Search the Community

Hi folks, I'm new here but I've been working on the new Mossie kits since they came out. I was fortunate enough to get the Tamiya kit in early July thanks to them arriving here in Canada so early. I have both kits well under way so the first couple of posts are bringing things up to date. Otherwise I don't build that quickly. Here's the obligatory box shot: This is the HK box on top of the Tamiya one. There is quite a size difference between the two.

I have been waiting for months for this model to arrive and as soon as I knew they were in the UK I ordered one from my favoured supplier - it was more expensive but I trust them and their packing was always superb... Well when the box arrived to say that I was disappointed was an understatement - the outer box was gaping open and there was no packing (ie polystyrene chips) inside: The inner box was rather smaller than the outer and so the lid had come off and the contents were spilling out (the photo below is after I lifted the inner box out of the outer, scooping up the protruding sprues as I did so...) And the contents of the inner (Tamiya) box was all messed up and out of position: It took me 20 minutes to carefully check the box contents - and thankfully everything was there and intact. The shop responsible has apologised and I have accepted that, and so I will not be naming them here or anywhere else - I hope and believe that this will not happen again! Anyway - Now all I have to do is build the thing YAY! How happy am I? Only trouble is I am away for a few days now - touring Scotland on my motorcycle (the OTHER hobby).. But watch this space for further episodes of what will probably be one of the slower builds. Hope you enjoy it. See ya in a few days when I will be doing some sprue shots! Roger

I'm interested to find out more about the use and provenance of the grey over black post-war scheme. Does anyone know of the scheme as applied to NF Mossies? The example in the link below looks as if it's come from a Squadron Signal book, so one would hope it's based on something concrete, but you never know... http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/77/pics/9_36.jpg Doubts (aside from being unable to find a photo) are twofold: - The Sharp/Bowyer tome suggests that Mosquito night fighters wore the Dark Geen/MSG scheme to the end of their service. - Thirsk's Illustrated History (Vol. 2) has a photo of 139 Sqn B.35s in the scheme, and it's described as the RAF Night Bomber sheme. All the NF.36s in this book appear to be in DG/MSG. The scheme also appears on Beaufighters & Brigands (Malaya?) which presumably were not classed as bombers, so there's some evidence in favour of the scheme on fighters. So what were the circumstances which would dictate the application of this scheme rather than DG/MSG? I've also just remembered the Lucas volume on post war schemes, but checking that will have to wait until this evening. TIA, Jason

Hi, this is my finished Tamiya Mosquito B MkIV (1/48 scale). technically this kit isn't finished as i haven't painted the cockpit frames yet as i have to wait for the masks to arrive, but i didn't think it was worth putting it in WIP just for that. this kit was a dream to build, as the only fit issue was a small one with the fuselage halves, which was solved by the removal of the rear firewall/bulkhead. the decals however were a big letdown. they had lots of silvering (i didn't apply gloss varnish as previously i have never really had any silvering on the cartography decals I've used) and even when micro sol was applied they had difficulties adhering to the details. also, i rather clumsily moved one of the decals that was covered in micro sol out of line, and when i try to move it back it split (my fault). before i built this kit i had little interest in the mosquito, but after building the kit and doing some research i am quito fond of it.

FIRST POST WOO! before i start i will say i am no model magician limited tools and limited skill i am aware of the inaccuracies in this particular model however as i lack the means and skill to modify i think ill just build as is also note im almost done building this as i only just found this site sorry any tips and tricks are welcome, i have done more than the instructions ask when it comes to painting, adding as much detail as i can with what i have. the kit itself is a pain not very well cast and needs a lot of work to fit together at an acceptable standard but like all mozzy kits, good fun thank you for looking

News from EagleCal showing the newest decals for the Mosquito Mk VI which will be available in 72, 48 and 32 scales. Considering also the 24th scale as well, Enjoy! http://www.eagle-editions.com/decal-page/?___store=default

With the release of the new Tamiya 1/32nd Mosquito coming soon, I remembered, that I had made a couple of 1/48th scale Tamiya Mosquitos when they were first released, that had been put up the loft. I made both the FB Mk VI, and the B Mk IV. They have been up there, in a box for the last 16 plus years. This is the FB Mk VI released way back in 1998. It is painted with Aeromaster acrylic. The decals are from Aeromaster Set 48-426 Mosquito Raiders Part 11. 248 Squadron, Banff Strike Wing. The starboard fuselage roundel has lifted a bit, and a crack has appeared around a panel underneath the fuselage. I had not discovered weathering at this stage, so no panel lines or exhaust stains have been applied. Thanks for looking, Joe Can't wait for the 1/32nd Mosquito. Thanks for looking, Joe

Quick OOB Build. Promised myself not to use the Usual Eduard Dash and seatbelt etc and see how I do on an OOB Stated on the dash basically the whole inner section is almost the complete model. This is the 90% underside done which includes an AK Interior wash Cockpit - blue radio nobs more prominent in real life. I am not the best photographer A top view Hopefully I will get to the base coat this weekend

Hi folks, Just finished* the Airfix 1/48th DH Mosquito FB VI as a 235 Sqn Coastal Command machine, LR437 'T', based at Portreath in June '44. The ol' Airfix kit is not state of the art anymore but by jingo, it's a fun build with sufficient detail for me and good fit**. I was particularly happy with the way the cockpit scrubbed up. It was built for a 'Classic Airfix' GB on another forum and, as I've had this kit in the stash since the late '80s, I thought it was high time I built it. I used it to try out some weathering techniques I hadn't tried before on a 1/48th aircraft (I usually build in the gentleman's scale), and I think it turned out quite nicely. Hope you like it. regards, Martin * OK, so I lost the tailwheel and am awaiting the arrival of a replacement c/o Airfix spares department **Apart from the fit of the wings to the fuselage; that was appalling! They're none too robustly joined at all.

Here are some photos I took Sunday, May 17, 2015 at the Virginia Beach, Virginia Military Aviation Museum airshow. Mostly WWII aircraft. The camera was a Canon 1Dx with a 70-200mm f2.8 II with a 2x converter.

My latest completed build for 2015. This is the old Airfix Mossie "upgraded" with radome nose and the option to build the Swedish J20 version with the 4 blade prop. I wanted an RAF type so the radome is the only different part from the nice early seventies moldings most of you may be familiar with. For an old tool kit it builds up very well. As is the norm with old school airfix there is nowt in the cockpit other than the seats, a flat cockpit floor, and an instrument panel. I added some boxes to replicate the radar equipment to fill out the void and blanked off the rear area so you don't see way into the fuselage. The decals with this set have invasion stripes printed with the roundels on but as i can never get these to work i opted for leaving them off and put on wing roundels from the spares box. Still a nice kit when its built up, and way cheaper than the Tamiya version. Thats one less in the stash.... room for some more! Comments please, hope you like.

Hello Chaps, This was the 7th model that I built since starting modeling in January 2014. I completed this on April 27th, 2014. This was my first Tamiya kit and I really loved the build, it went together so well and some great looking details included such as the bomb bay with fuel cells, the cockpit and the undercarriage. This was the kit that got me turned on to loving Tamiya kits and just happens to be my favorite British Fighter Bomber Aircraft. There are plenty of after-market enhancements available for this kit, but, this was built out of the box. If you haven't built this kit before and you're a lover of the "Mossie", I highly recommend this kit, it's a joy to build and looks great when completed. I used the kits decals for the instrument panel and seat belts, because at the time, I wasn't happy with my dry-brushing skills to attempt painting them. I also left the canopy unglued so that I could remove it to see inside the cockpit area, and, also the front machine guns access panel was left unglued. I just wanted to share this with you guys, as presently, I haven't touched styrene for two weeks due to being actively searching for a new home to buy with my wife. One that has a nice big spare room to accommodate my hobby with capacity to display at least 12 new models a year for the next....hmm.....however many more years I live and am capable of modeling! I hope you enjoy my build, and, I'm always open to constructive criticism, as complacency doesn't exist in my vocabulary. I'm never totally happy with my last build, I'm my own worst critic and try to push myself further with each new build...... If you'd like to see my "Final Reveal" YouTube video for this build, here is the link to that...it has a couple of good sound tracks to accompany the build! https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=3tpAeOSnKY8 Thanks in advance for taking a look and for any comments you make! Cheers, Martin

After finally finishing my Tamiya Mossie, I was in a bit of a mood to do another. I have always rather fancied the silver finished Mosquitos from the SEAC theatre and picked up the recently re-issued AIrfix 1/48 scale Mosquito PRXVI, which has one of these as a decal option (684 Squadron in India). A kit review and sprue shots can be found here in the review forum. I also found some terrific reference photos from the the Imperial War Museum here, including a great colour shot of one of 684 Squadrons Mosquitos in flight. I was very taken with the roundel blue spinners, so while the painting guide has these as silver I will finish mine in blue. I started this a couple of weeks ago, so here is progress to date. First off I decided to get the job I like least, the canopy, sorted first (at the same time as I was finishing the canopy on my last Mossie). It didn't take long clean up and test fit the cockpit and assorted other bits. First for painting, spinners and propellers. The roundel blue is left over form the too dark batch of blue that I mixed for a BAe Hawk T1 last month. Too dark for that, but I think it will be fine for this as the theatre markings. Then painting and assembling the cockpit and wheels. All brush painted acrylics, including a touch pf dry brushing and weathered with a wash made from raw umber acrylic mixed in floor polish. Seatbelts from Tamiya tape. That's it for this weekend. A test fit of the wings make it clear they may be challenging.......

After my last model, I thought I should return to the shelf of doom to see if I could finish this one. I am not sure why I put this aside, but it has been sitting there for the best part of 2 years. I suspect it may have been I had lost heart after having some issues with the decals and also because I didn't want to deal with the under carriage, which I had found fiddly the last time I made this kit (as a B Mk IV), and made a hash of that time. I was reminded of it when rummaging in my paint supplies and finding the pot of own-mix PRU blue (and no, I cannot remember the recipe, other than it contains Tamiya acrylics). So here is what I had to start with: And some close ups: Those radiators need redoing - what was I thinking? First task - dealing with the undercarriage and wheels. Painted and lightly weathered the wheels. Ok, it was fiddly but I persisted and ultimately once complete was actually a pretty sturdy item. Cut back the aluminium finish by a wash of acrylic raw umber in floor polish. Finished off the props,which were 90 % done. Test fit to see how it all looks.

All, I present you with the latest off the bench, Tamiya's 1/72 Mosquito FB VI with Xtradecal's 617 Squadron set. I have really enjoyed building this kit from start to finish. I'd recommend it to anyone. Built out of the box, with the addition of some brake pipes, air filters over the carb intakes and small detail to the wheel wells. I fear that I may have over weathered it slightly behind the radiators, but hey I still like it. Apologies for the poor lighting on the photos, I struggle to get good light. Over to you for your comments. Thanks for looking. Leon

Continuing with some "Shelf of Doom" sitters that I have been finishing up over the summer break, I had actually forgotten I had this one at the back 80% complete with a very thick layer of dust. Completed straight out of the box as a machine from 105 Squadron RAF, December 1942. Brush painted Tamiya acrylics. I managed to screw up applying one of the serial numbers and the two-piece canopy was a sod to work with but I think she has come out OK, and has encouraged me to finish the Tamiya 1/48 Mossie that I also have as a long term hanger queen. Thanks for looking.

A while back there was a thread that mentioned a Mosquito in Canada being rebuilt by Victoria Air Maintenance and a link requesting donations to complete a documentary about the plane's restoration process. For a very modest donation, you would get a T-shirt, a poster, a video and credits in the video for being a donor. Well, I really want to see a Mosquito fly and I thought why not and hoped it wasn't a scam. I would occasionally get an email indicating there was progress being made on the documentary and the plane restoration. Today, I got the T-shirt and the video. Both are amazing. Here is the T-shirt I have watched the first part of the video and it is very nice. Now I just have to figure out how to get to Canada and see this beautiful aircraft in person. Kudos to the restoration team and the documentary team.

de Havilland Mosquito Mk.IV 1:32 Revell Prior to WWII there were specifications for a twin engined medium bomber which lead to the Manchester and the Halifax. There were also plans to use non strategic materials for aircraft production. Geoffrey de Havilland recognised this and the company embarked on a project to design such an aircraft. A design team under Eric Bishop moved to Sailsbury Hall to start on what would become the DH.98. Originally the design of the DH.98 was too radical for the Air Ministry. However with the outbreak of war they became more receptive, but also sceptical about an unarmed bomber as it was thought The Germans would produce faster fighters. They were also opposed to a two man crew as it was thought a third crew member was needed to reduce the workload on long flights. Finally in Early 1940 the RAF & The Air Ministry met with de Havilland to finalise the design and order an unarmed prototype to be built. The call at this stage was for a light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft powered by two Merlin 21 engines. This was to be followed in March 1940 with an initial contract under Specification B.1/50 for 50 aircraft. By June of 1940 the DH.98 had been named the Mosquito, although it was often called The Wooden Wonder as well. The aircraft would go one to be manufactured as a Bomber, Fighter-bomber, Fighter, Night Fighter and Reconnaissance aircraft. The would carry a wide variety of weapons including the 4000Lb cookie bomb, Rockets, torpedoes, and even the High Ball bouncing bomb. A grand total of 7781 aircraft would be built. Due to the wooden construction a great deal of the construction was carried out not by traditional aircraft factories, but by furniture companies. It is worthy to note that the prototype of this famous aircraft was saved and now can be seen at The de Havilland Heritage Centre at Sailsbury Hall, along with both a Fighter and Bomber version. The Kit Revells kit of the Mosquito in 1/32 scale represents a Mk.IV Bomber. This kit was first issued by Revell back in 1971. The moulds though seem to have held up fairly well looking at the sprues. The kit arrives at 6 sprues of light grey plastic, and one clear sprue. As a kit of this age would suggest such detail as there is on a wooden aircraft is mainly raised, though details such as the crew door are recessed. Construction starts with the cockpit. The instrument panel is completed, this also has a back part as it with be seen through the nose. The instruments are provided as a decal. Pilots figures are provided if needed, if not the seats have moulded in belts to paint. The whole cockpit area is fairly sparse on the detail front and some scratch building will improve things in this scale. Once the cockpit is complete the tail wheel assembly needs to be made up and attached to its bulkhead. These two sub-assemblies can then be attached into the main fuselage and this can be closed up. The tail cone can then be added. The next step is complete the two part main wings, remembering to include the large radiator fronts at this stage as well. The main wings can now be attached to the fuselage. The tailplanes and vertical fin are also constructed and added to the main fuselage. It is then onto the engine nacelles. A basic Merlin engine is constructed for the Port side as a panel can be left open if wanted to show this. For the other side the modeller will just attach the exhausts to the inside of that nacelle. The landing gear is constructed and attached to the underside of the wings. Once this is done the engine nacelles can be carefully fitted over the gear. The gear doors can then be fitted. To complete the model the propeller assemblies are made up and added, the canopy also needs completing and adding to the cockpit. Due to the limitations of the mouldings when the kit was made the main canopy is in thee parts. However the main seam is down a panel line with a large clear insert in the middle. Canopy The canopy is clear but a little thick which shows the age of the kit. Decals Decals are provided for two aircraft. They are printed in Italy for Revell and up to the now usual standard. They are in register and colour density looks good. No.627 Sqn RAF, Woodhall Spa, June 1944 (With D-Day stripes) No.105 Sqn RAF, Marham, England, December 1942 Conclusion It maybe an older kit but its the only game in town for 1.32 Mosquito. Despite its age it should make up to be a good looking model. recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Hi, everybody! First of all - let me present you some information about prototype: Unit: 105 Sqn, RAF Piloted by S/L Darling (DFC) and crewed by F/O Wright on 30th January 1943 when hit by flak and crashed near Altengrabow, Germany where both airmen were buried on 4th February 1943. Their graves are now in the 1939-1945 War Cemetery in Berlin. This was the first Mosquito to be reported missing from a raid to the German capital. Delivered to the Squadron on 6th November 1942, it had flown 62.5 hrs when lost. Kit is wonderful, but I do not advise you to use resin set from Pavla for cabin - because kit transparency details are not the same size. At the same time - set to simulate the "bomb bay" is quite possible to use.

Hi everyone! I have decided to try my luck in building my first WWII aircraft! The unlucky kit chosen for this ordeal will be the Revell 1/48 Mosquito, I will try some new things like camouflage painting for example. It´s one more step for me in this hobby! So, I will leave the first pictures of this build! Thanks for looking, iuri

Tamiya 1/48 DH Mosquito FB MkVI Tamiya Sky underside Xtracrylix RAF Extra Dark Sea Grey top side Scratch built lead wire seat belts Self designed and produced canopy cut out masks I made this kit to be given to my father. He's the one who started me modelling many moons ago, and the Mossie is his favourite aircraft. A nice detailed interior with home made lead wire seat belts. I decided that I wouldn't paint iot the 'normal' cammo pattern, and upted for the Extra dark sea grey to side with Sky underneath. I designed the canopy masks using Adobe Illustrator and cut them out on a cutter/plotter using masking film. Thanks for looking.

Hello, After finishing the Italeri Apache, and almost finishing the Academy P-51D Mustang, I picked up this kit today from Widnes Model Centre as a premise to either building the 1:48 Swordfish II or putting that one up for sale. I've not yet opened any of the packets inside the box, but I've got one or two questions about the kit. 1. I'm looking at doing the PR Mk.IV Model of the Mosquito, but after searching on the correct shade of Blue for the kit I settled on Tamiya X23, I'm looking at a direct replacement for the outside would that be considered as Humbrol 23 "Duck Egg Blue", Tamiya AS19 or Humbrol 230 as on the box it looks quite light compared to some of the photo's I've seen of "230" 2. Is it worth investing in the Aftermarket wheel sets for this i.e the True Details Wheel set (checkerboard tread)? Here's a quick shot of the box though for the time being as I'll be updating this thread as I go along: Thanks for looking!

Hi mates, This year's "Greatest Show on Turf" didn't feature as many aircraft as some previous years (quite a few that were scheduled were scratched in the days preceding due to mechanical and logistic issues), but we were treated to the return of the P-38 and Lysander (which hadn't visited in many years) and most exciting - the de Havilland Mosquito, one of only two (I believe) flying examples of the Wooden Wonder. One thing that never changes year over year is my inability to pose as a good photographer. So apologies in advance for the poor in-air shots - I don't know if it's me, my camera (which is nothing fancy), the hot and humid western NY weather (about 90 degrees F), or some combination of the above, but I can guarantee that Life magazine won't be calling me anytime soon! The show is put on by the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group from Geneseo, NY, which is just south of Rochester, NY. The show is dedicated to warbirds, and almost always with propellers! The landing strip is natural turf, and the setting is bucolic, nestled in the rolling farmlands of the upper Finger Lakes region. So on with the pictures! First, the Lysander: The Stinson Reliant (check out the cockpit photos later on!): Rob Holland MX2 Aerobatics (I have no clue how an airplane can be made to do the things he did, or how his brains stayed inside his head during these maneuvers - amazing pilot!): Lockheed P-38J Lightning: Two P-51 Mustangs and an F4U Corsair that are annual visitors to the show: The Lightning, Corsair, and Mustangs formed up for the traditional "Missing Man" flyby, in honour of our veterans: Back on the ground, "Whiskey 7" (the C-47 owned by the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group) is back from her visit to Normandy for the D-Day activities: And she was joined by another example from Canucks Unlimited in Canada: Next on the flightline was the Mosquito! Flight crew preparing for her demonstration: But first, the parade of antique cars! Away she goes, with me just about to get hit with the prop wash as she makes her turn onto the "taxi-way" - hang on to your hat: Also starting up was the B-25: The Mossie in the air: The B-25 making a watermelon "bombing run" Another annual visitor is this replica Val, which was used in the film "Tora, Tora, Tora:" On display was this An-2: B-25 taxiing back from her bombing run: And the Corsair as well: Some shots of the P-38: I thought it was odd that the exhaust staining was a different colour on port and starboard engines: I wonder if this was what is meant by the lyric "o'er amber waves of grain" Gotta love those high-speed, low altitude passes: The Grumman Avenger was back this year, sporting some new nose art: Several Stearman biplanes flying and on display: Some more shots of the Lysander: Someone will have to tell me what this is (the nice young lady was doing her make-up, and I didn't want to interrupt her to ask): The Stinson Reliant, 1930s-style luxury flying (I love the red leather upholstery and the mahogany instrument panel): Chrome boarding ladder! Lots of chrome upfront, too: I'm also not sure what this is: Or this one: Another plane that is new to me - but the nose art is catchy! As always, many T-6 Texans and Harvards visited the show, and here are just a few: Whiskey 7 and the Liberty Jump Team provided a paratrooper drop, just like the ones they did over in Normandy: And, of course, an airshow would not be complete without vendors to sell us all this cool stuff! And lastly, I need Harry Lime to translate this shirt for me! I only captured a small part of the overall show, but I think this gives you an idea of the calibre of this show. If you ever find yourself in western New York in July, this is one airshow that's really worth looking for! Cheers, Bill

Typically lovely kit from Hasegawa, no problems to report - just fancied a problem free build for once!

Morning guys, i was not sure at first, if i should show this one here, but even though it did not turn out as good as i hoped for, there are still parts of the build with which i m happy So, i decided to give it a try This is Mosquito FB Mk.VI from the very nice Tamiya 1/72 kit. It was built as part of Less than a tenner group build here on BM, here is WIP link for anyone interested http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234955313-mosquito-fb-mkvi-172-tamiya-finished-yea-lets-call-it-that/ . The goal was to keep the spirit of the GB, so no aftermarket stuff was used, just scratchbuild using some evergreens, wires and home scrapyard. I was running out of time at the end, so i had to ignore some ideas i had and mossie is not carrying full load of rockets/bombs she should, ll be added later hopefuly The list of changes/additions would be quite long, so just in short: - new cockpit + inner construction inside the canopy frame - new interior in the fuselage behind/between wings - new bomb bay (back one, ran out of time to add the front one, though the front bomb bay doors are glued with white glue so i ll be able to add there later) - new rocket launchers + guards between launchers and fuel tanks (there should be 4 rockets under each wing) - some more details added here and there The camo should be the RS625 NE*D. The plane was originaly painted with light grey overall + green fields on top side, later repainted with extra dark sea grey on top and sky on bottomside. On some areas the original camouflage was showing through the EDSG. I tried to achieve the effect on the kit too, its quite good visible on live and on photos taken outside, but i dont have good enough camera (using phone) and lights to show it good on the photos taken inside.. Anyway, here are some of the better photos (speaking about "yay i can see something here", not about the build or photos quality ) + few shots from the building stage, to show some details you could not see otherwise most likely. The interior Mix of little parts (doors, etc) Few shots taken outside And some shots taken inside Two shots taken with not so good light conditions, was trying to use desk lamp but it created somehow special effects.. Thanks all for looking and hope you could see at least something on the photos, i should realy think about geting some better photo equipment.. All tips are welcome guys