In Box Review of MPM 1/48th Scale
German Focke-Wulf Fw-58B "Weihe"
Vacuformed Kit no. 48013
By Ray Mehlberger
OUT OF PRODUCTION
By Ray Mehlberger
OUT OF PRODUCTION
HISTORY:
The Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe ("Harrier") was a German aircraft, built to fill a request by the Luftwaffe for a multi-role aircraft, to be used as an advanced trainer for pilots, gunners and radio operators.
The Fw-58 was a low-wing monoplane with two piston engines mounted in nacelles on the wing leading edges. The crew sat under an enclosed canopy.
Aft of the flight deck, the fuselage was open to form a moveable machine gun station. The tailwheel undercarriage was retractable.
The Fw-58 was widely used for training Luftwaffe personnel. It was also used as a VIP transport, ambulance, feeder airliner, photo reconnaissance, and weather research aircraft.
It was built under license in Bulgaria, Hungary and Brazil. It was also operated by several countries such as the Netherlands, Romania, Croatia and Turkey.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Trainer, Transport, Air Ambulance
Manufacturer: Focke-Wulf
First flight: 1935
Introduction to service: 1937
Retired: 1940s
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Number built: 1350 aircraft
The Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe ("Harrier") was a German aircraft, built to fill a request by the Luftwaffe for a multi-role aircraft, to be used as an advanced trainer for pilots, gunners and radio operators.
The Fw-58 was a low-wing monoplane with two piston engines mounted in nacelles on the wing leading edges. The crew sat under an enclosed canopy.
Aft of the flight deck, the fuselage was open to form a moveable machine gun station. The tailwheel undercarriage was retractable.
The Fw-58 was widely used for training Luftwaffe personnel. It was also used as a VIP transport, ambulance, feeder airliner, photo reconnaissance, and weather research aircraft.
It was built under license in Bulgaria, Hungary and Brazil. It was also operated by several countries such as the Netherlands, Romania, Croatia and Turkey.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Trainer, Transport, Air Ambulance
Manufacturer: Focke-Wulf
First flight: 1935
Introduction to service: 1937
Retired: 1940s
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Number built: 1350 aircraft
THE KIT:
MPM is based in Prague, Czech Republic.
They manufacture short-run multimedia kits mostly as vacuforms.
This kit came in a large 16 1/2" x 10 3/4" generic white box.
It is blousy and 4" too long and 3" too wide. Creating a letter L void around the contents.
The box art is on a seperate sheet that is glued to the lid.
It shows 2 Fw-51Bs flying above a forest in a lightning storm.
Both aircrafts are overall light gray (RLM 63), with black wing walks.
The nearest one displays no markings.
The one in the background has black fuselage code CW + HP and a square on the rudder instead of the swastika.
This is to keep the kit politically correct in countries where it is sold that have outlawed this symbol.
One end of the box has a listing of other 1/48th and 1/72nd scale kits that MPM manufactures:
In 1/48th scale there are: kit no. 48001, a Avia B-135, kit no. 48002, a Avia B35, kit no. 48003, a Avia 534, 1 series, kit no. 48004, a Avia 543, 2 series, kit no. 43006, a Polikarpov I-16, kit no. 48007, a Polikarpov I-152, kit no. 48008, a Polikarpov I-153, kit no. 48012, a Siebel Si-204D/Aero C3A, kit no. 48013, a Fw-58B "Weihe" (this kit), kit no. 48014, a Fw-58C "Weihe", kit no. 48015, a Dornier Do-217N-1, kit no. 48016, a Dornier Do-217-K, kit no. 48018, a Tupolev TV-2, kit no. 48019, a Dornier Do-217F.
MPM is based in Prague, Czech Republic.
They manufacture short-run multimedia kits mostly as vacuforms.
This kit came in a large 16 1/2" x 10 3/4" generic white box.
It is blousy and 4" too long and 3" too wide. Creating a letter L void around the contents.
The box art is on a seperate sheet that is glued to the lid.
It shows 2 Fw-51Bs flying above a forest in a lightning storm.
Both aircrafts are overall light gray (RLM 63), with black wing walks.
The nearest one displays no markings.
The one in the background has black fuselage code CW + HP and a square on the rudder instead of the swastika.
This is to keep the kit politically correct in countries where it is sold that have outlawed this symbol.
One end of the box has a listing of other 1/48th and 1/72nd scale kits that MPM manufactures:
In 1/48th scale there are: kit no. 48001, a Avia B-135, kit no. 48002, a Avia B35, kit no. 48003, a Avia 534, 1 series, kit no. 48004, a Avia 543, 2 series, kit no. 43006, a Polikarpov I-16, kit no. 48007, a Polikarpov I-152, kit no. 48008, a Polikarpov I-153, kit no. 48012, a Siebel Si-204D/Aero C3A, kit no. 48013, a Fw-58B "Weihe" (this kit), kit no. 48014, a Fw-58C "Weihe", kit no. 48015, a Dornier Do-217N-1, kit no. 48016, a Dornier Do-217-K, kit no. 48018, a Tupolev TV-2, kit no. 48019, a Dornier Do-217F.
For 1/72nd kits there are:
kit no. 72001, a Aero A-300, kit no. 72003, a Beriev KOR.1, kit no. 72006, a Polikarpov R-3. kit no. 72007, a Suchoj Su-2, kit no. 72008 a Sukhoi Su-3, kit no. 72009, a Sukhoi Su-9.
kit no. 72001, a Aero A-300, kit no. 72003, a Beriev KOR.1, kit no. 72006, a Polikarpov R-3. kit no. 72007, a Suchoj Su-2, kit no. 72008 a Sukhoi Su-3, kit no. 72009, a Sukhoi Su-9.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
The it contains 3 chalk-white vacuformed sheets, 2 dark-green injection molded plastic trees in a sealed clear cello bag, 2 clear vacuformed sheets, 2 decal sheets in a sealed clear cello bag and a brass PE fret with a black photo negative in a stapled-shut clear cello bag, with a stiff white card to protect the PE fret from bending, and 2 instruction sheets.
The first instruction sheet is the main one. It is a single-sheet folded in the center to create 4 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 1/2" page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white line drawing profile of the Fw-58B, over its history and specifications in Czech, English and German.
Pages 2 & 3 displays a 1/48th scale 3-view line-drawing showing no markings.
Page 4 has another 3-view for a marking and painting guide, showing the box art scheme.
It was a Fw-58B with the Luftwaffe in Germany in 1937-1938. It further shows the black CWHP under the wings.
The second instruction sheet is a single-sheet, the same size as the main instructions, printed on both sides.
The face side has the parts-trees illustrations at the top, over 2 exploded drawings for assembly of the cockpit interior and its placement in the fuselage.
The reverse side has another exploded drawing for assembly of everything else. It is very busy and confusing to decipher at times. Bad move MPM!
Parts-trees are not alphabetized. They are numbered in the parts-trees illustrations is all.
The 1st chalk-white vacuformed sheet holds the wings and the dorsal gun position colming (5 parts)
The it contains 3 chalk-white vacuformed sheets, 2 dark-green injection molded plastic trees in a sealed clear cello bag, 2 clear vacuformed sheets, 2 decal sheets in a sealed clear cello bag and a brass PE fret with a black photo negative in a stapled-shut clear cello bag, with a stiff white card to protect the PE fret from bending, and 2 instruction sheets.
The first instruction sheet is the main one. It is a single-sheet folded in the center to create 4 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 1/2" page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white line drawing profile of the Fw-58B, over its history and specifications in Czech, English and German.
Pages 2 & 3 displays a 1/48th scale 3-view line-drawing showing no markings.
Page 4 has another 3-view for a marking and painting guide, showing the box art scheme.
It was a Fw-58B with the Luftwaffe in Germany in 1937-1938. It further shows the black CWHP under the wings.
The second instruction sheet is a single-sheet, the same size as the main instructions, printed on both sides.
The face side has the parts-trees illustrations at the top, over 2 exploded drawings for assembly of the cockpit interior and its placement in the fuselage.
The reverse side has another exploded drawing for assembly of everything else. It is very busy and confusing to decipher at times. Bad move MPM!
Parts-trees are not alphabetized. They are numbered in the parts-trees illustrations is all.
The 1st chalk-white vacuformed sheet holds the wings and the dorsal gun position colming (5 parts)
The 2nd chalk-white vacuformed sheet holds: the elevators, central wing section, engine-nacelles, cockpit floor etc. (10 parts)
The 3rd chalk-white vacuformed sheet hold the fuselage (2 parts)
The 2 clear vacuformed sheets hold canopies and fuselage windows (6 parts)
The brass PE fret holds the dashboard, gun sights, air intake grills etc. (19 parts)
The black photo negative holds the instrument panel dial faces (1 part)
The black photo negative holds the instrument panel dial faces (1 part)
The large dark-green injection molded plastic tree holds: propellers, gear doors, exhaust-pipes, wing struts, landing gear legs etc. (58 parts) One part is X'd out as being excess in the parts-trees illustrations and not needed to complete the model.
These plastic trees were molded in centrifugal-molds, where they were spun while injecting the molten plastic. They both look like wagon wheels.
The small dark-green injection molded plastic tree holds: machine guns, wheels, loop antenna, cowlings, seats, framing etc. (19 parts)
The decal sheets complete the kits' contents and they are made by Propagteam. The larger one has crosses, swastikas and lettering on it. The swastikas need to be assembled.
The smaller one has more crosses on it.
There are no crew figures in the kit. It has minimal engraved and raised detail. Flaps are all molded solid.
Recommended.
Recommended.