A Separate Little War - Strike Wing Mosquito FB.VI

[Landrotten Highlander]

2 hours ago, Alex said:

I need to be careful, this is typically the stage of a long build where I get into trouble, once I see that I'm getting close to the finish and start rushing.    Must..... resist...... .

Funny, that. For a split second I had an image in my mind of Dobby the house elf in the Harry Potter films when he is about to punish himself.

Did you grasp for a table lamp, or did you go straight to the dressing cabinet.

[Anthony in NZ]

John, superb as always.  I find myself mesmerized by your bomb bay pics, beautiful work my friend!

[John1]

Thanks very much Anthony, I was dreading that portion of the build but it actually was rather enjoyable.   Nice distraction from all the madness that 2020 is throwing at us.

 

Still just doing some small sub-builds.  I completed the cannon bay doors.  Went heavy on the weathering, from the few pics I've seen of the interior of these on the real thing, they got pretty grungy.    Tamiya never ceases to amaze, they included the the tools used to disassemble the cannons as PE parts!

 

Next up is the canopy's interior framework.   Here's a picture of this area on a Mossie being restored.  Note that a lot of the hardware hasn't been mounted yet.  Also note the black padding on the vertical frame.   I assume this was to keep the Navigator from cracking his head on the framework during violent maneuvers.   Not sure if this was a feature of the real thing or just an addition to this warbird.  If anyone has any info, please let me know.   

 

Nice details provided with the kit parts, to this I added the yellow manual dinghy deployment handle and cable, some wiring for the overhead light and I drilled out the lightening holes in the framework.   Sorry for the horrible pictures today, it wasn't very bright out when I took these.  I'll replace this one with a better shot in the near future.

 

The box mounted on the left frame is an IFF control panel, which includes a destruct switch.   Here's a great picture of the real thing, just note that most (all?) of these were finished completely black.  Note also the tan-ish colored bungee cord next to it.  This was actually run from the upper framework to the pilot's seat and assisted with the height adjustment.     I'll be adding that and the wiring coming off the IFF box once I've got the framework installed.   I really like the "clutter" of the Mossie's cockpit.   

 

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

 

 

 

[Uncarina]

Reading your build log, and I’m in Mosquito school! Superb work.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Bobs Buckles]

Sure is a reference guide for future builds.

Cheers!

 

vB 

[Out2gtcha]

Wow, really missed the boat on this one!   I think mainly its because you are using flickr, and my company has blocking software on my lt, that includes a block for flickr, so I cant see the pics when I look in sometimes.

Having looked later last night after work on my own PC, the pics showed up, and low and behold, that is some amazing work!   Looks really terrific, and having this kit in the stash too, I know how many hundreds and hundreds of parts there are to this thing.   Well done! 

[John1]

Thank you Brian / Bob / Tom, I really appreciate the compliments!

 

Aft canopy framework is completed.  I added the remainder of the dingy release cable to the aft section, the wiring for the IFF controller and did some painting touchups.  Like everything else, the parts just click into place.    Just need to add a few more frames to the forward section, and then on to one of the more challenging parts of this build, the removal of the overhead escape hatch from the top of the canopy.  

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I've been surfing the Imperial War Museum's photo archives, been saving a good number of pictures.  It's a great resource if anyone is interested.   Found the pic below and thought it gave a good idea on why these Strike Wing units suffered the high rate of of casualties that they did.    Lot of flak being sent up!

 

Here's another picture that illustrates how close in these aircraft got during their attack runs.   Brave men indeed. 

Note - I am aware that in the pic above, the aircraft are Beaufighters (another subject I'd love to see in 32nd) but I thought the shot was too cool to pass up.

 

Thanks for looking guys! 

[AlbertD]

This is an amazing and epic build. Your work is beautiful.

[John1]

Thank you Albert.

 

Just a mini-update:  Completed the rest of the canopy framework and now that I have some protection around it, added the gunsight.   Fun Fact:  Despite "Ace Maker" gyroscopic gunsights being pretty common at this point of the war, these Mosquitoes were still equipped with the older Mk III fixed-reticle sights.   Supposedly these were more accurate for air to ground strafing and rocket attacks.  

 

Mk III installed.   Tamiya provides a nice little PE sun shield to with this.   Looks like I need to do a bit of touchup on the framework.  

 

Just an overall shot of my Mossie at this stage of the build.  Did I mention that she's a big bird?

 

That's it for now.  Thanks for checking in! 

[Uncarina]

Really nice work!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Biggles87]

Just had a two page catch-up, wonderful!

It’s the first time I’ve seen the internal canopy frame represented on a Mosquito kit, I think it’ll make quite a difference to the finished item.

 

John

[Dragon]

What a fantastic build! Plus learned something of the war I wasn’t aware of. Thanks!

 

Mike

Edited September 26, 2020 by Dragon

[John1]

Thanks very much gents.  Yeah, I'm pretty impressed by T's approach to the canopy.  It should look pretty nice once everything is completed.     Here's a great picture of the real deal.  

Note the light colored cord running from top of canopy to behind the pilot's seat.   This was a bungee that was used to assist with raising the seat.   Typical Mossie feature, simple, lightweight and it works.   I'll be adding this later.   Note the very scruffy finish. Not sure if those dark patches on the wing root are worn Dark Green paint or possibly red dope that was used pretty routinely for repairs, sealing weapon ports, etc.   If anyone out there has detailed pictures of wartime Mossies that show how they weathered (especially the undersides), please feel free to share.

 

Speaking of weathering, I've begun the painting process.   Like all wartime FB.VI's, this aircraft rolled out of the factory in overall Medium Sea Grey with Dark Green disruptive camo on the upper surfaces.   I've started to paint the undersides.   Prior to shooting the grey, I pre-shaded a bit using some old Testor's Panzer Chocolate Brown.  Seems a bit less stark than regular black.  I highlighted access panels, the wing spars and various nooks and crannys.   I then lightly added coats of Medium Sea Grey to get the desired effect.   I'm using Colorcoates paint.  This stuff is the bomb!  Sprays fantastic, is very durable and by all accounts, the accuracy is second to none.     Here is where we are at, still very much a work in progress.   

 

Here's another shot.  Since then, I filled a couple of seams on the fuselage that I didn't catch until painting and lightly toned down a couple of areas previously painted.  I also completed the starboard wing and horizontal stab.   It's quite difficult to paint large single-color models.  The paint is either way to uniform and looks fake or you go to heavy on the weathering and end up with the dreaded "plaid" effect.    Gotta walk a fine line here. 

That's it for now, thanks for looking! 

Edited September 27, 2020 by John1

[Anthony in NZ]

Oh my word...I am in love!

 

Those 2 guys in the Mossie cockpit were a couple of Kiwi's if I remember correctly, but not in a Kiwi Sqn??

 

Yup, Mossies, got pretty dirty and patchy in some areas of Operations, especially on the belly.  Try not to overdo it, but also dont miss the tailplane undersurfaces as they got a blackened area behind the engines too.

 

Keep up the great work 

[John1]

17 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Oh my word...I am in love!

 

Those 2 guys in the Mossie cockpit were a couple of Kiwi's if I remember correctly, but not in a Kiwi Sqn??

 

Yup, Mossies, got pretty dirty and patchy in some areas of Operations, especially on the belly.  Try not to overdo it, but also dont miss the tailplane undersurfaces as they got a blackened area behind the engines too.

 

Keep up the great work 

Thanks Anthony!  I'm trying to find good pictures that show the weathering of these birds in detail.   I know the Merlins were pretty big oil leakers, plan on adding oil stains, etc.  All that weathering will be done after final assembly.   Right now I'm just doing some limited painting because I'm putting off what will probably be the most challenging part of this build - cutting open the canopy.