old thumper Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 (edited) I started this build two or three days ago but have been having a few log in problems. Hope it is not to late to join this group build, I don't think this kit will be a contender anyway. The original 1957 Airfix series 2 Mosquito FB VI. A kit we probably all built back in the day, I remember getting my first one of these from the Brixham branch of Woolworths back in the late seventies together with a can of Lager and Lime Topdeck pop when I was about 10. I shall be building the kit as neatly as possible but without replacing any of it's original parts so as to maintain it's charm. The kit is entirely inaccurate so there is absolutely no point in making any changes to it. The actual kit box top from the eighties. The original box top we all remember. The parts. Note the wheels! An earlier build of this kit the got melted by the sun, to save on time I shall be robbing parts from it to use on this build. There are not many parts to this kit, here I have glued it together and filled in some gaps. The nose is a particularly bad fit. And now with a layer or three of Halfords rattle can primer. I have opted for grey undersides rather than the sky as suggested in the instructions. A darker shade of grey was then added to the upper surfaces before masking and spraying with dark green. The model now has its character hispano canon sized 303 machine guns. The scrap canopy from the melted model has been touched up and the pilots are painted. The model shall be completed wheels up as the kit wheels are so downright nasty that I refuse to use them. Rocket rails are added but not the rockets as they are just rubbish. Edited June 24, 2017 by old thumper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Great progress there in such a short time. Thanks for getting another one in! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Brave man OT, that kit was pretty horrible all around, did nobody compare kit to photos back then? I have the dismantled remains of one I built 45+ years ago, to be rebuilt some day as a comic strip one, with modifications none the less though, I admire you taking this one on. Steve. Edited June 25, 2017 by stevehnz speeling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Nice work on the oldie Shows how much kits have come Martin H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Watching with interest! The wings on one that was in the sun looks a little like the wings did on a 757 I was on once, after it lost around 10,000 feet in very few minutes, then found decent air again ! It looks like you can do this and you've made a nice job of this old kit. Good luck ! TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Thanks all for your comments. I added the scrap props from the sun damaged build, gave it a quick coat of Halfords rattle can gloss lacquer and put the transfers on. Job done. Edited June 25, 2017 by old thumper 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 20 hours ago, stevehnz said: Brave man OT, that kit was pretty horrible all around, did nobody compare kit to photos back then? I have the dismantled remains of one I built 45+ years ago, to be rebuilt some day as a comic strip one, with modifications none the less though, I admire you taking this one on. Steve. You are very right, to many things to correct on this kit to be worth trying. It does have a lot of charm though, in a sort of cartoon sketch sort of way. On 6/24/2017 at 5:18 PM, DAG058 said: Great progress there in such a short time. Thanks for getting another one in! Pleasure. 13 hours ago, Grandboof said: Nice work on the oldie Shows how much kits have come Martin H Kits certainly have improved since this one. 7 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said: Watching with interest! The wings on one that was in the sun looks a little like the wings did on a 757 I was on once, after it lost around 10,000 feet in very few minutes, then found decent air again ! It looks like you can do this and you've made a nice job of this old kit. Good luck ! TonyT Thanks very much, I have done my best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Another cracker OT, top work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Gosh. Thanks for building it so we don't have to! I remember those wheels clearly even 50-ish years after building that kit. I think that's why it's taken until now for me to build another! You have made a really nice model from it. It just doesn't look like a Mosquito. I wonder where Airfix got their plans from, because even "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" had more accurate plans than this. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Well made, but goodness, that is a pretty poor likeness of a Mossie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 3 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Gosh. Thanks for building it so we don't have to! I remember those wheels clearly even 50-ish years after building that kit. I think that's why it's taken until now for me to build another! You have made a really nice model from it. It just doesn't look like a Mosquito. I wonder where Airfix got their plans from, because even "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" had more accurate plans than this. Regards, Adrian Thanks very much. I think when I was 9 I instantly recognised this kit as a Mosquito, but now it looks more like a development or foreign copy of a Mosquito, perhaps even a two seat Hornet. 3 hours ago, PLC1966 said: Well made, but goodness, that is a pretty poor likeness of a Mossie... It is a shame they didn't make a version of the Mosquito that looked like this, it would have looked good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 5 hours ago, old thumper said: It is a shame they didn't make a version of the Mosquito that looked like this, it would have looked good. Maybe as with a role as a 'Toon' in 'Who framed Roger Rabbit ?' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I pulled my old one out yesterday, I couldn't get over how small the canopy was compared to the note recent (?) Airfix kit. I've now donated the canopy from this one to the old one, hope I can make it fit. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 12 hours ago, stevehnz said: I pulled my old one out yesterday, I couldn't g3t over how small the canopy was compared to the note recent (?) Airfix kit. I've now donated the canopy from this one to the old one, hope I can make it fit. Steve. Yes I'm afraid the canopy is very small, the kit is all wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 With a better canopy & some reshaping of the nose, I'm hopeful of getting something that looks more like a Mosquito that it does now. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I have to say that apart from the nose, canopy and wheels it does look very much like a Mosquito to someone not armed with a ruler... Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 On 6/27/2017 at 7:34 PM, stevehnz said: With a better canopy & some reshaping of the nose, I'm hopeful of getting something that looks more like a Mosquito that it does now. Steve. 6 hours ago, AdrianMF said: I have to say that apart from the nose, canopy and wheels it does look very much like a Mosquito to someone not armed with a ruler... Regards, Adrian I think this is the thing, sometimes by knowing to much of the detail we can be distracted from the obvious features. For example it looks like a Mosquito but it can't be because of the nose, canopy and guns etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicarage Vee Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Nicely finished indeed. Like many I have this awaiting a nostalgia build. I have a spare nose after a 'bomber nose' conversion of the later Airfix release. I don't think I'll be able to resist grafting it on, what's to lose? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 31 minutes ago, Vicarage Vee said: Nicely finished indeed. Like many I have this awaiting a nostalgia build. I have a spare nose after a 'bomber nose' conversion of the later Airfix release. I don't think I'll be able to resist grafting it on, what's to lose? I understand the temptation to improve these old kits but when people do they lose their original look. With certain kits such as this one it is the original look (the imperfections) that I now try to bring out the most, it was my way to remove the imperfections but I finished up with models that looked much different to how I remembered them. What I try to achieve these days is an old model that looks exactly how I remember it, just neatly built with the gaps filled in and no glue on the canopy. Best of luck with your build and I hope the conversion is not to much trouble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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