ICM Focke Wulf Fw 189 Uhu Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

The canopy is by far the most challenging part of this build. There are fourteen sections in all, and many of them mate with each other which is often a recipe for disaster. I am planning to display several of these sections open to show off the interior, and this has the added benefit of helping to conceal some of the fit issues. I don’t like the way the clear parts are designed on this kit.

The fit of the wheel wells also left something to be desired. I had assembled the sections but the fit to the fuselage was so bad I thought that maybe I had mated the wrong halves together so I cut them apart only to discover they fit better in the original paring. With some sanding and liquid glue I finally got them pretty close. I positioned the flaps slightly deflected, I had originally intended to replace these with the Eduard PE set. I found the Eduard instructions difficult to understand, and this was exasperated by the flap parts being mislabeled on the ICM instructions. The deciding factor was the location of the flaps and the need to incorporate them early in the build which makes it unlikely PE flaps would have survived the construction process anyway.

Here is a comparison of the CMK resin wheels and props (on top) to the ICM kit parts on the bottom.

The instructions have you build up the kit into assemblies, this photo mimics the step in the instructions where you put everything together. The CMK resin engine set is supposedly designed specifically for this kit, but it was at this point that I realized that it would not fit without major surgery to the front of one of the booms. That might have been possible before the parts were assembled but looked really risky at this stage of construction, plus the inside of the wheelwell would need some additional work when done. I took the easier path and put the resin engine in the spares box along with the PE flaps.

The model is surprisingly big when assembled. There were some fit issues where the booms join the core assembly, and I trimmed off most of the alignment structures to get the engine nacelles to snuggle down. This is proving to be a challenging model.

Construction Part III here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/icm-focke-wulf-fw-189-uhu-build-in-1-72-scale-part-iii/