Mosquito bomber

[npb748r]

59 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

How about this then...a quick build sure to please:

I know you are messing but that would give me so much pleasure - just look at the colour, those beautiful raised line markings and shiny plastic. Even the box makes me smile !!

 

I took early retirement 4 years ago and at that point really got back into building - work no longer getting in the way. I only build 1/32 aircraft, I'm lucky I have a room converted in my loft with enough space to keep going on 1/32 builds for at least as long as my fingers and eyes hold out. Over the 4 years I've built probably built around 70 kits, mostly small 1/32 but a general mix of kits including Tamiya, trumpeter, special hobby, etc, etc with a mix of OOB and aftermarket or scratch built added. My most favourite build over that period has been the old matchbox sea venom, in original three colour plastic and long box. Building, especially the older, poorly detailed, inaccurate and badly deigned kits just makes me smile. I'm whisked back to being that ten year old in 1972, with the world ahead of me, the historical past I'm fascinated with (WW2) not that far behind me and the excitement of creating in my hands. Modelling means so much to so many people but in so many different ways. We are all modellers but we vary so much in terms of what we look for in the kits we build. Long may that continue as it creates the mix of kits on offer.  Now, let me grab my tube of glue, pots of paint and get ready to create - that ME-109 is so wonderful, in my hands it wont even be painted !!!

 

Happy sticking and spraying.  

[Juggernut]

I'm not even sure that I'd say that the Tamiya 1/32 line is stagnant/dead.  I've not heard anything from Tamiya (or from those "in-the-know") regarding anything of the sort.  IF there is such a communication, I'd be grateful for a link to the report.  They may be on a hiatus with other things in the works for all we know.  If one visits Tamiya 32nd Scale Offerings you'll note that a vast majority of their kits are listed as sold out.  Now the reasons for this may be numerous and obvious or not but the fact remains.  They repopped the P-51D kit with additional parts to make a Korean Era Mustang possible... Now if they only did that with other kits in their inventory, eh?

 

The 1500 piece puzzle may get boring but with the Tamiya kits, you always leave parts out/unpainted and still get a gorgeous miniature of the intended subject.  Personally, I think Tamiya engineering borders on genius; case-on-point:  The way they engineered the assembly of the main tires of the Mosquito kit to eliminate unsightly seams that would otherwise result in an extremely difficult task of seam cleanup on the recessed areas of the block tread tires.

[npb748r]

5 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

The 1500 piece puzzle may get boring but with the Tamiya kits, you always leave parts out/unpainted and still get a gorgeous miniature of the intended subject.  Personally, I think Tamiya engineering borders on genius; case-on-point:  The way they engineered the assembly of the main tires of the Mosquito kit to eliminate unsightly seams that would otherwise result in an extremely difficult task of seam cleanup on the recessed areas of the block tread tires.

since the original post I've been looking at the various mossie kits as it's one that I would like - the retail cost difference between HKM and Tamiya is around £35, close enough for me to live with. The detail in the cockpit and things like the tyres in the Tamiya kit gets a tick from me - looks like no scratch building is needed. So the final thing is the amount of work in the kit. If you can skip things like the engines, bomb bay, gun bay, etc completely (I only build kits with doors and hatches closed) then that is another tick for Tamiya for me.  I will be left with a stack of plastic that I don't need, I'm guessing I can sell those and try and recover the difference between the HKM kit and Tamiya kit.  It's my 60th birthday in March, feels like the Tamiya mossie might be heading my way......

[Out2gtcha]

24 minutes ago, Tony T said:

Yes it's just my educated opinion. Sorry if it offends.

 

 

By no means any offence taken what-so-ever. I'm simply putting things in perspective for those who don't have the kit, but might want to build it. It is in fact a complex kit, but to me the engineering is perfect, and I am only attempting to show another perspective  since my view is also opinion.  

[Juggernut]

54 minutes ago, npb748r said:

since the original post I've been looking at the various mossie kits as it's one that I would like - the retail cost difference between HKM and Tamiya is around £35, close enough for me to live with. The detail in the cockpit and things like the tyres in the Tamiya kit gets a tick from me - looks like no scratch building is needed. So the final thing is the amount of work in the kit. If you can skip things like the engines, bomb bay, gun bay, etc completely (I only build kits with doors and hatches closed) then that is another tick for Tamiya for me.  I will be left with a stack of plastic that I don't need, I'm guessing I can sell those and try and recover the difference between the HKM kit and Tamiya kit.  It's my 60th birthday in March, feels like the Tamiya mossie might be heading my way......

 

I don't know if you can "skip" the engines as they'll be needed to mount the props on but you don't have to put all the parts on said engines.  Pretty much build the basic engine assembly, the engine mounts, exhausts, and firewall...Probably don't even need to paint the engine since the engine cowling will be installed.  I like the same thing and only occasionally will I have removed cowls.  The bonus with the Tamiya kits is that, at least in the case of the kits I've built, the cowling is removable and fits well when closed.  I hear it's a finicky with the Spitfire kits but in their Zero and Corsair kits, the cowling fits very nicely...the P-51D, not bad but I glued them in place anyway.  You can skip most of the stuff in the bomb bay (you will have to install the cannons) if you plan on keeping the doors closed....  You may be able to recoup some of the costs of the kit by selling the unused parts but it will be a very niche market for those items.

 

I'll be 60 in April.  I too remember the oldies and still have a couple in my "collection" from the early 1970's, namely the Hasegawa Ki-43 and their F6F Hellcat.  I also have an original copy of the Monogram 1/48 B-17 kit that I got off Ebay (still sealed).  It's soo much better than the repops from today.

 

 

If you visit the Mosquito kit at the Tamiya USA site, you can download the instruction booklet (pdf), review it and use it to make your decisions vs. the HK kit, the instruction booklet which you can download from here.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Juggernut

[Chek]

8 hours ago, npb748r said:

I have a mosquito gap in my model collection - it will either be filled with the revell kit or the HKM but not sure which one ?

 

The Revell kit is actually pretty good shapewise. The fuselage is overly cylindrical, but at least up until 6 month ago when I was looking, it was possible to buy Tamiya sprues including the main rear fuselage parts aft of the mid wing. The main problem with the Revell is it's overly simplified and the rear of the engine nacelles are way out of whack.

There are other minor things - ISTR the fin may need attention, and the undercarriage needs help.

[Chek]

I've never seen the Aurora kit before. Interesting that they chose a Jumo engine example. And those funky way outboard bomb racks

[Tony T]

48 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

There is no factual evidence whatsoever that that is the case

 

For the past twelve years I've learned to rely on instinct. These have proven 100% correct. But, on this point, I'd love to be proved wrong.

Brian may well be right saying they wanted a biggie as a last new tool hurrah. (Shhush, maybe I'm goading them into releasing a newie! Don't mess with the vibes!)

 

Tony