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Airfix 1/24th Fw-190


Bonkin

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On the subject of German paints, as the war progressed the supply of paint pigments became a problem with the result that whilst specific paints, such as RLM 02, became somewhat variable in colour. Further, pigment density was reduced, so undersurface colours ghosted through. 

 

The evolution of German RLM paint codes and their association with the RAL codes is described here:

 

https://emmasplanes.com/index.php/paints/rlm-colors/

 

As can be seen from the earliest paint swatches RLM 02, Grey, has a definite green tinge, which is why it was known as "grey green" for many years. 

 

There is a cross reference list showing RLM, RAL, FS and many of the main model colours, but not Humbrol. 

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Very nice 'pit. The Airscale panels have come out a treat.

 

I've just uploaded a file to the DropBox folder with an image (Bbri109-0729) that shows what the oxygen demand unit looked like. The pilot could press the central button with elbow to increase flow of oxygen. 

 

Cheers

 

Matt

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On 30/11/2022 at 15:40, 224 Peter said:

As can be seen from the earliest paint swatches RLM 02, Grey, has a definite green tinge, which is why it was known as "grey green" for many years. 

IIRC there was a description of the pigments, black white and yellow ochre, which gives an olive grey, which looks greenish,  @Casey may recall more.

RLM 02 was a frequently used colour in Imperial Germany as well.

On 30/11/2022 at 15:40, 224 Peter said:

There is a cross reference list showing RLM, RAL, FS and many of the main model colours, but not Humbrol.

The RAL are of use, as some are the same colour. 

 

FS595 "matches" should have the note of how close it is, giving FS595 as  match can, and does cause lots of confusion, even with American WW2 colors, as many of those do not have direct FS595 matches, example is US Navy sea blues..

 

The link does have a good background on German colours standards evolution though.

HTH

 

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14 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

black white and yellow ochre, which gives an olive grey, which looks greenish

I checked the above Vallejo mix and it turns out too green, feeling more like green zinc chromate.

 

4880539d621b3d5838b13eadafd7ba57.jpg

 

Left: 70:30 mix of 71.010 and 71.050

Right: Vallejo 71.044 RLM 02

 

70:30 mix under spectrophotometer suggests it does contain green pigment and has 5.30DE color difference. (using CIEDE2000 color difference - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_difference#CIEDE2000)

Vallejo 71.044 is bit closer and has 3.11DE color difference

 

For sake of completeness, here is a simple mix of Golden Fluid Acrylics: Yellow Oxide: 4, Titanium White: 8, Carbon Black: 1 (parts by mass) and results has 1.25DE difference from the target color.

97f3f8fc0b391480f6e132ebfd3955da.jpg

 

The other two colors are my attempts of RLM66 and RLM70. And no RLM70 does not need green pigment neither. If you are curious my recipes are:

 

RLM 66: Carbon Black: 3, Titanium White: 4, Burnt Sienna: 4 (by mass) - with difference of 0.94DE from the target

RLM 70: Carbon Black: 4, Yellow Oxide: 3,  Titanium White: 2, Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium: 1 (by mass) - with difference of 1.16DE

 

I have a large collection of RLM samples, and they do differ a bit (I just kind of arbitrary pick my reference as Merrick&Kiroff color sample pictured above) but none of them go into 'contains green pigment' range - there was a great post from @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies about how the olive range is made without using any green pigments and how much chromatic pigment is needed to make it 'more green'.

 

 

 

Edited by Casey
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On 30/11/2022 at 15:40, 224 Peter said:

On the subject of German paints, as the war progressed the supply of paint pigments became a problem with the result that whilst specific paints, such as RLM 02, became somewhat variable in colour. Further, pigment density was reduced, so undersurface colours ghosted through. 

 

The evolution of German RLM paint codes and their association with the RAL codes is described here:

 

https://emmasplanes.com/index.php/paints/rlm-colors/

 

As can be seen from the earliest paint swatches RLM 02, Grey, has a definite green tinge, which is why it was known as "grey green" for many years. 

 

There is a cross reference list showing RLM, RAL, FS and many of the main model colours, but not Humbrol. 

Useful link. Thanks Peter. It is my intention to vary tone in various parts - which may reflect what you are saying.

 

On 30/11/2022 at 20:36, Mattlow said:

Very nice 'pit. The Airscale panels have come out a treat.

 

I've just uploaded a file to the DropBox folder with an image (Bbri109-0729) that shows what the oxygen demand unit looked like. The pilot could press the central button with elbow to increase flow of oxygen. 

 

Cheers

 

Matt

Cheers. Matt. I took a look at that picture but to be honest I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Without having access to a 190 cockpit directly I used DCS to get an idea of how it should look. You can see from the picture below that there isn't an awful lot to it (in their model at least). Knowing that it won't really be seen I just used a bit of artistic license in my build.

DCS%20Cockpit%2010.png

 

On 02/12/2022 at 14:15, Troy Smith said:

IIRC there was a description of the pigments, black white and yellow ochre, which gives an olive grey, which looks greenish,  @Casey may recall more.

RLM 02 was a frequently used colour in Imperial Germany as well.

The RAL are of use, as some are the same colour. 

 

FS595 "matches" should have the note of how close it is, giving FS595 as  match can, and does cause lots of confusion, even with American WW2 colors, as many of those do not have direct FS595 matches, example is US Navy sea blues..

 

The link does have a good background on German colours standards evolution though.

HTH

 

Ever helpful. Thanks Troy.

 

On 02/12/2022 at 19:31, Casey said:

I checked the above Vallejo mix and it turns out too green, feeling more like green zinc chromate...

 

... The other two colors are my attempts of RLM66 and RLM70. And no RLM70 does not need green pigment neither. If you are curious my recipes are:

 

RLM 66: Carbon Black: 3, Titanium White: 4, Burnt Sienna: 4 (by mass) - with difference of 0.94DE from the target

RLM 70: Carbon Black: 4, Yellow Oxide: 3,  Titanium White: 2, Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium: 1 (by mass) - with difference of 1.16DE

 

I have a large collection of RLM samples, and they do differ a bit (I just kind of arbitrary pick my reference as Merrick&Kiroff color sample pictured above) but none of them go into 'contains green pigment' range - there was a great post from @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies about how the olive range is made without using any green pigments and how much chromatic pigment is needed to make it 'more green'.

 

My goodness. Wow. See there was me just mixing something up that I thought looked sort of right - and then I get support from fellow BM's that actually know stuff and are willing to help out. Thank you Casey - this is very useful.

 

So... I sprayed up some other bits this time using Vallejo 71.044 and can most definitely agree that these look sooo much better. Below is the comparison - top and bottom parts in 71.044, middle part in my (incorrect) mix.

 

20221203_124153.jpg

 

And here is the wing - also sprayed with 71.044. You can see that I cut out the flaps (still haven't decided whether they should be up or down - there seem to be only museum pictures where they are shown down), but what the picture does illustrate is that the colours do vary a lot depending on the ambient light conditions and the camera settings.

20221203_155548.jpg

 

Thanks for looking.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Progress is slow... but tis the season for merriment and today I've finished work for the year so I have very good reason to be merry :penguin:. I'm hoping this will also mean some time at the bench to continue working on this build.

 

I have been wondering whether my approach on this build was right. I spent a fair bit of time finishing off the cockpit with levers and other twiddly bits but most of these came off when I had to use some considerable force to fit the cockpit tub and instrument panel into the right position. In hindsight I think it would have been better to have glued the fuselage together with these parts already fitted. On the plus side, you can't really see much of the cockpit detail anyway - so it would be difficult to spot if levers were even there anyway. I may come back to it later and have another go.

 

In order to get some dihedral going I created a wing with plasticard and clamped this in place. I did ponder on the approach to this and I still don't know if it will work as I hope. I fear it may need some metal rod bonded in as well. I calculated the angle on each side to be 6 degrees... and if I can't get the wing angle right when it comes to fitting the top sides then I will probably try a different approach.

20221204_142005.jpg

 

The finished spar... which only afterwards did I realise was going to be too high...
20221204_173920.jpg

 

... but there is the start of a dihedral.
20221204_174043.jpg

 

I glued the wing in at the back first - attaching the spar to the square rods I had earlier glued into the fuselage. Note in this picture the front end isn't glued in.
20221205_215526.jpg

 

Close up of the spar - showing that it needs to be reduced for top surface to fit.
20221218_140855.jpg

 

Once the back end of the wing was fully dry I glued and clamped the front... each side at a time.
20221206_191904.jpg

 

And then finally I fitted the firewall with ammunition box piece. My hope is that the front spars (where the oleo legs connect) will also support some dihedral.
20221218_140810.jpg

 

... and then the gun base and flaps. The tail is a tight fit and only pushed in at the moment.
20221218_164837.jpg

 

I'm now at the point where I'm wondering how on earth to get the oleo legs to fit correctly. They seem to be out of alignment in all directions - and the wheels themselves should I believe be vertical to the ground:

oleleg.jpg

 

There are going to be several challenges all in one with these and there is no alternative after market metal part (unless I could make the Scale Aircraft Conversions ones for the Trumpeter 190D somehow fit) :facepalm: .

 

As ever, thanks for looking.

Edited by Bonkin
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2 hours ago, Bonkin said:

I'm now at the point where I'm wondering how on earth to get the oleo legs to fit correctly. They seem to be out of alignment in all directions

Perhaps place some kind of mounting block behind the plastic rear UC well wall, drilled to take a metal pin. 

Then work on getting the front rake of the UC leg right, and drill through the top of the leg at the right angle.

You may need to drill in from the front of the wing, but that would give a really solid top pin and set the front/back angle, which a lot of FW 190 models get wrong.

the leg can pivot on this, and allow the side angle to then be set.  It would also allow the pin to be put in at a later stage of construction,  just needing a small hole to be made good in the leading edge

 

For the wheel to leg I'd again look at pinning.  You may want to consider doing like the above, and utilising the UC door for strength and pin through the doort.

This a real armchair stuff,  as I have not owned the kit...

 

2 hours ago, Bonkin said:

(unless I could make the Scale Aircraft Conversions ones for the Trumpeter 190D somehow fit

the SAC parts from what I have read are basically a scam,  as they are soft white metal, and often copies of the kit parts. 

HTH

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Well done, you have a challenge. The FW 190 U/C legs are at what seems to be an odd angle, both from the front and side aspect. 

 

Some of the earlier Airfix 1/24th kits are a challenge. I have the Mk 1 Spitfire to build and I hope that the Mx IX will give me inspiration and guidance. Most of the inner wing parts for the IX are on one spru and I plan to ask Airfix if they can sell me that spru so I can build the wheel wells, which are simply a void on the Mk 1. Comparing the engines will be interesting, although the Mk1 will have the cowlings buttoned up. 

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I think I'd build a simple jig to set the u/c angles.

 

In my mind's eye, if you set the correct distance apart (looking from the front) and the correct distance between main leg and tail leg it should all work out (shouldn't it?). That's assuming the kit is correct in placement of those parts and general dimensions.

 

In theory the gear of the D-9 is the same as that for any of the later 190 As. Could be a difference between the way Airfix and Trumpy legs attach which might make life interesting...  However, I tend to agree with Troy in that the metal used appear pretty soft and I have heard stories of these legs starting to bow over time... which rather defeats their purpose. In terms of detail, some of their legs do have added detail, many are just copies of the original plastic parts.

 

One thing to check with the main gear is to assess whether the oleos have been depicted at maximum extension - i.e. as they would appear with no weight upon them (after take off). This seems to be a pretty common error on 190 legs.

 

EDIT: Useful short discussion + drawings on LSP  LSP 190 u/c question

 

Also these on Hyperscale:

 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190landinggear_1.htm

 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190landinggear_2.htm

 

Matt

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On 20/12/2022 at 20:18, Keeff said:

The build looks good and seems to be progressing well.   Nice to see I'm not alone with the issues of an old Airfix kit!  🤣

Thanks Keeff. Although I'm enjoying the challenge, I am looking forward to moving onto one of the newer kits in my stash - like the Tiffie, Hellcat or Trumpeter kits, i.e. one that I'm expecting can be built to an acceptable standard pretty much out of the box. I will finish this one before I do though.

 

On 20/12/2022 at 22:13, Troy Smith said:

Perhaps place some kind of mounting block behind the plastic rear UC well wall, drilled to take a metal pin. 

Then work on getting the front rake of the UC leg right...

This a real armchair stuff,  as I have not owned the kit...

The SAC parts from what I have read are basically a scam,  as they are soft white metal, and often copies of the kit parts. 

Seems like it could be a good idea actually and I've been looking at how I could do this. With regards to the SAC parts - I did find with the 109 build that being able to bend them slightly was an advantage. This is why I was thinking they may be advantageous for this build. You are right about them being copies of the kit parts - they were for the 109.

 

On 21/12/2022 at 11:24, 224 Peter said:

Some of the earlier Airfix 1/24th kits are a challenge. I have the Mk 1 Spitfire to build and I hope that the Mx IX will give me inspiration and guidance. Most of the inner wing parts for the IX are on one spru and I plan to ask Airfix if they can sell me that spru so I can build the wheel wells, which are simply a void on the Mk 1. Comparing the engines will be interesting, although the Mk1 will have the cowlings buttoned up. 

I've got the Mk Vb in my stash... and was thinking of maybe building this alongside the new Mk IV so that I could make a better job of it. Hadn't considered getting hold of a new spru to mix the kits myself. That actually may be harder to do than just using plasticard.

 

On 21/12/2022 at 12:05, Mattlow said:

I think I'd build a simple jig to set the u/c angles...

... I tend to agree with Troy in that the metal used appear pretty soft and I have heard stories of these legs starting to bow over time... which rather defeats their purpose. In terms of detail, some of their legs do have added detail, many are just copies of the original plastic parts.

 

One thing to check with the main gear is to assess whether the oleos have been depicted at maximum extension - i.e. as they would appear with no weight upon them (after take off). This seems to be a pretty common error on 190 legs.

Building a jig would definitely be a good idea - although I'm not sure I'd have the patience :laugh:.

 

That is a bit worrying about the SAC legs bowing over time. I really hope that is not the case as I was planning to use metal replacements in as many of my kits as I have in my stash - and have already purchased a few.

 

Aye - the compression needs to be looked at. If I go with the F model then there will be a whacking great big bomb on the centre line - which must compress the legs a bit. I'll see how it goes... I've already glued the forward spars in (without the ole legs) so I am now committed to going off-piste.

 

 

On 21/12/2022 at 12:05, Mattlow said:

Useful short discussion + drawings on LSP  LSP 190 u/c question

 

Also these on Hyperscale:

 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190landinggear_1.htm

 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190landinggear_2.htm

 

Matt

Good links - thanks :like:.

Edited by Bonkin
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One thing I'm paranoid about this build is the wing dihedral. I taped on the top surfaces in order to figure out if I can fit the ole legs after they are glued up. Good news is that I can - but I'm not sure if I've got the dihedral right. Sometimes I think it looks ok and other times I'm sure the port wing is slightly down. Any error will become obvious once I get the undercarriage fitted - so if it is wrong then I need to try and do something about it before fitting the top wing surfaces.

20221223_173151.jpg

 

Luckily for me I've found that by enlarging the ole strut hole in the spar, the undercarriage leg has a lot of flexibility - both for-and-aft and side-to-side. Hopefully then I can use a jig of some sort to get the angles right.
20221223_172719.jpg

 

Somewhat surprisingly the wheel wells fitted absolutely fine. They were a bit fiddly to get in, but from previous build threads I've read I was expecting a lot of sanding and trimming.
20221228_153438.jpg


20221228_153502.jpg

 

I've also worked on the wing canons. I've opted for the F variant so I've only got the inboard pair to fit. As you can see from the picture, I've also added some support at the rear and side - since I don't want them shifting when I fit the barrels later (currently they are only push fitted). For info, these are from Albion Alloys and are part of the SFT8 slide fit brass tubing set... I just chose a diameter to match the plastic part of the barrel I removed.
20221228_181109.jpg


20221228_181129.jpg

 

Finally a test fit of the MG cover... which fits fine with no sanding required. That said... this may all change when I fit the guns :think:
20221228_164041.jpg

 

As always, thanks for looking.

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  • 1 month later...

It has been a while since I've had some time to crack on with this and I've only been steeling away the odd half an hour or so here and there. Yesterday though I managed to get a whole day to it - which was much needed therapy :penguin:. So anyway, without rambling I'll share where things are up to now.

 

First off, the top sides of the wings got added. Despite getting the dihedral going there is still a fair amount of filling at the wing joints to sort out. I've started this with some plasticard. The front edges will need some love too because there is a definite ridge.

20230101_195429.jpg

 

I'm not bothered about showing off the detail of the wing mounted cannons so I glued the covers in place. As you can see, neither side fitted very well at all.
20230108_175317.jpg


20230108_175259.jpg

 

On the underside I've started work on the undercarriage bays. Although the model has a back wall moulded part, there is nothing for the front - so I added some detail with what little images I could glean from the internet. I'm not sure how much further to go with these undercarriage bays. From what I can tell, most of the cabling and wiring is on the undercarriage legs themselves and there isn't so much in the bays themselves. I'd like to add some piping etc. but I need some reasonable reference pictures. 
20230101_195106.jpg

 

Given the lack of after market parts I have to make do with the awful rubber vinyl tyres provided with the kit... and so, to get some wear on them I made up this simple "jig" and spun them at high speed in my trusty Black  & Decker corded drill - then held varying grades of sandpaper against them. In these next three pictures is a comparison of the out-of-the-box tyre and the sanded one.
20221230_140901.jpg

 


20221230_131156.jpg

 


20221230_131212.jpg

 

And then finally it was decision time... to include the engine or not? I reasoned that I could give it a go and if it didn't work out (or got too hard) out then I could always close up the engine compartment permanently - so apart from time, there would be reason not to have a crack at it. First off then - what I guess is the air inlet arrangement needed some re-work. Through sanding, I managed to take may 1mm depth off but the fit is so bad I thought I'd cut the pipes off as well - and make my own. 
20230129_163337.jpg

 

Knowing about the protruding fan issue I spent some time looking for where I could lose some length. (Not something we normally try to do :cwl:). Parts 25 and 34 (the cylinder block supports) seemed like obvious candidates - but as I will come onto later, there seems to be no need.
20230212_160658.jpg

 

To make the pipes I'm using 2mm solder wire.
20230212_180124.jpg

 

First couple in... 12 more to go...
20230212_182904.jpg

 

Easy ones completed... the ones to the front cylinder heads will be harder to fit.
20230212_185846.jpg

 

So now I come onto why I'm not sure I need to lose any length off the engine. Having first built up the support frame...
20230212_110755.jpg

 

... it seems like the engine will be a perfect fit, i.e. the fan will sit inside the engine cowl in exactly the right place! (?) :think:.
20230212_110552.jpg

 

I'm somewhat confused why this works - when sooo many people have said there is a problem with the fan protruding around 5mm out in front. Considering I didn't have any issues with the wheel well covers either (just a light sand at the edges), then maybe I've just been lucky with my construction approach? One thing I did do was to ensure that the firewall/ammo box part 20 actually sat overhead the cartridge ejectors - so maybe that is it? Look back at the forth picture in this post and you can see where I cut the 2 rectangular holes out. Anyway, its not finished yet so maybe the problem is still yet to bite me.

 

As always, thanks for looking.

 

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Great progress (with a few challenges!)

 

20 hours ago, Bonkin said:

spun them at high speed in my trusty Black  & Decker corded drill - then held varying grades of sandpaper against them.

 

I used the same technique on my 1/24 Spitfire 1a wheels. Worked a treat.

 

Lovely work on the engine, I like the solder pipes, very effective.

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I've never tried this kit, it does look challenging, and more to the point as with the Spitfire 1a it shows just how far Airfix has come in he last 40 years!! 

That you have had no fan issue suggests you have got all the internals lined up nicely. 

I look forward to seeing your "Butcher Bird" evolve! 

 

The 1/24th Typhoon kit is more like the Hellcat and Spitfire IX than the Spitfire 1a. 

Once the Typhoon and 2 Spitfires are done I've got the Mosquito, lurking... 

 

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On 14/02/2023 at 16:49, Johnson said:

Lovely work on the engine, I like the solder pipes, very effective.

Thanks Johnson :yes:.

 

On 14/02/2023 at 17:57, 224 Peter said:

I've never tried this kit, it does look challenging, and more to the point as with the Spitfire 1a it shows just how far Airfix has come in he last 40 years!! 

That you have had no fan issue suggests you have got all the internals lined up nicely. 

I look forward to seeing your "Butcher Bird" evolve! 

 

The 1/24th Typhoon kit is more like the Hellcat and Spitfire IX than the Spitfire 1a. 

Once the Typhoon and 2 Spitfires are done I've got the Mosquito, lurking... 

 

Cheers Peter. Hmmm the Mossie.... I've been toying with the idea of doing that one next. It's either that or the Zero. :think:

 

On 14/02/2023 at 18:32, mick said:

great progress

Chees Mick :yes:.

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On 13/02/2023 at 19:53, Bonkin said:

I'm somewhat confused why this works - when sooo many people have said there is a problem with the fan protruding around 5mm out in front. Considering I didn't have any issues with the wheel well covers either (just a light sand at the edges), then maybe I've just been lucky with my construction approach?

IMO  cack hand modellers who don't pay attention moan loudest about "crap kits"  not taking into account their own input...

Kruger-Dunning modellers if you like..... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

You were aware of the kits reputation for being tricky,  and having approached it in that way,  have not had nasty surprises. 

 

Great to see a detailed build of this, highlighting tricky areas and also providing solutions.

 

cheers

T

 

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On 15/02/2023 at 21:32, Troy Smith said:

IMO  cack hand modellers who don't pay attention moan loudest about "crap kits"  not taking into account their own input...

Kruger-Dunning modellers if you like..... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

You were aware of the kits reputation for being tricky,  and having approached it in that way,  have not had nasty surprises. 

 

Great to see a detailed build of this, highlighting tricky areas and also providing solutions.

 

cheers

T

 

Interesting article :laugh: and thanks for the kind words. I think in all fairness to the builders of this kit before me, there are issues with the instructions and a lack of guide positions in the kit itself. Their experiences led me to cast these aside and to try to figure things out differently... and if this approach works (it might not yet), I'll happily make some recommended build approaches in a summary for the builders of the kit that come after.

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On 15/02/2023 at 19:25, Bonkin said:

Thanks Johnson :yes:.

 

Cheers Peter. Hmmm the Mossie.... I've been toying with the idea of doing that one next. It's either that or the Zero. :think:

 

Chees Mick :yes:.

Mick, 

the Mosquito was planned by the "Old Airfix" as the next release in the 1/24th series after the FW 190 in 1980 but the many changes in ownership and uncertainties between 1980 and 2005 meant that it didn't see the light of day until 2010. The old Airfix legacy showed with the rubber tyres, crew figures and the provision for a prop motor, but the kit tooling has more in common with the next release, the Typhoon than the first 1/24th series. 

I feel that I have to make it as it has lurked in my stash since it came out....

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

It took some time to get the remaining feeds to the engine done (lot's of trimming and cussing) but I finally got there...

20230217_184622.jpg


20230217_184610.jpg

 

I then painted them gloss black.
20230219_111902.jpg

 

I think it is a shame that Airfix didn't do more with the tops of the cylinder heads. There is detail missing which I've been contemplating adding but I'm not sure how.
20230219_111911.jpg

 

Also... having looked at a number of reference pictures online it is evident how many shortcuts Airfix actually took... particularly with the engine. As an example, the oil filter is missing and much of the pipework is absent. I'd like to add some of this detail but in all honesty much of it would only be seen from above... I've no intention of opening the fuselage up further.
6241674240-img-1434-2_orig.jpg

 

I the above picture you can see one of the side "stays" that the exhausts rest on. I may have a go at putting these in as I suspect that getting the exhaust pipes in and flattening the ends is going to be a bit of a challenge.
6241674240-img-1436_orig.jpg

 

One of the things that caught my eye with these pictures though is the yellow fuel lines. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me would be able to confirm but I believe the Germans had a simple system of colour coding pipes, i.e. yellow = fuel, blue = water/coolant and brown = oil. Anyhoos, it struck me that adding some yellow to the engine block would be eye catching.
BMW801_Aggregate.jpg

 

Above you can see that the fuel lines seem to terminate in the distribution system at the rear of the engine. This is at least modelled but won't easily be seen.
BMW_801_Radial_Engine_(24119741748).jpg

 

So... rather than paint thin wire, I found this supplier of 1/24 scale ignition cable...
20230304_145336.jpg

 

I also placed an order with Anyz for sparkplugs and other bits of pieces. Incidentally, these came beautifully packaged. Now, having some confidence in the overall length of the engine and that I won't need to reduce it, I attached the back plate, and then painted and weathered it up a bit.
20230304_201245.jpg

 

The spark plugs themselves are tiny... but I attached these with a bit of superglue.
20230304_201412.jpg

 

And this is where I am currently... the cable is thin enough to easily fit into the ends of the sparkplugs and I have roughly cut them to length so that I can feed them around the engine to the distribution point at the rear.
20230304_181859.jpg

 

I'm not doing all the fuel lines... only the ones that will be seen.
20230304_201518.jpg

 

I will of course paint the plugs yellow and then find away to run them around the engine. I also need to look at how to mount the "stays", fit a scratch built oil filter and add some associated pipework. I'll probably then move onto the cooling system vents before fixing the engine in permanently.

 

As always, thanks for looking.

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Nice work

 

These are fuel lines so I'm assuming you're using the spark plugs to replicate the connections. Yellow is a standard Luft colour for the fuel system. The actual spark plugs are on the front of the cylinders and there are two per cylinder...

 

All those fuel lines come out of an impressive mechanical-hydraulic computing device called the kommandogerat. Automated a lot of engine management, with the pilot just having to adjust the throttle.

 

Matt

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Really excellent, well done! 😀

 

Even in 1/24th scale we can only fit detail that represents the original, fitting everything would be impossible. The new 1/24th Spitfire IX from Airfix has a far more detailed engine, but it doesn't include every pipe, cable and wire! 

 

 

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There's some excellent work going on .... I really like the extra detail you're adding to the engine .... 👍

Overall, this is coming along nicely! 

 

Keith 😁 

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On 05/03/2023 at 15:06, Mattlow said:

Nice work

 

These are fuel lines so I'm assuming you're using the spark plugs to replicate the connections. Yellow is a standard Luft colour for the fuel system. The actual spark plugs are on the front of the cylinders and there are two per cylinder...

 

All those fuel lines come out of an impressive mechanical-hydraulic computing device called the kommandogerat. Automated a lot of engine management, with the pilot just having to adjust the throttle.

 

Matt

Most German WW2 engines featured direct fuel injection, so the Kommandogeraet performed, mechanically, the same task as the control module in a modern automobile engine with GDI = Gasoline direct injection. 

 

 

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