Fw-190
A-5 Strohal

About This Build

The Subject

By mid-1943 the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 had become the backbone of Jagdgeschwader 1, the home-defence wing tasked with intercepting the growing tide of USAAF heavy bombers striking targets across occupied Europe and the Reich itself. The A-5 was an incremental refinement of the A-3 and A-4: the engine mount was extended by 15 cm to improve weight distribution and accommodate a wider range of Rüstsätze field-modification kits, without any fundamental change to the formidable BMW 801 D-2 radial installation. Operating from Deelen in the Netherlands — one of the Luftwaffe's key forward fighter bases in the west — Stab I./JG 1 was ideally positioned to intercept formations entering over the Dutch coast.

The Kit

Oberleutnant Rolf Strohal flew with Stab I./JG 1 during this period, and his aircraft carried the standard Reichsverteidigung upper-surface scheme of RLM 74 Graugrün and RLM 75 Grauviolett over RLM 76 Lichtblau undersides — a combination that provided effective disruption camouflage against the sky when viewed from above by escorting fighters, while the pale belly minimised the silhouette against haze when attacked from below. The Geschwader insignia of JG 1, the "Oesau" shield, was carried on the cowling, and the Stab markings distinguished the aircraft from the line Staffeln.

Colours & Markings

The kit is the Eduard Weekend Edition of the Fw 190 A-5 in 1/72 scale, complemented by the Eduard Detail Set 72-620 and resin exhausts from Air Master AM-72-012. The Weekend Edition provides a solid and well-detailed foundation at this scale; the detail set adds photo-etched cockpit floor, instrument panel, seat harness, and various airframe details that reward the extra effort in 1/72 significantly more than at larger scales where the eye is more forgiving. Paints throughout are AK Real Colors: RC278 for RLM 74, RC279 for RLM 75, and RC321 for RLM 76. The Real Colors acrylic-lacquer formulation sprays well through a fine needle and reproduces the slightly desaturated, chalky quality of original Luftwaffe finishes without aggressive post-shading.