SPA Modeler

The Mosquito is one of those subjects that I've always liked but really knew nothing about. I did know it was mostly wooden and very fast. I found the Tamiya Mosquito Night Fighter MK. II version at Hobby Lobby several years ago (back when they carried the good stuff) and snatched it with a "40 percenter". I have since learned the machine was quite remarkable, and it has since inched its way up in the "to build" pile. For starters, it may be the first recorded use of epoxy. I also learned that it was such a pain in the a@@ to the Germans that they took special measures to combat it, one being the development of the TA 154 "Moskito" and the modification of some He 219's. I recall that some Luftwaffe units, perhaps JG 300, started striping the paint off their Bf 109's for extra speed to catch the blistering fast Mossies. I think I even read somewhere that the Luftwaffe considered a Mosquito kill a double score due to the difficulty in that endeavor, which was mostly positioning and luck. Herman Goring said this in 1943 (hilarious):

"In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set - then at least I'll own something that has always worked. "..........

Anyways, its high time I build this guy. As I said, the kit is for a night fighter MK. II version, but fortunately a FB MK. VI can be built too. Sprue Brothers provided me Ultracast seats, wheels, and I grabbed the Quickboost Lancaster gun barrels, which I figured were the same 303's as on the Mossie. I procured decals for "Hairless Joe", a MK. VI Fighter-Bomber flown by Russell "Russ" Bannock and R.R. Bruce of the 418 Squadron RCAF. These two destroyed 9 in air, damaged 4 others, and destroyed 2 more on the ground. They were also credited with 19 V-1 buzz bombs destroyed, including 4 in one hour!. Gentlemen, this one is for you. Thank you for your courageous service.




Contrary to the instructions, I decided to start with the cockpit and gunbay. The cockpit is kind of plain and not their best, but I refuse to give Aires a dollar until their prices become more True Details-like. I wish other modelers would follow suit so they are forced to lower them prices ($100.00 for a P-51 detail set....HA!). The canopy on the Mossie is closed up anyways, so I figured the Ultracast seats would spruce it up sufficiently. I came up with my own concoction of RAF interior green of XF-71 Cockpit Green and a touch of XF-66 Light Grey. I then found a nicely done interior over at Hyperscale (Aries of course) and used it as a rough painting reference. The instrument panel is the kit decal under Micro-Sol and 5 minute clear epoxy was used to simulate glass dials.





Here it is all assembled.



I drilled out the 303 cals. I dont know if I'm going to keep these, or use the Quickboost guns. The Quickboost versions, although probably right on for scale, just seem too small. I'll paint them up as well and decide soon.



I then turned my attention to the bombay. I painted the fuel cells (I think ?) XF-64 Red Brown mixed with XF-7 Flat Red and a touch of XF-1 Flat Black. I then taped these off and sprayed the rest with left over cockpit green color. Here it is after my normal "cockpit treatment". I also painted and added the piece that simulates the cannon breaches.



I turned my attention to the fuselage and closed it up. The nose (forward sections) was a bit finicky and I had a bit of trouble closing the seams over the cockpit. Alot of Tenax and pressure seemed to fix the issue, otherwise, the fuselage fit nice. The wing spars reminded me of their P-47. I also tested the fit of the nose cone........not too shabby, maybe a touch of trimming. The black plastic on this thing has been giving me P-61 flashbacks. One positive is that the black color makes seam work easy with a silver Sharpie (a neat trick). I may start pre-painting all seams black from now on.



I painted the gear bays, assembled them, then mated them to the lower wings. I was a bit worried but these fit great. I "spot welded" these with Tenax to preserve panel lines. Once the major components where assembled and the seams were all filled, I test fitted everything. It looks like this should be fairly painless without wing root issues, but we shall see.



I hope to get the airframe together soon.

Thanks for looking,
Joe

That is looking great Lawdog. I like that cockpit, I do not really see the need for more AM items, especially for a closed build.

A beautiful kit done by a great modeller! I cannot see the need for an aftermarket set looking at your nice cockpit!
The kit is moulded in black plastic?

As usual stunning detail and craftsmanship. Wow, that is nice. How did you handle the IP?

Thanks folks. You're way too kind......

Thomas, yes, for some reason they thought that was a good idea, sort of how they molded their Spitfire MK V trop in mustard yellow. I don't get it. The black reminded me of Monogram's P-61. It did help with seam work after I used a silver Sharpie to highlight them.

Lyle, the IP is the kit decal under Micro Sol. I then added 5 minute epoxy to the gauges

Joe

I'm in for an update. It took me two bench sessions to get the frame together and seams sanded. I had some minor issues, mostly my doing, but overall the fit was good. I was really impressed with how the engine nacelles fit. No putty whatsoever. Strangely I needed putty on the seam where the tail plane elevators met the fuselage. I got tired of looking at the black plastic so I dusted it with Alclad Micro Grey Primer. I still have a few ghost seams that need attention UGH!), but otherwise its ready for paint.




Does anyone know if the radiator flaps moved on these? I saw what appeared to be a hinge at the leading edge so I deflected mine downward ever so slightly.

I hope to start the scheme soon...

Joe

did a quick search and I couldnt find any walkaround pics, but this fella dropped teh radiator flaps on his build




http://kitmaniac.com/site/?p=2437

I like your style. Will follow this one closely!

Some walk arounds F.Y.I.

Your cockpit is just brilliant !

This is a fairly decent Walk-a-round by Kermit Weeks: two parts