1/48 Tamiya Mosquito B Mk IV in captured markings

[Kahunaminor]

The light and dark at the end of the tunnel! I over coated the decals with Testors gloss enamel topcoat (by mistake) and got a lovely shiny finish. I then mucked it up with Promodeller wash, dark dirt on the green (and engine nacelle sides) and light dirt on the yellow before removing it with a plethora of cotton buds (Q tips for our colonial readers) moistened with water:

 

 

The finished was Dullcoat lacquer through the back up Runway 13 airbrush and then collecting all the bits and bobs for final assembly. At this stage I was really wanting to tear the masking off but I walked away for a couple of hours:

 

 

 

 

Eduard have you remove the fore and aft bomb bay doors before adding the three PE hinges. Disregard their advice and leave them. Here I have replaced the plastic with some evergreen strips. This will allow me to attach the doors more securely and cover the little holes in the doors where the plastic Tamiya provides would fit:

 

 

Who was I kidding? After two agonising hours wait, I peeled off the canopy masks and attached the exhausts. I was disappointed to find a large thumb print on the glazing, which was thankfully on the exterior. So again judicious use of a cotton bud and some elbow grease removed most of that:

 

 

Despite my best efforts, some dust and yellow overspray got inside the fuselage. The dust was mainly on the cockpit roof glazing so I could actually remove that by carefully inserting a microbrush. Alas the yellow had migrated to the front starboard side of the bomb aimers glass. All attempts to reach it have proven unsuccessful so far:

 

 

 

The cracked window detracts but not much I can do:

 

 

 

There is still a fair bit of work to do on the underside, attaching bomb bay, gear doors and other bits of tiny PE. I also have some touch ups to do and maybe some more polishing of the canopies and some Future.

 

Regards,

[LSP_Kevin]

Looks great, Kent! Much respect on your matt coat, too, dude. I haven't been happy with the results I've been getting lately, so it's time to try some new products I think.

 

Kev

[Kahunaminor]

Looks great, Kent! Much respect on your matt coat, too, dude. I haven't been happy with the results I've been getting lately, so it's time to try some new products I think.

 

Kev

Thanks buddy,

I have been happy with Testors Dull Lacquer out of the bottle for a while. I am going to get some of the new AK Ultraflat I see some of the guys have been talking about. The gloss enamel out of a rattle can really surprised me though. The best gloss I have seen for a while.

 

Regards,

Edited January 8, 2016 by Kahunaminor

[Out2gtcha]

Looks GREAT so far! The weathering and flat really put it over the top. 

 

 

 

Thanks buddy,
I have been happy with Testors Dull Lacquer out of the bottle for a while. I am going to get some of the new AK Ultraflat I see some of the guys have been talking about. The gloss enamel out of a rattle can really surprised me though. The best gloss I have seen for a while.

Regards,

 

 

Im a BIG known lover of the MM line of lacquer clears!  Their flat is pretty dang flat, and dries as bombproof as any clear out their, and as you have discovered, their ultra gloss (Testers or MM) line work VERY well.

[Kahunaminor]

Kent,

 

Very nice workmanship indeed. It looks excellent from here.

Sorry that you had a little bit of glitch with the dust.

 

Have you tried using a Q-Tip slightly damo, to remove the dust...

 

Still looks AWESOME

 

Keep up the good work

Thanks matey,

 

I trust all is a bit dryer in your area?

 

I did have a go but the difficulty is bending the Q tip shaft to reach the front without causing mayhem in the cockpit area. I will have another attempt before I write off the idea.

 

Regards,

[Guest]

How the he'll did I miss this? Just love it! So different....Harv

[Kahunaminor]

And that's a wrap!

Calling this one finished today. The wheel bay covers proved an absolute nightmare to fix using only the Eduard PE. I actually managed to drop two doors and lose all but one of the tiny PE hinges, so I have only affixed the four rear hinges...the front ones cannot be seen anyway. I have also included the retraction lines out of Ezi line. The bomb bay was comparatively simple and all the other lower fuselage parts went on without a hitch:

 

 

 

 

 

I will have to live with the dust in the interior as there was no getting it out:

 

 

I also managed to break the pitot so a small piece of staple was pressed into service:

 

 

Overall an enjoyable build, unusual for its scheme and one (of many) rescued from the Shelf of Procrastination:

 

 

Thanks for following along and the encouragement given along the way.

 

Regards,

[LSP_Kevin]

That really looks terrific, Kent! Did I miss the part about why there are no props?

 

Kev

[Kahunaminor]

Thanks Kev,

I did to and fro the props and spinners. The reference photos I have show no props or spinners. In fact, from what I am led to believe, is in a far better condition than the actual aircraft. Apparently it was rebuilt out of a crashed airframe. Jennings indicated the MLG was actually mostly absent and merely held up by steel rods. I claim this one under "builder's artistic licence".

 

Regards,

Edited January 20, 2016 by Kahunaminor

[Out2gtcha]

Neat!   My OCD/ADD/AMS would prevent me from keeping the spinners and props off, no matter how accurate.    Same reason I cant put asymmetric load outs on my models!

 

This one was a treat to watch, and turned out really nice!  Super unusual scheme, and the end result is really cool looking. 

[ClumsyDude]

Looks really good Kent. I particularly like the weathering on the nacelles.

 

Jim

[Kahunaminor]

Neat!   My OCD/ADD/AMS would prevent me from keeping the spinners and props off, no matter how accurate.    Same reason I cant put asymmetric load outs on my models!

 

This one was a treat to watch, and turned out really nice!  Super unusual scheme, and the end result is really cool looking.

 

I am hearing you! I actually constructed and painted them for a look see.

 

Regards,

[ClumsyDude]

Is it, strictly speaking, inaccurate to put the props and spinners on? You might not have any photos that show the aircraft with them on, but to me it's not an unreasonable assumption that the Germans flew the aircraft at some point.

 

Of course, we all have our own standards for "accurate", and they're the only ones that matter. Either way, I like the build.

 

Jim

[Kahunaminor]

Is it, strictly speaking, inaccurate to put the props and spinners on? You might not have any photos that show the aircraft with them on, but to me it's not an unreasonable assumption that the Germans flew the aircraft at some point.

Of course, we all have our own standards for "accurate", and they're the only ones that matter. Either way, I like the build.

Jim

Thanks Jim,

 

I would concur with you but (and my OCD, AMS is screaming) from my research it was never able to be made airworthy due to the damage sustained in the forced landing. The LW had other airframes which they may have flown. It seems silly to go to the trouble of snagging one not to do so if it could be made airworthy. My build would be in a more airworthy state than the original but the lack of spinners and props helps make it more unique. I may revisit the decision if my inner child screams too much but for the moment it's time to move on. Thanks for the comments, I enjoy getting the chance to discuss my builds (I don't think I am alone there).

 

Regards,

[ClumsyDude]

Ok, that's pretty convincing I guess. As you say, it makes it unique as well. I find the research is one of the things that makes a build so satisfying, so I completely get the need to go with it.

 

Cheers

Jim