TwoSheds

I've already got four on the go - one more won't make any difference

That is lovely. The finish and weathering are beautifully done IMO..

Thanks... It's a wonderful kit - all I am doing is a bit of painting and glueing... You know, looking at it - I find it difficult to believe that they are .303 (and not .5) Brownings - the ammunition chutes look so big!

Although the cockpit wall is not done, the main interior and Brownings are, so I just couldn't resist a trial fit:

Here's another shot showing the wiring for the instruments - which will never be seen again once I close it up. Sorry I'm so slow with these updates, but I don't get a lot of time on it... And a brief video of it 'in the round' (sorry about the soundtrack - the radio was on in the room) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW3M_lUYnII&feature=youtu.be

Bit of a break for various reasons,but back on it now...

WOW! Fantastic rust - looks just like the underside of my 1990 Range Rover No - but I really mean it - that is amazing. Well done sir!

Following with interest. I started mine a couple of weeks ago, but have been too busy to do much on it. I am doing mine with panels open, so my vote would be for you to do yours all shut up and ready to fly, but I won't be in the least offended if you completely ignore me

Many thanks for the kind comments people. It's all the kit you know - all I do is carefully put it together... Actually I have been surprised a couple of times by this kit in that there are situations where it's not that simple - the pilot's seat base for example comes in three parts which need to be glued together with no easy way of clamping them square - I ended up holding it with my fingers... Also there are joint lines at the front of the seat which I didn't notice until looking at the photo, which should have been filled... Additionally on the GEE instrument there is a VERY visible joint line that is not on the real thing and which definitely needs filling. As I said - surprising for Tamiya I think... Victor K2 - the yellow circles are decals in with the kit and I like you, wondered what they are for... The consensus appears to be that they are warnings that these plates will affect a magnetic compass (which apparently the navigator has as a backup to the main (giro?) compass. In photos there appear to be big yellow discs on all sorts of (ferrous) metal plates around the cockpit of a number of wartime aircraft. Aluminium and wood of course will not affect a magnetic compass, but even though I suspect that they will have been degaussed - these plates will... Cheers, Roger

well it's been a pretty slow start but at last I have something to show - the pilot's seat... This build is going to be more or less OOB but already I have done my first bit of scratch - the harness release cable which is quite obvious in lots of Mossie cockpit shots and is totally missing in the kit. I wonder if Tamiya leave out things like that just to give people something to do The other thing that I feel I should explain is a bit of artistic licence on the flares. I decided that there is no way that I can paint coloured bands around the bodies without it looking rubbish, and so I indicated the colour on the end caps. I have seen this method used, but not on military flares... I hope you will forgive me? One last thing - I haven't yet done various bits with matt, so for example the parachute looks a bit glossy, but that will be corrected soon. Hope you think it's ok... Rog

Promised sprue shots... I have made my decision - there is just too much pleasure to be had detainling those engines, and they will give me a chance to get it right this time, so it will be crew out and access panels off. The Game's afoot, and we start tomorrow

Right - reading the destructions, it seems that (unlike my Spitfire that is currently a bit stalled) I have to make some decisions immediately as to which way this build will go... Like, will I put the pilot and navigator in their seats? This will also determine whether or not the engines, guns, bombs etc are exposed... So what is the consensus? Should I build it: 'ready for takeoff' with pilot/nav in place and all covers shut, or 'undergoing maintenance' with engine and gun covers off... I welcome your learned opinions, but will not necessarily take any notice of them Roger

wow... Only just found this for some reason, but... Love it!

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

Hi Iain, My thinking is that if I have the motor in the cowlings there will inevitably be some spray paint getting in through the panel gaps, and if I paint the panels separately there will inevitably be some miss-match in term of colour or pattern... Perhaps I'm being over cautious but that's the way I am Thanks all for the encouragement, it really helps This build may stall for a while now since I have a wee break coming up and a Tamiya 1/32 Mossie waiting in the wings - and I will surely HAVE to at least make a start on that. Luckily I have an excellent work-space so working on three models at the same time is not a problem. TTFN, Roger