Tamiya 1/72 Mosquito NF II: 157 Squadron

[-Neu-]

So, this is going to be a lame lame OOB build of the Tamiya kit. Its a bit of relief after some of my recent kits (like the Fujimi F/A-18) and the failure of my last GB build.

So its kinda boring, so one thing I did was make some seatbelts out of tamiya tape.

Generally I use the riveter to create holes for buckles. Then I'll cut individual belts, paint it with some vallejo paints, use some tamiya oil stain weathering pastel to create shadows/weathering. Sometimes I make buckles out of wires, but in this case I just painted them on with my new favorite product, Gunze Mr Metallic paints.

Then I put them onto the model.

So that's the cockpit. sorry for the crappy photo, but I don't have a macro lens and needed to zoom in from afar. Basically I used tamiya JSDF green for the interior... which isn't as green as RAF interior but I think with scale effect it looks about right. I also use the oil stain weathering powder here to create some depth. The dials I painted by hand. Starting with the plastic I prime it white, cover paint it black, then use a knife to cut little lines inside. After I drop a bit of future to create the dials, and then either paint them or weather them with some silver.

So I glued it all together.

I also painted around the underwing lenses in order to avoid issues later.

So thats it for now. Unfortunately I have to go to JApan for several weeks, so I'll try to get as much completed before I leave. Then I'll be able to get it done when I get back in late may.

[canberraman]

A great start, looking forward to the next instalment.

Mark

[Peter Lloyd]

Another NFII is most welcome. Tamiya are doing well out of this group build, and rightly so.

[-Neu-]

Thanks guys

I've always believed that the Tamiya kit is probably one of the best ever made in 72. Its got fantastic details, goes together so easily and with almost no issues. the only one I've had is the fit of the bomb bay and ventral gun inserts. They are also reasonably priced; 1200 yen for a twin is pretty fantastic.

[-Neu-]

A bit late to the party... I spent last night trying to finish the model. Over the past few weeks this is where I've got to:

I'm like 97% done. I just need to add the exhausts and the antenna. The only problem is that I left my SLR in Japan and I don't have a good camera right now either... so its a cell phone shot for right now.

I might also put another layer of flatcoat down because I didn't like how this went on.

Edited May 29, 2013 by -Neu-

[-Neu-]

Well as promised, some better photos. Unfortunately the plane was a bit rushed and it showed: I'm not happy with the finish at all and the canopy needs some more detail work. The window on the canopy was added just after the photo... I knocked it off right before. Next time I've got the AB out for flatcoating I'll fix the area around the roundel. I'll also touch up some of the exhaust staining with some flat black when I get the chance...

All in all it was a fun easy build. A good set up for my next two projects.