Here is my next finished build, a very shiny Fw190. Kit is the Academy D-9, decals are from the very nice Sky Decals 72-060 set, paint is mostly Citadel, all hand-brushed.
Fw190D-9 "Brown 10", Oblt. W. Radener, 7/JG26, January 1945 by
pyro-manic, on Flickr
In August 1943, a series of Allied air raids on German industrial facilities destroyed several important chemical plants. This caused the manufacture of paints and solvents in Germany to come to an almost complete halt. The decision was made to restrict camouflage paint to tactical aircraft only, as it was reasoned that these aircraft were far more likely to be attacked on the ground due to their forward basing in France, the Low Countries or on the Eastern Front. Aircraft destined for Reich Defence units were to be left unpainted or - where stocks allowed - be painted silver to help prevent corrosion.
So it was that interceptor units such as JagdGeschwader 26 "Schlageter" were equipped with silver Focke-Wulf 190D "Dora" fighters. This metallic finish soon became a source of pride for experienced pilots, and when the paint supply crisis eased in 1944 many chose to keep their "silbervogel" mounts as a mark of honour.
The machine pictured here is Oblt. W. Radener's "Brown 10" as it was in early 1945, shortly after the disastrous "Bodenplatte" operation which wiped out much of the Luftwaffe's remaining strength. As German defences collapsed in the spring of 1945, many of these fighters were hurriedly camouflaged with whatever paint was to hand, but some of them flew as Silbervogels until the final moments of the war. I must confess, I'm getting a very strong urge to do this again, but in 1:32, and with big heraldic badges. And possibly the pre-war red tail stripe around the swastikas too.
