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Mosquito MK 39


Moonraker 1

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Well apart from the immortal Spitfire which I've built the entire Tamiya 1/32 range of different marks. My other passion is the De Havilland Mosquito which again I built the 1/32 MK VI Tamiya version which was an absolute joy to build

 

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I wanted a little bit more of a challenge so keeping to the Mosquito theme I decided to have a go and 'kit bash' a 1/24 scale Airfix Mosquito MK VI and turn it into the MK39. After doing a fair bit of research I can understand why  there is not a current conversion available for this in any scale, as it's not really a 'looker'. Once I had some basic plans I scaled them up to 1/24 scale on my PC ready or some surgery!!.

Getting the kit is not much of an issue as I already have one in my stash (haven't we all;) and so it it was a case of converting it. Sounds easy.... NOT! I'll have to change the engines, props to 4 bladed, canopy, reposition the side entrance door, scratch build an entire new nose section and add a cupola and detail the interior for the winch operator.

First thing is to drill out the hole for the rear Cupola. Old rule of measure twice cut once.

 

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Once cleaned up I was quiet satisfied with the result and was in the right place!

 

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Further adaption of the fuselage is required as the side reinforcement strip on the port side was removed on the MK39 and was transferred to either side of the rear fuselage to where the fourth crew member exit hatch is (Yes this Mozzie had a crew of 4!) 

 

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The next was to fit the front side door and fill in the seams 

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Well that's all for now and hopefully this will work out. If not I will need to get a bigger 'spares' box!

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

MK 39 Mosquito Part 2 

I removed the seams for the side cockpit entrance door and my next job was to start detailing the interior rear fuselage. Reference for this was from  the Airframe and Miniature book No.8 on the Mosquito (Bomber and Photo-Reconnaissance). This was built up from my spares box together with some 'real' wood to make the box section that went along the port side and covered the control cables going to the tail. 

 

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The  tubular item behind the crew seat which looks like a porter loo, is actually used to deploy the target shoot! (but I suppose can be used in emergencies ;)

 

Next in the build was the cockpit area which I planned to change the crew entrance which was easy enough as I used insulating tape which I cut using a template and sticking down. With a coat of Tamiya XF71 (interior green) it made a convincing representation of one.

 

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The other 'hurdles' which I had to tackle was the MK 39 was converted from a MK XVI so the instrumentation was not the same as a MK VI. Luckily as the Airfix kit gives you X2 different instrument panels I managed to cut out the ones I needed and re-positioned. For the instrument panel Airfix print the dials on the front of the clear acetate and so it does not give that clear glass shine. So on all the dials I used my Waldron punch tool and cut out small acetate discs and secured them with Humbrol Clear. This gave a very realistic 'glint' when the light hits them.   

 

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The same changes and modifications were done to the Starboard instruments and switches.

 

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I had to also cast a another radiator control lever as the MK VI had only one (well this kit did anyway). This was not an issue as I have a product called 'blue stuff' which is casting substance which softens in hot water (and is blue!). Once soft I just push the part in and then remove. Once cool I fill with putty and when dry I have a twin!     

 

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The port side too had to be change as was different to the MK XVI although it was nice to see they had not moved the throttle control . I added lead wire of differing diameters for all the wiring to all control boxes and switches. Before I was going to close the fuselage up I had to cut and fill the front of the cockpit aperture as again the MK 39 has a bomber canopy not a fighter. For this I scaled up on the plan view of a MK XVI canopy and fitted across the cockpit aperture. This gave me the  front point to cut and the areas that needed filling.

 

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I followed the front section of the windscreen  with tape which when marked gave me the exact templates for the plastic card. 

 

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Once the plastic card was cut to size I glued this in place and ensured the underside was sanded and painted as I will concentrate on the outside when the fuselage is closed up

 

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The front cockpit was finished off with a scratch built pilots control stick as that is different to the fighter version. As Airfix does not supply seat belts I ordered a set of cloth ones from HGW Models.

 

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Before I buttoned up the two halves of the fuselage I fitted the tail wheel spigot. For this I'm using a white metal undercarriage as I'm thinking with all this adapting this is going to be quite a heavy model!

 

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Now the time had come to join the halves together.Firstly I glued the cockpit to the starboard side as I had to thread some more wiring to the instrument panel.

 

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Once that was dry I glued the mating surfaces and pressed home using lots of heavy duty tape to get a strong bond with the Tamiya adhesive. I will be leaving this alone now for a couple of days just to ensure it dries fully. Then onto some of the more challenging parts of this build 

 

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To be continued.....Till then stay safe.

 

 

 

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On 7/16/2020 at 9:08 PM, Moonraker 1 said:

I can understand why  there is not a current conversion available for this in any scale, as it's not really a 'looker'.

 

I see you are a master of understatement.  Welcome to the forum, and what an entrance - watching with interest.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Part 3 The saga continues!

Now the fuselage halves are glued together it was now a process of enhancing some of the moulded  detail on this kit. I started with the dingy compartment which was far too recessed so I filled this and corrected with some metal sheet together with the circular rear aperture cover and supporting rib (which for some reason Airfix left off!)

 

 

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Once that was done I concentrated on the wing section as in my mind a kit of this size needs detachable wings as I will need an awfully large box to transport this in otherwise. To do this I marked the wings and cut where they met the fuselage. 

 

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Due to the cut line was over each side of the main solid plastic main spar sections I needed to add a little lip to each wing section so they actually go into the fuselage and so hide the joint. This was together with a corresponding recess on the centre main spar. 

 

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Next was the case of finding a way of ensuring that the wings would not only slide on accurately every time but would stay on and not fall off if handled. For this I used Albion Alloys square brass bar. The sizes were 5.55mm and 4.76mm. So one would fit into the other. The smaller (4.76mm) were to form the X2 main spars while the larger would be in each of the wings. I fitted the smaller main spars first into the main centre section of the wing but cutting holes through it in the upper section (as can be seen in the picture above). Very important here to double check that these spars run parallel or the wings will jam when fitting/removing.

My chosen adhesive here is Araldite which I tend to use a lot when I'm scratch building

 

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Now it was time to concentrate on the wings. I thought it a good idea to build up the wing radiators first.  Before this could be done I had to glue the inner lower wing sections. The radiators were replaced with the excellent Eduard etch kit (23030). Once that was done it was time to attach the wings! This is one of the benefits of Araldite due to its long curing time. I fitted the larger cut lengths of brass rod onto the smaller ones, then fed that into the wing ensuring the correct dihedral. Once that was checked then double checked I used bits of wooden coffee stirrers to block it out then applied the adhesive (ensuring that no adhesive got into the sliding rods!!) Then left it alone till fully cured!  

 

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Once the glue had dried the wings thankfully could be removed and refitted easily, although a little too easily as they would just drop off if tilted toward the ground! To fix this I added neodymium magnets to each wing with a corresponding piece of ferrous metal in the centre spar. This made sure that the wing stayed locked in position and reduced the chance of it falling off with potential prop and undercarriage damage.

 

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With the wings now detachable it made it easier to work on these and a lot of work was required as the rear trailing edges have very large sink marks which need to be filled and sanded together with the inner wing locating pins had sink marks on the outside wing surface! Also for some reason all the inspection panels under the wing had a visible means of securing them but not the top together with the trailing edge inspection panels which had a hinge on one side and securing pins on the other. These were just square recesses. In 1/144 or even 1/72 scale you would get away with that but not 1/24!! So I used my Tamiya 1/32 Mosquito as valuable reference point to correct both wings.

 

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This included the tape raised mark on the front section of the wing where the wooden panels meet. To replicate this I masked off the area and applied X2 costs of Mr Surfacer (500). Once dry I removed the tape and sanded lightly to get a nice rounder profile. This was repeated on the underside.

 

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As can be seen from the picture below I made sure the centre main spar section was secure with X2 Araldited wooden toffee apple sticks! 

 

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Nose section.

This was going to be interesting! I pondered how I was going to do this and settled first to make a brass rod frame from the plans, which I could then build the plastic around. Once the body was complete I could remove the inner frame (easier said than done!!)

The frame did not take too long to knock up using a soldering iron to make sure the frame would be nice and strong.

 

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Again using the plans from The De Havilland Mosquito book Part 1 (By Richard A. Franks) I cut out a paper template and then wrapped that around the metal frame. After some adjustment I used that to mark out thin plastic card and wrapped X2 around the frame as that would be easier than doing that with one thick piece. I used Tamiya adhesive for this making sure that it was taped up nice and tight so when the glue set it would have an inner strength without the brass core.

 

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Removing the brass core the next day was a bit of a struggle and had to cut it up before removal but it had done its job and the nose section (although ugly!) was taking shape.

I drilled out a 6mm viewing hole on each side and I'm currently sanding the nose section smooth. 

Also to affix the nose to the fuselage I used the same method as the wings although this will just to ensure alignment before I permanently fix it in place.

 

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Well that's all for now and it's not in the scrap bin yet! 

 

 

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