madmusky

So, here goes, i finally got this one done.. it is covered in a 15 part, yes 15 part video build on my YT channel.
 
I feel this is the best kit I have ever built, the plastic is a dream to work with, the fit is simply incredible, decals are gorgeous and the clear parts are some of the best I've ever seen. The only downside is a couple of small errors in the instructions and not too good colour guides, but I think these have been done by Ammo?? I made a separate video covering these errors.
 
 
 




 
Thanks for looking..
 
Nige

Sadly after 17 years on eBay , my observation is the only thing they care about are their fees , and occasionally fake products if they get into the mainstream media attention .
 
Bid up your own auction increase the sale price ?...increase the fees payable to eBay  ... and they will object because ? 
 
Bit like the endless Chinese sellers pretending to be in your country ....order something........... it turns up 2 months later instead of a coupla days , the only person loosing out is you, and eBay don't care about that much either .... they still got paid .
 
Get messed around by some idiot on something you are selling ....can't leave bad feedback now ...again eBay still get their fees . 
 
I sell models on eBay , as do a few on here , and luckily have only been ripped off once with a seller claiming "damaged I want a full refund" with not eveidence  ....do eBay care....will they investigate or just auto refund  .......I sure you can guess the answer . 
 
eBay lost it way for me some years ago , and the fees are getting higher and higher compared to when I started, and it's becoming a "Yangste" rival with lower standards and service. 

I reduced the size of the part in my opening post so it would amply fit. But, when installing the gunsight now the windscreen would again NOT fit, touching the gunsight. I simply removed and discarded the aforementioned part and just installed the gunsight. The windscreen was masked inside and out, painted, and I installed it to get past this debacle. Life is too short. Not very serious, not much can be seen. I have strong doubts anyone at Eduard tested their set though...
 

 
On to the Eduard flap inside detail. I removed existing detail according to the instructions, and while at it I thinned the trailing
 

 
Closed up it looks like this:
 

 
Side by side the difference is obvious and worth it IMHO.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

So it's truly amazing how much modeling you can get down when you are home on a "sick" day (I'm sick of work).  KK-Q now has all of her markings.  I had previously sprayed Tamiya X-22 gloss coat (2 coats actually) and gave it a day to dry.  This stuff is amazing, so much better than Future or anything else I've used over the years.   Unlike a lot of gloss coats, this stuff works best when you apply "wet" coats.  If you go light, it tends to just give you a satin finish.  
 
Decals are a mix of Aviaeology (national markings, squadron codes, serial numbers) and Barracuda stenciling.   The Barracuda markings went down extremely well, as their stuff typically does.   I didn't use any of their markings on the upper surfaces except for the prominent radiator keep off warnings on the inner wings.  As best as I can tell, when they sprayed the dark grey over the original paintwork, they didn't bother to restore the dozens of servicing stencils, etc.  These were simply over painted.  I took a guess and kept the radiator warnings since a ground crewman who wasn't paying attention could walk on that area and seriously damage the sheet metal.   If anyone knows for sure whether other stencils were applied to the upper surfaces, let me know ASAP please!   Speaking of the radiator warning decals, those were large decals with a great deal of clear film.   It took multiple tries to get them to set up properly.  After they dried from the initial application, I went back with Micro Sol and worked on various bubbles, letting them soften and then pushing down with a clean cloth.   Once dry again, I used a new Xacto blade to carefully slit the remaining bubbles open and then used another application of Micro Sol.   Just have to be patient and keep working at it. 
 
Regarding the Aviaeology decals - The good news is that they are thin, strong and when dry, you can't seen any carrier film.   The bad news?   I've never seen decals that instantly adhere to a surface like these do. Micro Set actually made it worse but even with copious amounts of water, these things are quite difficult to apply. I ended up holding the decal while still attached to the paper with a pair of locking tweezers just above the area on the model it's going on and while keeping my one hand as steady as possible, I tried to quickly slide the decal into place on the model.  You've got about 5 seconds to get it exactly lined up, otherwise, you are pretty much out of luck.  I had issues with one of the "K"s but thankfully, the sheet has spares for that particular letter, so I could remove the set decal and replace it. Unfortunately, I also had issues with one of the serial numbers.  No replacements for that one so I'm not quite sure what my next step is.    I was truly nervous applying the Q's because there were no spares on the sheet and I'm pretty sure this sheet is currently sold out.  If I botched those letters, I would be SOL.    Anyway, the codes went on ok.  Note that the originals were on a bit of a slant, it wasn't an error on my part. 
 
Here are a couple of pics.

 

 
Anyway, that's enough fun for one day.  I'm off to have a nice cold German Dunkel on my deck and enjoy a beautiful New England fall afternoon.
 
Thanks for looking! 

Not much time for modeling this week but I've made a bit of progress -
 
Added the flap hinges.  Like everything else on this kit, they have great detail and fit perfectly.  Flaps are now fixed in place.  Like the bomb bay doors, they are pretty delicate so I need to be very careful handling the model.  
 
I also added the cowling parts for the port engine.   I'm only going to have the starboard engine on display (too lazy to super detail both Merlins) so these panels were glued in place.   Could have left them unglued, they snap in place perfectly,using a combination of tabs and magnets but I opted to glue them.  They were a bit difficult to get in place around the exhaust stacks but it all worked out.  
 
 
On the subject of exhaust stacks, note the bare aluminium area underneath the stacks.    These Mosquitoes were delivered from the factory with a shrouded exhaust to eliminate glare during night operations.   In many Mosquito units that were flying primarily daylight ops, these shrouds were eventually removed to reduce drag a bit.  When removed, it was noted that the area under the shroud was never painted.  Seems like they added these and then painted the airframe.   It's a neat little feature that adds a bit of color.  Tamiya thoughtfully provides silver decals for these patches but I opted to do it like the originals.   I sprayed the general area dull aluminum, tack glued the shrouds in place and then painted the camo colors.   Once done, I popped the shrouds off and viola!   
 
Here's a nice picture that illustrates what I'm referring to.  Also a good illustration on weathering and on how tough these aircraft were.   It should be noted that the Strike Wings flew a mix of Beaufighters and Mosquitoes.   The Beau pilots didn't think the Mosquitoes were as durable as their aircraft but in return, the Mossie pilots got an aircraft that was substantially faster.  Too each their own but regardless, both aircraft suffered heavy losses due to the nature of the missions they flew.
 
That's it for now, thanks for checking in.  

Thanks very much guys!  Here's my latest progress - I've added the trailing wire antenna reel to the floor, right next to the Navigator.  This nautical looking device allowed the deployment of a 50' HF antenna wire behind the aircraft.   This wasn't used on every Mosquito variant but since the external antenna housing is visible on the real thing, I'm going to assume they had the cable reel as well.    Only addition I made was to the handle knob.   The kit part is just a nub of plastic.   I cut that off and replaced it with a very small section of styrene rod capped with a sliver of larger diameter rod for the knob.   
 
I also added the Nav's oxygen hose.   Most of the time, this hose clips neatly to the right sidewall but in some pictures it's laying loosely.   I'm going to assume this aircraft had a broken bracket and the hose was just left on the Nav's seat between missions.  It adds a nice bit of clutter I think.   I sourced the hose from the pilot figures that come in the kit.  Tamiya thoughtfully includes the oxygen masks as separate parts so it was quite easy.  I'll be doing the same thing for the pilot's hose later on in the build. 
 
Aside from that, I've added some wiring behind the Nav's armor plate and rear decking.   These areas will not be extremely visible when the model is complete so my approach is to add enough to make it look realistic from the viewing angle but I didn't see any reason to superdetail this area.  Some modelers still go all out in areas like this, more power to them!
 
Lastly, I carved out some openings on the pilot's rudder pedals.  To be honest, I kind of botched this surgery but given that it will not be completely visible from the viewing angles, it's going to look fine.    
 
Note the cable reel assembly.  
 
 
By the way, that brass "plunger' on the rear deck that I mentioned is the crew's oxygen feed regulator.
 
 
Those "rough" rudder pedals.  I used a sharp No. 2 pencil for replicating worn paint.  I'm finding this to be more realistic than dry brushing with silver.  It leaves a nice realistic sheen.
 
 
That's it for now, thanks for looking! 

Work continues on the forward cannon bay bulkhead.   Using the picture posted above as my guide, I added various hydraulic and pneumatic lines using stretched sprue and small diameter copper wire.  Retaining brackets were made from scrap PE.    The two engine oil tanks seemed to get pretty beat up in some pictures I've seen of the real thing, so I used the hairspray technique to replicate a very scratched up finish.   Last up was the aluminum hydraulic reservoir.  Only change to this part was that I carved out the solid supports underneath the tank.  Still have a bit of work to do this area but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.  Again, I wasn't trying to replicate every single line and fitting, just to make the area look cluttered like the original.  Hope you guys like it so far! 
 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking! 

More cockpit work...  Added a few details to the "shelf" aft of the pilot's seat.   These include wires running from the small oil dilution panel that was positioned right next to the Nav's seat and a cockpit heating control.  This was made from a length of plastic rod and some small bits of scrap plastic and PE.   See below:
 
Here's another view of the deck, note I added the pilot's harness locking cable.
 
I added a couple of Barracuda placards to the fuel control panel located conveniently behind the Nav's left elbow (pretty hard to see in these pics):
 
And just a couple of views of the cockpit with the Nav's seat dry fitted.  I also added the first aid kit under the pilot's seat.and those weird yellow circles that the Brits insisted on painting on all their aircraft armor plating (kit decals).   
 
 
 
That's it for now, thanks for looking!

These are quite handy, especially the last one with technical drawings of the systems.
 

These are quite handy, especially the last one with technical drawings of the systems.
 

These are quite handy, especially the last one with technical drawings of the systems.
 

These are quite handy, especially the last one with technical drawings of the systems.
 

Some more photos, or it didn't happen - right? 
 
Interior 'blanking' on auxiliary doors:
 

 

 
Some additional weight - probably overkill...
 

 
Fuselage has now been drying overnight in a warm place - and has now had all the joints sanded back - remarkably straightforward as the kit fits together so well:
 

 

 
Intake ring and tail pipe fairing test fitted:
 

 
Jet pipe fairing has had superglue applied to the visible internal joints (it's constructed from two halves) - this will be sanded back later and fitted to the fuselage.
 
However - an earlier post on this thread and a few reviews of this kit when it was released have pointed out the internal shape of the intake ring can be improved:
 

 
You can see the step in the above image that needs blending with the rear end of the intake ring.
 
My plan (if I could find my Milliput) is to blend in some epoxy putty on either side of the ring - cover the intake section already on the fuselage with cling film - and push the intake ring into position - with the epoxy putty still soft.
 
This should mean the main intake section acts as a mould so that the sculpted epoxy putty on the ring matches the top and bottom flats in the main intake section perfectly - at least that's the idea - *if* I could find my *@!&*+!! Milliput! 
 
Will remove the intake ring again after a few hours - as soon as the Epoxy Putty starts going off - but not hard.
 
I'm confided I'll then need to do some more sanding and shaping - before fitting the intake ring to the fuselage.
 
More soon - if I can find my Milliput... 
 
#frustration 
 
Iain

Some nice pictures here, but when based at RAF Leuchars, good for seeing how worn they got.
http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?13611
 
Will follow your build with interest as i was planning on doing the same with my Mossie but an early FII (maybe no Gee fitted) or 3E or 3H.
 
Darren
 
 

Some nice pictures here, but when based at RAF Leuchars, good for seeing how worn they got.
http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?13611
 
Will follow your build with interest as i was planning on doing the same with my Mossie but an early FII (maybe no Gee fitted) or 3E or 3H.
 
Darren
 
 

Some nice pictures here, but when based at RAF Leuchars, good for seeing how worn they got.
http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?13611
 
Will follow your build with interest as i was planning on doing the same with my Mossie but an early FII (maybe no Gee fitted) or 3E or 3H.
 
Darren
 
 

Thats why i posted those pictures, the intake faces are not larger on British Phantoms, but larger further back due to the Spey engine being bigger. 
 
Darren

I think Derek did. See post #46, not much bigger. The wheels were the same as the navy ones. 

The school holidays are upon us now so the BUFF has been seeing a little action...
 
I've not been happy with the rear turret set up, and I feel the kit's parts don't accurately resemble the real aircraft. Please excuse the terrible photo here (quick snap with the phone camera that I didn't realise was so out of focus) but as you can see...
 
IMG_1127 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
... it's not even close to the real deal...
 
Tail Turret by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
(Used for illustrative purposes only)
 
So, it was out with the hacksaw, and I removed the kit-supplied turret and began by building up the basic underlying structure with some scrap plastic card and some brass tubing for the gun housing:
 
IMG_1135 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
This was then all blended with filler, and sanded to shape. I then added the radar domes from some scrap 500lb bomb noses as the kit parts were too small:
 
DSC_0172 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
Pretty happy with that - we'll see what it looks like under some primer in due course.
 
As I explained in my earlier update, the kit panel lines are rather inconsistent and they've all been filled and an initial coat of primer applied. I've now begun to scribe my own panel detail onto the model - here's the nose:
 
DSC_0179 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
DSC_0160 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
Undersides:
 
DSC_0168 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
DSC_0177 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
The mid-section join has disappeared which is a bonus:
 
DSC_0181 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
I've begun working on the spoilers - vanes still to be added:
 
 
DSC_0174 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
She's looking a bit of a mess at the moment, but I can assure to that progress is being made:
 
DSC_0158 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr
 
Until next time,
 
Tom

Well it’s finally finished!  Overall a really enjoyable build.  A great kit with some fit issues but excellent detail and brilliant value for money. I had to work quite hard on the scratch building and re scribing some panel details as I’m not a natural builder.  Aftermarket was obviously the engine and also brass machine gun barrels.  I should probably have used resin wheels. And I think Andy  (monthebiff) mentioned seat belts and I regret not putting them in now but at the time I was pushing the build on and didn’t have any to hand and didn’t want to wait.  What next? Well the airfix hellcat is only a week away!
cheers
Matt













 

AND SOME MORE










Thanks for looking!!

I've been wanting to build this one for some time now but when I saw Model Monkey had been working on 3-D printed cockpit and tail plane update sets I decided it was time take the plunge and dust this kit down. When my update parts arrived I have to say I was super happy with the quality of these 3-D printed parts far far better than any I had seen before. I have always wanted to build a RCAF coastal command machine with a full complement of rockets so I also ordered the Aviaeology "Canadians in Coastal Command # 1 "decal set as well. 
 
  

 
Very impressed with the packaging from Model Monkey, everything carefully bubble wrapped and in perfect condition on reaching me.
 

 
So first things first I will carefully remove the cockpit tub from its printing blocks and check the fit between the fuselage halves.
 

 

 

 
As you can see, the quality and detail of the 3-D printed part is pretty flawless but needs some careful work to remove the tree from the main part. So with a quite day at home planned I'm looking foward to start breathing some new life in to this old kit!
 
Regards. Andy

Hello all,
 
Tamiya’s masterpiece Corsair. The best kit I’ve ever gotten my sticky mitts on. 
 
Grey Matter engine bay and various additions - see the build log for details.
 
Thanks for looking in 
 
 
Guy
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Hey folks,
I'm normally a lurker here, I don't tend to post outside of my regular sites just read other peoples stuff. But I've been told I should post this over here so here I am, cap in hand showing you my finished bird. It's out the box and yes I'm fully aware of all the shortcomings of the kit, Davis Wing, Turrets yardy yar etc etc  
I've put Master Model Barrels on it and some RB belts, not that you can see them, but other than that she's El Naturel
Finished in Alclad, Gunze and Ushchi metal powders, weathered with Mig products.
Thanks for looking and be gentle.........
Gary