Ventora3300

Thanks - it's like that paint advert where the customer simply wants 'white' but the 'niche' sales assistant laughs that off and suggests every trendy type of shade of white except plain white! I'll just go with black.... This Mossie looks to have 'Museum grade' black - all set as a 'pristine' display! The bombs were a very tight fit on the carriers in the bomb bay and it all fell apart under the pressure I was exerting. It all came out and the bomb sub-assemblies ready to put back in on some blobs of glue out of sight. The bomb bay doors required the added ribs to be sanded flat at the door edges and when test fitting, I noticed that they almost all lined up with the ribbing already inside the bomb bay - I should have used those to mark the positions precisely. The bomb door actuators need a fair bit of fettling (mostly to remove paint) to fit snugly against the front and back faces of the bay. That funny looking pair of rings (15Amp fuse wire) on the silver mesh is the latest iteration of intake snow guards..... I spent a fair bit of time reviewing the navigation equipment set up discussed at length and decided to modify the Airfix parts to represent the Type R1355 Receiver with Junction Box alongside on the 'rear shelf' and beef up the Indicator Unit to nearer a Type 62 size. Thanks Charlie @Johnson ! The starboard wing is together now but that little infill on the leading edge requires work - it might be on upside down. The fuselage now has the topsurface camo on and a dry fit of the wings to the spars didn't go too well - maybe some sanding of the spars required as the starboard side has a decided gap at the front edge alongside the radiator.

This is flying along! Watch out when fitting the bombs - I found that the tight Airfix tolerances came into play when I reached the same stage and since I brush painted, the bombs required some heavy pushing onto the bomb carriers. All the internal carriers were promptly dislodged and I had to rebuild from scratch outside the bay. Might be worth cleaning out the slots on the underside of the bombs. Also, the bomb bay door actuators are taking a lot of fettling to get them to stay flat back against the bay end walls. Good luck with all these fiddly bits. All the best. Mike.

https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/136170-mosquito-wheel-tyre-removal Came across this for the 1:1 scale!

Tail wheel looks nice/better as well, Charlie. The main wheels do look thin but like you, I would like to know the ‘real’ width.

Looking good, Andy. Yes, that bluetac is indeed needed to hold down the undercarriage legs at the rear - I used a bit of masking tape. The mudguard looks much better thinned down. The grip of the ‘buttons’ on the legs for wheel hubs is worth improving on too. Are you going to attempt the jacking leg swap-over on the starboard side undercarriage when you do that? All the best. Mike.

Thanks, Dave. I think some more 4"x2" was needed to be added under the spars to be able to carry the 4000 pounder, so who knows what the 8000 pounder would have required! Thanks Andy - that Lanc looks too black and I'll need to check back on what I used. The black on the Mossie is just the virgin H33 enamel paint and looks like a better 'Night' but will maybe change for the worst under a coat of varnish. There are some statistics in the Graham Simons book which support the DH designers' view that the smaller aircraft was a more 'efficient' / 'safer' way to deliver weight of bombs. Anyway, the surgery on the starboard undercarriage has been completed and it has worked out well. One of those details that will disappear into obscurity when looking at the completed model!

Yes, I've been looking for any comparison pictures to see these bombs side by side and the best I've managed to find is this - the end of a 4000lb 'Cookie' is just visible on the left. Wiki says, 'The larger 8,000 lb (3.6 t) bomb was constructed from two 4,000 lb (1.8 t) sections, of a larger 38 in (0.97 m) diameter, that fitted together with bolts.[3] A 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) version was created by adding a third 4000 lb section[4][5] and should not be confused with the 12,000lb Tallboy ground-penetrating "earthquake" bomb. The 4000 lb high-capacity design was little more than a cylinder full of explosives: it was un-aerodynamic and lacked fins. The comparable American "4,000 pound LC Bomb AN-M56" was - like other US bombs - aerodynamically designed, with a sheet metal tailfin assembly and shaped nose and aft sections. When fitted with a conical nose and a drum tail, the 1,800 kg (2 short tons) blockbuster bomb would fall straight down'.

Phew, that is certainly a cockpit full of equipment, Charlie. Fantastic work. It's amazing to think that with the OBOE installed, there was no need to look out the bomb aimer's window any more! I was just going to stick with the GEE..... All the best. Mike.

You've produced a smooth joint line there, Dave, Lovely internal framing in the canopy too, well worth all your efforts, I think. You've set the bar high here! All the best. Mike.

A quick check of my first attempt at engine intake snow guards - near but keep trying, I think. Another detail alteration is to move the undercarriage jacking leg over to the right hand side of the starboard undercarriage. The small lug was cut off the left leg, a bit too enthusiastically, and another hole drilled over on the right leg. Next is to re-glue the jacking lug and rod and clean up the sprue attachment points as well.

The four 500lb bombs are ready to load but since this Mossie has a bulged bomb bay, I had the alternative idea of trying for a 4,000lb blockbuster/'cookie' - I'd used a Bomber Re-Supply Set to bomb up a Lancaster previously but had the 8,000lb bomb left. I thought the 8000lb version was just two 4,000lb bombs bolted together so maybe could just cut down my spare bomb - not so! It looks like the 8000lb bomb is bigger in diameter too - nearly fits!

Thanks again, Dave. That Frog Mossie will make an appearance in the Inspiration Gallery eventually! Thanks V-P. I often do this but always end up having to touch up colours at the seams, looks like some is required at the rear of the nacelles. This time, the wing tips will need 'standard' painting. This fuel cooler seems like a good idea, to prevent vapour locks in the fuel lines I believe. probably useful at lower warmer levels more than cold high levels? I got a bit of a shift on today and the bomb carriers are in the bomb bay - very small contact surfaces here and I just know these will be coming apart when I mount the bombs. Bombs are finished now with the yellow decals. The port wing is assembled (only dry fitted) and the tip needed a little PPP in the join. Thankfully, the nav light 'bulb' is still visible. The bomb bay doors have the hinges and support strips in now. The prop blades need finishing and if I look at the tailwheel from a certain angle, I can see it has the anti-shimmy double tread. That little sausage thing on the silver mesh is my first go at engine intake snow guards.

We've been round the block already concerning these IFF Recognition Lights.......

What was the whining sound - engine start up? I like the radar instruments set up in the cockpit, and all in 1/72. Great work! All the best. Mike.

That looks like a lovely kit @mackem01 (must be from Sunderland!) and very deserving of that new modelling space - wish mine was that far advanced. This is looking good and with a full crew too! All the best. Mike.