PlaStix Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 (edited) I always loved the Mosquito ever since seeing the film '633 Squadron' as a youngster. Oddly I don't think I've ever made a model of one - so this will be a first. For this project I will be making Tamiya's 1/72 FB Mk.VI as MM417, EG-T from No. 487 Squadron RNZAF, based at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire in February/March 1944. © IWM (CH 12415) © IWM (CH 12412) The above photos are available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Imperial War Museum's Non Commercial Licence. According to 'Mosquito Aces of WW2' by Andrew Thomas; On the 26th March 1944, MM417 EG-T flew it's last mission when it led the attack on coastal defence emplacements which were under construction at Les Hayes and was hit by flak during the mission. Wing Commander I S Smith was forced to crash land back at Hunsdon. The crew survived but the aircraft was wrecked. Many people here on Britmodeller will already be aware of this kit: I'm also going to use a bit of photo-etch from Eduard: It's not nearly as nicely detailed as current Eduard sets but it will add something to the cockpit area: I won't be starting this for a while as I've got other projects on the go. I will get it washed in warm soapy water in the near future so I will post some sprue photos at the same time. Kind regards, Stix Edited May 5, 2017 by PlaStix 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Ohhh this should be good stix! Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Those IWM photos are great inspiration for a Mosquito project Stix; nice find! The Eduard set is indeed basic when compaired with what they offer now but should still give a nice selection of useful parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Well I was waiting to see what you were going to coming up with, It's sure to be a cracker! I'm looking forward to your starting, please don't delay for too long. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Just found this as I was suffering from PlaStix withdrawals. I bet you've got a tank going somewhere and will get to this when that's done. Off to find it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Nice, as subjects go for a Mosquito build, they don't come much better than this. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Good morning Stix I have 2 of these beautiful models on my workbench and the build is a real pleasure .. Regards Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) On 2/13/2017 at 7:35 PM, rob85 said: Ohhh this should be good stix! Rob Thank you Rob! On 2/13/2017 at 10:21 PM, Col. said: Those IWM photos are great inspiration for a Mosquito project Stix; nice find! The Eduard set is indeed basic when compaired with what they offer now but should still give a nice selection of useful parts. Hi Col and you are quite correct - I was well pleased with the photos and the etch will hopefully improve some areas. On 2/13/2017 at 11:08 PM, DAG058 said: Well I was waiting to see what you were going to coming up with, It's sure to be a cracker! I'm looking forward to your starting, please don't delay for too long. You are too kind! I may be able to get something started on this in the next week or so. On 2/21/2017 at 0:33 AM, Cookenbacher said: Just found this as I was suffering from PlaStix withdrawals. I bet you've got a tank going somewhere and will get to this when that's done. Off to find it! Hi Cookie and great to see you here! Thank you. On 2/21/2017 at 0:43 AM, stevehnz said: Nice, as subjects go for a Mosquito build, they don't come much better than this. Steve. Hi Steve. I was pleased to see the information that was available about this aircraft, On 2/21/2017 at 7:35 AM, TEMPESTMK5 said: Good morning Stix I have 2 of these beautiful models on my workbench and the build is a real pleasure .. Regards Patrice Hi Patrice - I went off to find your builds and was pleased I did - thank you! Right - I know everyone has probably seen this kit many times before but it's new to me and there may be others out there who wouldn't mind seeing it in 'sprue-form'! Contents of the box plus the PE: A few closer in views: x2 Clear parts: Decals: Samples of the instructions: It's interesting to me that the instructions start with the engines as you'll see below. The scheme for the one I am building: The extras I will be using - PE: These two: ......because I'm going to try and get two of these in place: I realise I am going to have my work cut out for me because the kit I'm using isn't designed to be motorised but I'll have fun trying! I have managed to get a couple of kits motorised before but not with two props! The motors are quite tiny but seem reasonably powerful. I have only used Airfix motors before but they are too big for this kit. We will see what happens! Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited February 27, 2017 by PlaStix 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Ooh! Motors. This has just got exciting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 16 hours ago, Col. said: Ooh! Motors. This has just got exciting Well I wouldn't get too excited just yet! I still need to think of a way to get the props attached to the motor. Tamiya have done things a bit differently to what I have worked with before for the way they attach the props to the aircraft - plus these motors are tiny! I do hope I can get them to work because although a Mosquito looks great wheels down - I always think it looks at it's best in flight! We will see..... Kind regards, Stix 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Having just finished building two tanks it's time to get on with this Mossie project. I have been doing some thinking and planning with regards getting the props working. These are the kits instructions for the engines, propellers and spinners: The main problem I have (compared to when I have usually installed motors in kits that were not intended to be motorised) is that Tamiya, on this kit, have designed it so the prop shaft is static and fixed to the engines as can be seen here: The 1/48 aircraft kits I have added motors to before have usually had the prop shaft fixed on the back of the spinner. This has allowed me to use the Airfix adapter piece to attach the prop shaft to the shaft of the motor. I am having to use smaller motors anyway - there isn't enough space in the engine nacelles to fit an Airfix motor, despite me buying two specially. So my main problem is to ensure everything lines up properly. My first job was to remove the fixed prop shaft from the engine and create the hole for the shaft to pass through: I cut away the shaft using my cutters and then used a round file to reintroduce the half hole on the side the shaft was cut away from. I have some 2mm copper tubing which I have drilled out with a micro-dril to the correct diameter for the motors shaft: The hole in the end of the engine is just a fraction larger than the diameter of the copper tube which will hopefully mean it will spin okay. The polycaps Tamiya provide fit quite nicely on the tubing: ....and in the centre of the prop: With this all glued together in the prop I'm hoping this will be a suitable way to get the prop to spin. My next problem is how to fix the motor centrally in the nacelles: I think I have a way by building on the insides of the flat surfaces backing onto where the exhausts attach on the outside. More soon. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Oooh - Missed the start of this one. Never mind - On board now Nice start Stix - Good luck with the props and motors!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Good morning Stix I am following your build with a lot of interest I always wanted to motorize my models but never really tried .. Best regards Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I'm in too Stix - motors? Has to be seen... Good luck with the mounting - do you have any, er, rubber stuff you could use? The moulding rubber might be good but it only comes in buckets. If you get stuck let me know - I have some two part silicon putty I could bung in the post. Edit: That said its occurred to me that, if you surround the motors with stuff, they might overheat? Perhaps just some rubber strips? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Nice project,mind if I tag along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 This should be an interesting project, Stix. Really looking forward to your motorizing techniques. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) On 3/23/2017 at 10:30 PM, wimbledon99 said: Oooh - Missed the start of this one. Never mind - On board now Nice start Stix - Good luck with the props and motors!! Hi Nigel. Not really got that far with this as yet although I have been doing some work on the cockpit over this past weekend. On 3/24/2017 at 7:38 AM, TEMPESTMK5 said: Good morning Stix I am following your build with a lot of interest I always wanted to motorize my models but never really tried .. Best regards Patrice Good morning Patrice. I have done a couple before so I'm hoping I can get these to work. I haven't used such tiny motors before and the way Tamiya has structured these areas on this kit are different - so I will wait and see if I can get them to work. On 3/24/2017 at 7:49 AM, CedB said: I'm in too Stix - motors? Has to be seen... Good luck with the mounting - do you have any, er, rubber stuff you could use? The moulding rubber might be good but it only comes in buckets. If you get stuck let me know - I have some two part silicon putty I could bung in the post. Edit: That said its occurred to me that, if you surround the motors with stuff, they might overheat? Perhaps just some rubber strips? Hi Ced. Thank you for the suggestions. I might have some rubber type strips I can use. I put the work on the motors to one side over the weekend - my head was starting to hurt trying to work out the best way to get the motors mounted and whether to have the battery in the base or to try and fit it inside the aircraft itself. I ended up starting the cockpit. On 3/25/2017 at 7:34 PM, Ozzy said: Nice project,mind if I tag along. Hi Ozzy - the more the merrier! 18 hours ago, Cookenbacher said: This should be an interesting project, Stix. Really looking forward to your motorizing techniques. Hi Cookie - yeah me too! This weekend, rather than trying to work on the motors - for which I still need to do a bit of thinking and planning - I decided to start work on the cockpit areas. First job was to either fill the ejector pin marks in the fuselage sides or to file/sand them out. The majority were quite slight so I opted for filing and sanding for the most part: Once the front sections were glued in place and the joins tidied up I fitted the bit of cockpit PE provided in the Eduard set using CA glue: While waiting for this all to set I took a look at the machine guns and decided these needed drilling out - before: After: I think they should look a little better. I then used some lead wire to add some of the cables - fixed in place with CA glue agin: Once everything was set and in place I started painting all the cockpit parts with thinned (with water) coats of Humbrol 78 - matt Cockpit Green, applied with a small flat brush. First couple of coats: While waiting for things to dry I did some work on the IP parts - giving them several thin coats of Revell's Anthracite before dry-brushing them with Revell's Gunship Grey, then Light Grey: I also did some painting and dry-brushing on the Tamiya IP in case the Eduard one didn't work out: Then I applied a wash all over on the other cockpit parts using Revell's Gunship Grey before doing a targeted wash around the detail with Revell's Anthracite. Everything was then given a dry-brushing with a lightened version of Humbrol's Cockpit Green. Before long I had the detail painted - basically with thinned Revell's Anthracite. I also used a variety of colours to pick out some switches, etc.: I then assembled the parts for the Eduard IP and fitted the decal on the kit version: I did decide to use the Eduard version. Next up I assembled the cockpit parts which, for 1/72, I reckon Tamiya have done a nice job with: Since taking the photos I realised that following the Eduard instructions has made the IP panel sit a bit low in the fuselage: Late last night I re-positioned it but didn't take any photos. I am intending to use a couple of crew figures so very little of this will be visible when it's all buttoned up! I will try and get some more done on this project over the next few evenings. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited March 27, 2017 by PlaStix 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Very nice internals Stix, some great tips there - I love that cabling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Hi Ced and thank you. To be fair I picked up the idea for the cabling from fellow modellers here on BM - just cannot remember who's model it was I saw it on - probably a few! This has probably been seen by everyone here before but I found these 360 views very helpful even if it showed me more what was missing: http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/WWII_tour/WWII-20.html http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/WWII_tour/WWII-21.html ...wow those cockpits were busy with wiring, etc.!! It's not the same aircraft that I'm building but it certainly gives a good feel for a real cockpit. More links to other 360 views from the website can be found here: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/VirtualTour/Cockpit360.aspx Kind regards, Stix Edited March 27, 2017 by PlaStix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 What a great site! Thanks Stix - I love that virtual tour (didn't work in Safari but Firefox was fine) and found you can click on the aircraft for more details and some have a '360 cockpit view' option. Great stuff. That said I don't think I'll be scratching a realistic cockpit at 1/72 anytime soon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 That cockpit is looking wonderful Fully agree re. the wiring - so effective! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 That is all looking really good Stix, I haven't started my build for this GB yet, it'll be an OOB build of the Airfix FB.VI in RNZAF post war scheme, but I'll be using some ideas from this build to improve on the interior a little. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Nice pit Stix. The extra detail certainly makes a difference. 8 hours ago, PlaStix said: Hi Ced and thank you. To be fair I picked up the idea for the cabling from fellow modellers here on BM - just cannot remember who's model it was I saw it on - probably a few! I have done it like that too. I am flattered that my build is actually seen by others and giving some inspiration. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to see how you implement the motorisation. Cheers, Peter Edited March 28, 2017 by Basilisk 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 (edited) On 3/27/2017 at 7:28 PM, CedB said: What a great site! Thanks Stix - I love that virtual tour (didn't work in Safari but Firefox was fine) and found you can click on the aircraft for more details and some have a '360 cockpit view' option. Great stuff. That said I don't think I'll be scratching a realistic cockpit at 1/72 anytime soon! No problem. Odd because it works okay on Safari on the iPad. Hey ho. No I won't either - there are waaaayyyyy to many small details. I think a rough idea is fine in 1/72. Like you I'm going to have a crew in place as well which will hide some of the detail (or lack thereof). On 3/27/2017 at 7:32 PM, wimbledon99 said: That cockpit is looking wonderful Fully agree re. the wiring - so effective! Thank you Nigel - most kind. On 3/28/2017 at 0:25 AM, stevehnz said: That is all looking really good Stix, I haven't started my build for this GB yet, it'll be an OOB build of the Airfix FB.VI in RNZAF post war scheme, but I'll be using some ideas from this build to improve on the interior a little. Steve. Hi Steve and thank you too for your kind comments. I will watch out for your RNZAF Mossie! On 3/28/2017 at 0:57 AM, Basilisk said: Nice pit Stix. The extra detail certainly makes a difference. I have done it like that too. I am flattered that my build is actually seen by others and giving some inspiration. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to see how you implement the motorisation. Cheers, Peter Thank you very much too Peter. Yesterday evening I did a few minor jobs: I removed the mold seams from the two crew members and gave them a base coat of Revell's Anthracite. I drilled out the holes for the attaching of the bomb support units. I drilled a couple of holes in the wings, in the area of the engines, so I have a way of getting the wires from the motors I'm going to be using into the wing itself and then into the fuselage. Still not decided whether to have the battery and switch in/on the aircraft or the base yet. I filed off the detail on the front of what I assume are radiators so I can attach the Eduard replacements - got the latter painted with a base coat of Revelle's Anthracite ready for some dry-brushing with Aluminium. I also glued the radiator housing bases in place. I didn't think any of this warranted photos. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited March 29, 2017 by PlaStix 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Finally caught up with you, better late than never. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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