A Separate Little War - Strike Wing Mosquito FB.VI

[Anthony in NZ]

I'm still keeping a close eye on this build

Keep up the great work!

[John1]

2 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

I'm still keeping a close eye on this build

Keep up the great work!

Lol, I give up, what aircraft is that?

 

On an unrelated note, anyone used Flory washes?   I’m thinking about trying them on this model.  

[Anthony in NZ]

1 hour ago, John1 said:

Lol, I give up, what aircraft is that?

 

On an unrelated note, anyone used Flory washes?   I’m thinking about trying them on this model.  

It’s a Mosquito with the F-24 camera mounted in the nose like the Coastal Command ones

[Bob MDC]

Anthony is that an original fairing and what size if the camera port.

This is very interesting as some sources state that only one a/c was equipped for taking cine footage but this a/c was lost in a U Boat attack !!

 

But going over most of the pictures of Banff wing I can find it seems that this camera port was not a one off.

 

Bob

[Anthony in NZ]

7 hours ago, Bob MDC said:

Anthony is that an original fairing and what size if the camera port.

This is very interesting as some sources state that only one a/c was equipped for taking cine footage but this a/c was lost in a U Boat attack !!

 

But going over most of the pictures of Banff wing I can find it seems that this camera port was not a one off.

 

Bob

Yes Bob it is an original.  TE910 (became NZ2336) was flown out to NZ from Standard Motors factory with it fitted.  This Mosquito has only done 80hrs TT. It's pretty unique and Iain Thirsk seems to think it is the only one (nose cap)in existence anymore.  I can set up a separate thread if anyone wants too see more?

 

 

Cheers Anthony

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Anthony in NZ

[Greg W]

8 hours ago, John1 said:

Lol, I give up, what aircraft is that?

 

On an unrelated note, anyone used Flory washes?   I’m thinking about trying them on this model.  

 

Yes, I use Flory washes and think they are great. 

 

A word of caution well heeded, will prevent a common problem with the product.

 

As you know, they are water based. When new and uncontaminated, they work fantastic. However, the pigmented clay will clog up and not distribute evenly if there is the slightest introduction of chemicals introduced by dipping a old brush into a bottle that has been used for anything else, weather it was solvent based or water based (paint or other weathering products).

 

Suggestions:

 

1) Only use dedicated, new brushes that have been purposed for Flory washes only.

 

2) Avoid putting a brush or anything else directly into a bottle of wash. Shake the wash bottle up and pour some into some other container/tiny cup, then load a brush from there. If the wash breaks up and starts to separate, it is reacting to something it doesn't like and find a different clean one. I toasted my first bottle of dark dirt wash by dipping an old brush into it straight away. 

 

Other than that, easy, bullet proof, fun to use.

 

You will like it!

 

Greg

Edited October 16, 2020 by GDW

[John1]

On 10/15/2020 at 7:32 PM, Anthony in NZ said:

It’s a Mosquito with the F-24 camera mounted in the nose like the Coastal Command ones

Thanks Anthony, I guess the perspective threw me off.   What a really unique find, I don't think I've ever seen detailed pictures of this mod before.   Is that going to be installed on a flyable Mossie?     

 

On a separate note - I read on an Avieology web page some references to late war Coastal Command Mosquitoes being fitted with under-wing "AYD / AYF" radar altimeter antennas.   Since my subject fits this category, I was thinking about adding these.  Does anyone have info on what these antennas looked like and where they were mounted on the aircraft?   Haven't been able find any info online. 

[Anthony in NZ]

5 hours ago, John1 said:

Thanks Anthony, I guess the perspective threw me off.   What a really unique find, I don't think I've ever seen detailed pictures of this mod before.   Is that going to be installed on a flyable Mossie?     

 

On a separate note - I read on an Avieology web page some references to late war Coastal Command Mosquitoes being fitted with under-wing "AYD / AYF" radar altimeter antennas.   Since my subject fits this category, I was thinking about adding these.  Does anyone have info on what these antennas looked like and where they were mounted on the aircraft?   Haven't been able find any info online. 

Hmmm, John, you know how to pick the tricky questions!  Terry at Avieology has even asked me the same question several years ago.  I will need to go back through my refs (might take a while) and see.  But from memory, no I dont think you will need to add them.  I think they were only fitted to very very few airframes and possibly only in the TE serial range.  They were a 'T' shaped antenna mounted under the wings, much like the US ones.

 

Cheers Anthony

Edited October 17, 2020 by Anthony in NZ

[Anthony in NZ]

I see Alex has got your question answered over on FB/HR339...saved me a job LOL

 

Cheers Anthony

[John1]

6 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

I see Alex has got your question answered over on FB/HR339...saved me a job LOL

 

Cheers Anthony

That FB page is a wonderful resource, the quality of the work they are doing is simply amazing. 

[John1]

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! 

Edited October 19, 2020 by John1

[nmayhew]

Looks stunning!

 

if you are at all unsatisfied with the stencils over the radiators I can thoroughly recommend HGW wet transfers - for stencils that are too small to mask there is nothing better.

[Troy Molitor]

Stunning is all I can mumble.  Wow.  Love it.  

[Uncarina]

John,

 

Thanks as always for sharing your work, and the heads-up about the Aviaeology decals! There has has to be some kind of fix for overly sticky decals. Would a drop of dishwashing soap improve positioning without sacrificing adhesion? 

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

The build is looking great!

 

Cheers,  Tom