PHIL B

Thanks James. I found these 2 photos of B.XVIs which I've squinted at and I think they have 3 ID lights. I'm going to add 3 of them anyway. https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/mosquito2/mosquito-b-mk-xvi-ml991-3/ https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/mosquito2/mosquito-b-xvi-rear/ Thanks guys. Its a lovely little kit and the Eduard set really brings the cockpit to life. Phil.

Its still the same month as my last update and we have some more progress! This is a bit much by my standards. At this rate, I may even finish this build by the end of the GB. This was my first attempt at using 3D decals and I was quite impressed. A bit of Gator's Grip was used to reduce the chances of any of them popping off later. The PE seat belts went on ok. I'm not totally pleased with them but that's all down to me - not Eduard. Still, after a light wash with Flory Models' dark dirt, the cockpit is finished. Now... identification lights in the lower fuselage. Should I open up 3 of them? I see from the PRXVI kit's instructions they are 1.5mm in diameter and the BXVI starboard fuselage half has indentations giving the approximate location. Phil

Lovely stuff James. That's a proper job. Phil.

James, its nice to know its not just me. Phil

Thanks James. It was your cracking PR XVI build which persuaded me to try the Eduard 3D decals. I'm thinking of using the Freightdog part as a guide and scratch-building the fairing. The trouble with me is that I want to still have the Freightdog part for my next Airfix B XVI in case I can't get hold of another set. Its just the way I think. It drives my wife mad sometimes. 🤪 Phil

Evening all. Well after a long time with no real excuse, my Mossie has received some TLC in the form of some paint and some pressies. My last bottle of Aeromaster acrylic UK Interior Green gave me a very pleasant and gentle re-introduction to brush painting. Its been a while since I picked up a hairy stick. I was a bit apprehensive about my brush painting skills but a new set of flat brushes from Hobbycraft costing all of £4.00 and a look at PlaStix's excellent YouTube video gave me the confidence to crack on. My OOB aspirations didn't survive an unrelated order from Hannants which just happened to have some resin wheels, 3D decals and canopy masks added to it. After that, a Facebook post from Colin at Freightdog told of a restock of resin bits which I couldn't resist. I'd already prepped the kit's closed bomb bay doors but now I'm in two minds about whether to use it with a scratchbuilt rear fairing or go with Freightdog's finest. My next session should see the cockpit detail painted, 3D decals in place and hopefully the fuselage ready to zip up. All the best, Phil.

No Chris, that's Steven Wright. This Steve Wright was well known in the UK but not so much elsewhere. Phil.

I'm stunned. Just heard him on Pick of the Pops on Saturday. RIP Steve.

Great minds think alike eh? For me it was next to this one: Does anyone know which airframe appears in this shot? My late uncle Barrie worked for DH/Hawker Siddeley/Bae at Stag Lane and Hatfield all of his working life so I'm a bit biased when it comes to their products. My wallet's going to take a hit with Revell reissuing their BAe146/RJ70 later this year. Anyway, back to things Mosquitoey (hey, its in the OED - I didn't know myself til just now). Oh I don't know Adrian. I can see the appeal looking back, as it were. I agree about the spinners colour on the box art. Mind you, the kit paint guide does call for Humbrol 230 PRU Blue Some further plastic fondling has occurred namely dry fitting various airframe and detail parts. I'm rather impressed with the fit of the various engine nacelle components. Some almost Tamiya-esque engineering. Good on yer Airfix. Now about that paint I promised... Phil.

Thanks chaps. We're off and running! No pics yet but the sprue cutters and sanding sticks made it out of the loft tonight and onto a cutting mat. The bomb bay/wing spar/cockpit floor has seen some Tamiya Extra thin and after a bit of fettling, I'm happy with their dry fit inside the fuselage halves. The closed bomb bay doors part has been sanded smooth and awaits a scribed centreline. This is a really nice little kit. It is good enough to have me reaching for a paintbrush tomorrow. Phil.

Evening all. I'd like to join in with Airfix's recent small-scale Mossie in its bomber guise. I'm going for the airframe on the box art because 1) I don't need any AM decals but mainly 2) Its the subject of a big poster I had on my bedroom wall when I was a model-mad teenager. Of course at the time, I dearly wanted to build a model of it so its great to now have that chance. Thanks Airfix! Here's the usual box & sprue shots. Here's the poster which I bought from the RAF Museum shop in the late '70s. It is, of course, one of Charles E Brown's wonderful wartime air to air photos. At the time, my friends all seemed to have rather different posters on their bedroom walls. Many involved models but were definitely not de Havilland or Airfix products! I'm planning to build this one out of the box but we'll see how that goes when I get to the bomb bay doors/fairing and the tailwheel. Here's hoping this thread gets further than my last one. I posted the same sort of photos for an Airfix 1/48 Chippy in the last DH GB then found out later the same day that we were moving house imminently. That stalled my modelling until now. That move went well so I'm confident I can actually start building this time. All the best, Phil.

Hi FB, Yes, it is for the Tamiya 1/20 kit. If you're up for it, perhaps you'd sell a kit of your parts like the 3-spoke front wheels, inlet trumpets, injectors & throttle slides and your mesh former as well as the cam covers? I reckon there are plenty of modellers out there who'd love to have your DFV parts for lots of other cars too. As and when you get to parts like the tyres for your FW07B, my credit card would really start to take a pasting. 😄 Anyway, enough about what I want. On with your great build! Phil

Great idea FB. Perhaps you could mark the bolt centres to be drilled and added? Would you be open to selling bits like this after your build? I have a pile of FW07 kits which all need 'em. True Ant but it went back further to the start of the Saudia sponsorship. For instance, Clay Regazzoni's '79 Silverstone winning car had the Ford logos ground away so there was just a blank space on the cam covers. Cosworth had only just started making them with their own name on for the DFX-powered Indycar teams and Williams were still a small team in '78/79 with limited finances so they made-do with what they had. By 1980 though they were on top of it and I've only ever seen FW07Bs and later with Cosworth on the cam covers right through to FW08C in '83. Incidentally the Ensign team used them too when they had Unipart sponsorship. Phil

Thanks so much on both counts. The removals men are doing their thing as I am posting this message so I'm hopeful of getting in some Chippy time in the next couple of weeks. Phil

Thanks Cliff. I'm now thinking its soon going to be time to thin the stash a tad. I turn 57 this month and seeing my whole stash laid out in a big pile of big boxes has brought on a surge of sensibleness. I think I've been paralysed by too many choices in some ways so perhaps a cull will release some self-imposed pressure to get them all built. Mind you, there's nothing like a bit of cash from a stash sale to prompt new purchases. 😉 Phil

Those with a keen eye may have noticed my complete lack of progress on this build. Well, 2 hours after I opened this topic we found out that we're moving house on 2 weeks notice. My world now consists mainly of boxes. It must be said a large number of those do contain kit boxes hence the loft boarding scheduled for tomorrow. One box I haven't opened lately is the Chipmunk's box. I'm hoping things will settle down in the next couple of weeks so I can at least get something done. The good news from my point of view is that after 11 years of living in a flat, we now have both a loft and a garden so if all else fails, I can spray outdoors. Since my Chippy will be finished in overall Light Aircraft Grey, perhaps even I have half a chance of getting it finished in time for the end of GB. Phil.

Thanks guys. That explains it. I have both Heller's & Fujimi's Ferrari 330 P4 and all I can say is that Heller's 512S must have been superior their P4 to have been reboxed so much later. Phil

Excellent. I nearly bought that Wingman decal with masks set but the complexity of the Asas scheme stopped me. I look forward to your completed Alpha Jet trio. Phil.

John, I would imagine its a licencing cost issue. Hasegawa only had the Testa Rossa and their gorgeous 1/20 Ferrari 312T & T2 kits available for a relatively short period. I wonder whether their initial licence period expired and it wasn't worth their while to pay again. Conversely, Fujimi have plenty of their 1/20 & 1/24 road and racing Ferraris in rotation but not their 512S sports prototypes. Perhaps there were different licences for different kits? Phil

Great result Alex. That looks amazing. Will one of your Potuguese Alpha Jets be in Asas de Portugal colours? I love that scheme. Phil

Thanks dnl. Its a lot of promise and no progress so far so don't hog the popcorn yet. 😁 Its not in my pics cos I'm not using it but the Xtradecal sheet comes with this full sheet of dayglo strips too. Phil

Thanks James. Amazing isn't it? There are so many stories about BRIXMIS and what they went through, mostly on the ground. More about that as the build progresses. Thanks Marklo. I hope I can do justice to the kit. Thanks James. I do like a bit of Cold War history and this is a good 'un. Cheers Cliff. I hope I can add something to your party here! Thanks. I saw your Chippy build when I was deciding what to do for this GB. Very nice result. Phil

Evening all. I My build will be one of the RAF's most prolific and successful piston engined photo reconnaisance aircraft. "Its a DH group build. Surely its a Mosquito!" I hear you cry? Well, erm... no. As you may know in post WWII, Berlin, like the whole of Germany, was divided into 4 zones by the occupying powers, namely the British, Americans, French and Soviet Union. Agreement was reached giving all 4 the right to fly over the whole of Berlin Control Zone. The Zone covered a radius of 20 miles which included not only the Soviet Zone but also a decent chunk of what became East Germany. Now, the Gatow based RAF Officers being underpaid chaps, they wanted to keep on collecting their flight pay so they needed to keep up their flying hours. After the Berlin Airlift combat aircraft were not permitted hence the need for training aircraft at RAF Gatow in the British Zone. Fortunately, the British Commanders'-in-Chief Liaison Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) were 31 officers and men who had permission to travel in the Soviet Zone of both Berlin and Germany. Hence they became aerial photographers. It didn't take long before the opportunity was taken to conduct covert reconnaisance over the Soviet Zone and beyond into East Germany. Since the Soviets thought the agreement covered flights over only West Berlin, they stamped the Chippy's Flight Registration Cards "Safety of Flight Not Guaranteed." Not very comforting eh? From 1956, the Chipmunk took over this duty and conducted almost daily flights right through the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to German reunification in October 1990. There are some excellent online articles if you want to know more. Here's a couple for starters: https://www.16va.be/vols_brixmis_part1_eng2.html https://www.keymilitary.com/article/across-wall Chipmunk WZ862 was stationed at RAF Gatow from 1974 to 1987. So after all that, here's what I've got. This will be an out of the box build because I'll be up against it to finish in time without complicating the situation. Let the fun begin. Phil.

Cracking work FB. Your inlet trumpets and fuel line connectors look sooo much better than the kit parts. Also your accurately dimensioned throttle slide bodies will allow you to get the fuel lines and plug leads between them and the cylinder heads. The thicker kit slide bodies make that really tricky. Have you thought about the cam covers at all? The kit parts' COSWORTH lettering was great for its time but its oversized and looks bit cartoonish to my eye. Phil

Me please! It'll help to make me build one of my Tamiya Williams FW07s as Alan Jones' 1980 Argentine Grand Prix winner. Phil