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Tsetse Mosquito Airfix 1/72 Nose


PhantomBigStu

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  • PhantomBigStu changed the title to Tsetse Mosquito Airfix 1/72 Nose
1 hour ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Something that has bugged me for a while, remembering Airfix have you cut the nose of to make the mkxviii, just wondering how different is the shape of it? Got a mind to convert the Tamiya in the future

Different enough, the XVIII has a modified cannon panel, and bulge for the gun and armour plate

Just google same images. 

eg

6ff1edcbf0a5124827b1a9e80d21a9d2.jpg

The XVIII does have some other detail differences not accounted for when Airfix did their kit. 

I say this as in 1/48th Paragon did conversions for the Airfiax and then Tamiya kits, and the later on had armoured  flaps and some other bits.

 

 Bear in mid if you want to do the conversion it might be worth asking for a leftover Airfix nose?

 

 

1 minute ago, RJP said:

AIrfix has had a lot of Mosquito kits over the years - which one do you mean?

Airfix has made

two 72nd kits, a FB VI in the 50's, and a 70's era that was a II/VI, and had the nose to make the XVIII,   which is the one the OP refers too.

 

The other are a 48th kit, done a FB.VI in 1980, and then had added parts to do a NF.XXX/30, and a B/PR XVI, and the 1/24th kit.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

I say this as in 1/48th Paragon did conversions for the Airfiax and then Tamiya kits, and the later on had armoured  flaps and some other bits.

Paragon did the conversion in 1/72 for the Tamiya kit as well

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/paragon-designs-72071-mosquito-fbxviii-molins-conversion--1004468

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Here's a conversion I did a couple of years ago, that shows some of the required mods for a Tse Tse , hope it helps ...

 

... and some build photo's ...

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150700625@N03/albums/72157691377659631

 

Edited by Tail-Dragon
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Lovely build @Tail-Dragon, and thanks for other comments,  so looks like any XVIII I build will be inaccurate as I cannot find the bulged canopy in 1/72 , still doesn't mean I won't give it a go, if one does exist Ill wait till it becomes available and build the airfix as an nfii short term  

Edited by PhantomBigStu
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The Airfix VI / XVIII didn't have you saw the nose off.  I wonder if you're thinking of the bomber-nose Frog effort with its alternative Mk VI parts.  That one did need rhinoplasty.  It was nowhere as sly as the way Tamiya provided for alternate noses.

 

Instead, the panel with the 20 MM gun apertures was separate on the Airfix kit and there was a similar one for the 57 MM.

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Yes, I remember the XVIII required the removal of the nose, since when I built my first one, I decided that I wasn't going to faff about with removing the nose - or more accurately, asking my Dad to cut it off since it seemed to require the use of a sharp blade (I was at the age where Blue Peter's 'please ask an adult to do this for you' applied when it came to sharp items).  A few years later, I lazily didn't bother with it, but told myself that I would next time. I'll get that third kit out of the loft and actually do it at some point...

Didn't Paragon do a Molins conversion in 48th for the Airfix kit (complete with new nose parts)? I dimly recall seeing one in ED Models about 20 years ago (while I'd like to think it wasn't 20 years ago, but, by heaven, it must have been...)

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18 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

I say this as in 1/48th Paragon did conversions for the Airfiax and then Tamiya kits, and the later on had armoured  flaps and some other bits.

 

 

10 hours ago, XV107 said:

Didn't Paragon do a Molins conversion in 48th for the Airfix kit (complete with new nose parts)? I dimly recall seeing one in ED Models about 20 years ago (while I'd like to think it wasn't 20 years ago, but, by heaven, it must have been...)

Indeed, as I noted above ;) 

And,  it most likely was 20-years ago :rolleyes: 

As Paragon switched to using the Tamiya as the base kit for the upgraded conversion.    I have the old versions stashed, and seen images/instruction for the upgraded one. 

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In reality, the only aftermarket parts needed are a good set of plans, some brass tubing, and a Squadron ‘bulged’ canopy. Everything else can be accomplished with spare parts and plastic strip. It’s probably as much work fitting a resin set, as it is modifying the kit parts. 

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