
Lavishing details on your miniature masterpiece? Fifty pages of striking “In Detail” shots and drawings microscopically dissect Fw minutiae – prop to rudder, tip-to-tip, top-to-bottom, inside and out.
Seeking a scheme? At least 60 of color plates by Richard J. Caruana – profiles, plan views, and insets – survey the swath of Würger warpaint.
Hundreds more illustrations – including two sets of fold-out 1:48-scale plans, stencil placement specs, archival excerpts, national insignia, squadron identifiers, Reich-defense bands, and cowl markings – further season the study. Photos depict both period and preserved aircraft in almost mind-numbing detail.
Eight step-by-step model builds by Libor Jekl, Steve A. Evans, and Dani Zamarbide help supercharge your building and finishing skills. And four exhaustive appendices – kits, accessories, decals, and references – neatly wrap things up.
Whew.
Call me a cynic: I consider nothing in this field “a complete guide”. But Valiant Wings’ reissue of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Radial-engine Versions comes awfully close. Grab this encyclopedic effort before it goes scarce again.
Roundly recommended!
My sincere thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for this review copy.