I started a new aircraft build yesterday. It's one that's been in my stash for many years, the old 1/48 Monogram Mosquito. My instructions show a latest copyright date of 1992 and the earliest shown is 1965. The kit is famous (uh, notorious?) for its main flaws; a tail fin that's too tall and a fuselage that's too narrow, not to mention the rather atrocious cockpit. I've decided that I want to build a model as quickly as I can manage and without any modification at all. I really need a good, old OOB build that can be finished in a timely manner and this Mosquito seems to be a fair candidate. The main issues I anticipate are the multi-paned canopy and the attachment of the main gear. It appears that they will need to be installed from above, before building the wing and attaching it to the fuselage, like those on my AMT Tigercat had to be done. Somewhere along the way, years ago, I did start this one by cutting off the bomber nose and opening the main gear bays. I swear, I don't
even remember doing that so it must've been a long time ago!
Yesterday, I sprayed some interior green, aluminum for the gear legs, and primed the tires/wheels. Oh, and due to the very sparse cockpit accommodations, this one will feature an aircrew.
One can see the bomb/pylon halves there too. They haven't been started yet.
Gear doors and hinges:
wing and fuselage green areas:
Tires/wheels:
The aircrew, primed in white for now. They will next get a coat of flat black, followed by a white "highlight" coat, then colors!
One dude has a nasty stomach wound that will need patching up!
Do those guys look Hebrew to you?
Some small bits:
Main landing gear:
Everything painted so far will need weathering and detail painting next. The instrument panel is primed in white for the first step in finishing it:
I've decided on a paint scheme for this Mossie but I'm still trying to round up the appropriate decals. To prevent spending any additional money on decals, I can probably cobble-up something out the decal spares box.
The copyright date stamped inside the wing half:
Hang in there for some more progress soon! Thanks for your interest and let me hear from ya!
