Whitey

I'm pleased to present my Tamiya DH Mosquito Mk VI representing MM403, SB-V. 464 Squadron, RAAF, September 1944. The aircraft took part in Operation Jericho, the raid on Amiens Prison on 18th February 1944. The amazing Tamiya kit is a joy to build and I added HGW seatbelts, some resin wheels and tyres, EagleCal Decals, Barracuda Studios cockpit stencils and Master gun barrels to just go that bit extra to make it look swish. I used MRP paint for the exterior surfaces and SMS Interior Green inside the cockpit. My original idea was to keep the cockpit door open but I found that it ruined the fine lines of what is arguably the most beautiful aircraft from WWII, so I closed it up. You can still see plenty of detail through the crystal clear canopy and its exquisite canopy framing. I prefer my models to be complete so no engine detail was added and the cowls closed up after painting the undersides. I tried to represent some of the wear and dirt that this aircraft shows in some AWM photos of her. Burnt Umber and Dark Earth oils were used to stain panels and fuel stains at the filler inlets and to bring out some of the finer details and then dirt stains added using hard pastels scraped off onto a fine brush for exact workings and a wider soft brush for area type stains and dirt. The invasion stripes were carefully measured and masked off to ensure parallel lines and equal widths. Nothing was spared the dirt and grime. Upper surfaces camouflage pattern was sprayed free hand . Overall a fantastic kit of a beautiful that was a dream to build.

That is a beautiful aircraft Eric. I'm looking forward to seeing you do your magic on it.

Looking good mate.

Broncolicous mate.

The RN Corsairs are not at the bottom of Sydney Harbour, but at the bottom of the Tasman Sea, many miles off the coast of Australia.

Count me in for both please guys. I will donate a Revell Hawk T1a. cheers, Peter

Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Thanks for adding me Brad. Matt's time over Iraq was in 2003.

Thanks Gents.

That's it, finished at last. Great looking aircraft. Nice model with some modelling skills required for this early Tamiya 1/32 jet. Mr Colour 305 was the overall FS36118 colour. MRPs colour was too dark and blue for my liking. Decals from Two Bobs. Some Eduard photoetch bits combined with some pieces from the Aires resin cockpit added to the kit cockpit and some additional details scratch built. Seats are from the kit with Eduard steel belts that I am not all that happy with, so might consider replacing them with resin seats with moulded on belts painted up. Lots of Eduard bits around the canopy sills. 5 Eduard Brassin GBU-12's, 6 videoaviation Mk84 slicks, 3 AIM-120 AMRAAMs and 1 AIM-9L Sidewinder make up the weapon load with two external fuel tanks. Wolfpack targeting and navigation pods. The kit only supplies one fuel tank so a quick shout out to LSPers and Peter Gregor responded and sent me another one that he didn't need. Thanks mate. I didn't manage to modify the nose leg, high risk of failure for such a little difference that only aficionados would pick up anyway. I tried using the kit and TwoBobs decals for the slime lights but the curve on the wingtip was too great and I didn't like the colours. I thought that Tamiya XF-76 IJN Green looked pretty close so I used it and wow, looked spot on. Jet pipes are as per the kit with just a few Eduard bits added for some extra detail. Painted with several shades of Alclad and other metalisers brought them to life. I took her to ScaleACT19 early in November and placed Third behind a magnificent Sufa and Supermarine Attacker in Large Scale Jets. Overall I am really happy with my replica of Matt Hall's jet and she takes pride of place in the cabinet.

Very damn cool.

Thanks Don, I forgot to mention the rear fuselage. I used Mr Surfacer - sprayed on and sanded back, and sprayed on and sanded back until they were all gone.

Hi Troy, thanks, but no mate. Struggled for references except for a few museum pieces that could be anything. I was in Seattle a couple of years ago and was super impressed by FHC's example that still flies. Based some of the details on my photos but not sure how much modern work has been done to make it flyable though. Super impressed by its size - it is a big aircraft.

Hi Kev, thanks, yes, no worries.

Just finished the Hobby Boss IL-2M Sturmovik. Overall a really nice kit with very few issues. Added some Eduard photoetch in the cockpit and oil cooler, resin exhaust pipes, Aires wheels, wire brake lines and HGW seatbelts but otherwise out of the box. The trickiest part was the white dive angle markings on the nose. Instead of being one big sheet, each line was individual but connected to the centre and aligning them took some time MRP paints and the decals are from the ICM I-16. I bought Maketar masks but found them too fiddly to get proper consistent alignment with very thin lines at the edges. The Eduard set came with clear windscreen inserts with the alignment markings. I tried fixing them in place with Future - it took a week not to dry, Tamiya X-22 - it didn't look all that flash and in the end settled for some Wing Nut Wings decals - the line between the different aircraft markings on the sheet. Worked a treat. Dirtied up with oils and pastel dust. The tail wheel is fragile and broke off. Ended up drilling out the main leg and inserting a pin. I think it is strong enough. I was fairly concerned about breaking the big cannons which had to be inserted into gondolas and attached to the wing before painting. I cut the barrels off, drilled a suitable hole in each cannon and they just slide in now. Small machine guns were made from brass rod. Ezi line for the aerial. A fun build, highly recommended.