A Separate Little War - Strike Wing Mosquito FB.VI

[John1]

So on to some modeling updates.   First off is the main cockpit floor assembly.  The floor itself was plywood, with a brown primer to protect against fuel and hydraulic leaks from all the lines and fittings present in this area.   To simulate wear and tear on the floor, I went with the "hairspray" technique.   Still have a great deal of additional detail painting and weathering to do, keep that in mind.    You can also make out the "sanitary container" under the pilot's seat area.  Unlike the US who simply piped the pilot's relief tube to a port in the bottom of the fuselage, the Brits were considerate enough to have a container for this.  No peeing over Nazi Germany for Mosquito pilots!   Lastly, note the floor boards.   I've seen a good number of models that replicate these as hardwood.  From what I've read, they were actually made of a phenolic resin material called Bakelite (this is the same stuff used to make the seats on certain Spitfire variants). It was a pretty tough material, so I'll just add a few scuff marks / dirt and that will be it.  Noted a bit of touchup painting needed in this area, I'll get that done prior to the next update. 

 

Next up is the Nav's back armor.   I replaced the solid handle on the upper section but that was it for extra details.  Note the awkward position of the fuel shutoff valves I mentioned in the post above.  So much for ergonomics!   I'll be adding some decals from the Barracuda cockpit set to this area as well.  The upper part is clear, Tamiya thoughtfully provides masks for both sides of the Nav's  "porthole".  

 

Underside of the pilot's seat:

 

And lastly a few pics of the full assembly, just note that the pilot's back armor is simply pressed in place.  Got some touchup needed around the crash axe holder I see.

 

 

 

Anyway, that's it for now, thanks for looking!

[turbo]

Nice work on the pit John, love the hairspray chipping effect on the floor.

 

8 hours ago, John1 said:

Hi Turbo, nice subject for your build.  I like the heavy weathering and the two (I assume) battle damage repairs on the horizontal stabilizer.   Does the Airfix kit come with the RP's?  On a bit of background, the RP launchers shown above were removed in early 45.  The configuration shown didn't allow Coastal Command to mount the large 100 gal slipper tanks and they desperately needed the extra range.  The solution was to develop a dual launcher that could mount two RP's per rail.   This freed up space for the slipper tanks as well. 

 

Thanks for the info on the RPs. The Airfix kit does come with them but they're not the greatest so I purchased these from Master Models.

 

[John1]

And work progresses...   I completed the map storage locker.  Underneath this was the storage area for the navigator's chest pack parachute (the pilot had a regular seat-type chute).  Tamiya provides the chute molded into it's storage compartment.  I doubt the chute would have been left in an empty plane but I'm too lazy to chisel it out.  My thought is that the Nav put it in the aircraft and then jumped out for a last smoke before the mission.   Still can't imagine having to bail out of this aircraft, at least the pilot was already physically attached to his chute!

 

Only added detail was the carrying strap to the chute, which I made from scrap PE.   I'm planning on going back and adding a folded map to this assembly as well.  Here are a few pictures, note again that the pilot's armor assembly is just dry fitted in place.  Still much more to add for detail bits and paintwork.  Sorry for the crappy pictures, it was pretty overcast today.

 

 

 

[jenshb]

Nice work on the cockpit, and the worn effect on the floor looks very convincing.

 

Jens

[John1]

Making a bit of progress with the seats.  They were painted a dark Hunter Green, per the originals.  I then added the harnesses.   Tamiya has "decent" PE harnesses but honestly, their stuff is pretty thick and rigid.   I could have gone with a cloth harness set but the thought of trying to assemble 20 microscopic PE buckles and clasps just didn't work for me.   I opted for Eduard's "Steel" set. Not sure why they call it Steel the material is very thin and easy to work with.   Price was reasonable, all in all, highly recommended.  

 

I always try to position the harness in a natural way.  Most times, they aren't neatly folded straight up and down, as you see on some models.  Adds a bit of life to the cockpit if you ask me.  I also added the fire extinguisher and flare cartridges. 

 

Anyway, a few pics of my progress (again note that the assemblies are only press fitted:

 

 

 

 

 

For reference, here's a shot of an aircraft undergoing restoration.  The extinguisher is the real thing, obviousy a bit more weathered than one mounted on a 1945-vintage Mossie.   Also note the flare cartridges are empty, fired examples.

 

That's it for now, as always, thanks for looking!

[Anthony in NZ]

Beautifully done John!  I am enjoying each update

Thanks for taking the time

 

Cheers Anthony

 

Edit: Love the raised armrest!!!

Edited April 8, 2020 by Anthony in NZ

[John1]

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!

[monthebiff]

Damn that's nice, superb work.

 

Regards. Andy 

[John1]

Still plugging away on the cockpit assembly.  Added a couple more bits.  First off is somesort of a "plunger" next to the NAV.  I have no idea what it does but it's yet another device the poor guy has to twist around to actuate.   I also added another cockpit heating lever, on the NAV's right side.    Fun fact - due to the radiators being in close proximity on either side of the cockpit, Mosquito crews often flew in light weight clothing, even in winter.   The cockpit got pretty hot.  

 

I'm sorry for the horrible quality of these pictures, it's the best I can do guys! 

 

 

Also, I started adding a bit of detail to the forward cannon bay.  Here is what the real thing looks like, this nice picture is courtesy of the NZ Mosquito restoration FB page I mentioned previously.  

A is an immersion switch that would automatically release the dingy in the event of ditching, B-E are various hydraulic and pneumatic manifolds and F&G are controls for the cannons.

 

Tamiya provides the basic parts but absolutely none of the wires/tubing.   This is going to be a good bit of work.  I don't think I'll replicate ever single line but I need to add enough to busy up this area.   Regarding those manifolds, Tamiya molded them solid to the bulkhead.  I carved them out to make them look like separate parts.  

 

That's it for tonight, thanks for looking guys! 

[John1]

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! 

Edited April 13, 2020 by John1

[Anthony in NZ]

"Like it so far"

Love it mate, cracking work buddy!  Thanks for the inspiration with your lovely and added details

 

Cheers Anthony

[turbo]

Lovely detail John! Bookmarking for when I ever get around to my 1/24 Mossie! 

[John1]

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! 

[jenshb]

No matter how detailed a kit is, one can always add more...

[Anthony in NZ]

John, that is awesome buddy!  You are making me want to get my Tamiya kit back out and work on it again.  I was converting it into a dual control T-43 as used by the RNZAF....

 

Must refocus though on this 24th beast first

 

Keep up the great work and loving your added details.

 

Cheers Anthony