A new company, Art Model, includes the Focke-Wulf Ta 152 in its small but unique selection of kits. It’s basically a short-run type of kit, but the slightly soft plastic molding features good engraved detail. Also provided are resin main wheels and decals for one colorful scheme. Most modelers will ignore the bright green decals for the instrument panel and side console; I painted mine instead.
You will need to trim lots of plastic from the cockpit tub width to make it fit. Same goes for the exhaust pipes, which must be inserted from inside (after much trimming). Further trimming and fit checks are the name of the game while building this kit.
Adequate detail is included, with some nice scribing, but all joining surfaces need test-fits and flash-trimming. A wing spar is included, as are structural details for the wheel well – again, a lot of trimming is in order. The landing gear is nice, but the gear doors are about 1/8" too long (yet easily trimmed). Actually, I think the gear legs may also be too long as well, but I left them as-is. The wing fits well at its roots but needs a bit of filler at the front and rear where it joins the fuselage underside. The trailing edge is commendably thin, and the wing guns are supplied as small rods that pass through the leading edge to the wing spar – neat!
The cowling is supplied with open flaps, but their rear edges need thinning. The upper cowl panel is much too small – it should probably be replaced. The propeller is fussy, too, requiring individual alignment of all three blades. I suspect the blades are a little off in shape (check references).
The instructions incorrectly show the armored headrest at the front edge of the sliding portion of the canopy. It should be mounted further in – check photos for placement. The clear parts are adequate for a closed hood, but purists will want to replace them – assuming they have added enough cockpit detail to warrant the work.
After completing assembly and smoothing seams, I used Testors paint for a late-war camo scheme. Applying the decals worried me at first, given the strange cockpit panel color. Luckily, the color choice did not reflect the quality of the decal printing. All decals worked over a gloss coat as advertised, with no issues or silvering. I did have a few wrinkles in the defense bands on the fuselage – probably my own fault for rushing. Surprisingly, the white of the spinner spiral was adequately opaque.
Despite all the trimming, filling, and prep work, Art Model’s Ta 152 builds into a nice model. It measures a bit short in span and length but looks the part. Purists will replace some of the missing or “soft” details.
I spent about 13 hours on my model, and I’m pleased. A modeler with experience in fixing and improving fits will not have any trouble with this kit, either.