1:48 de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk.VI - Banff Strike Wing *FINISHED*

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

My next project is Tamiya's lovely Mosquito. Now I have built this kit a couple of times in my pre-BM days, but this is my first build in a few years. I know therefore that it is a lovely kit to build. Although much modelled, here is the box art:

 

 

Here's the sprue shots:

 

 

 

 

I've got a few extras for this build:

 

 

I've just finished re-reading this in preparation for the build:

 

 

If you get a chance to read it, it is an excellent account of the actions of the Banff Strike wing. I am still debating which aircraft to model - the mount of the Wing's C/O, Group Captain Max Aitken DSO DFC is currently the favoured option. There's a few photos of this aircraft: 

 

 

 

And this one in B/W with half invasion stripes:

 

 

Other elements of note are the red spinners, the group captain's pennant and the bare metal auxiliary fuel tanks. Now although I know that the aircraft serial number is HR366, I confess that I do not currently know the squadron code for 235 Sqn ('KK'?) or the aircraft code - I'm sure someone will have this information! None of this stops me from getting on with the build, so off we jolly we trot!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

 

[mark.au]

A Mosquito… 😍

[bigbadbadge]

Ooooooo a Mossie, looking forward to this and extras too. Awesome stuff.

Chris

[Dunny]

53 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Ooooooo a Mossie, looking forward to this and extras too. Awesome stuff.

Chris

Thanks Chris - I felt it was time to do one!

[Fritag]

6 hours ago, mark.au said:

A Mosquito… 😍

 

A fighter bomber Mosquito… 😍😍

[AliGauld]

Not just a Mossie but a Banff Mossie.

I have plans for one of these from the same kit.

Really looking forward to this one Roger. So much so that I'll need to put off the Beaufort so I can concentrate properly. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Quiet Mike]

Will follow with interest Roger! As you know mine is pretty near the top of the stash as well.

[Lawzer]

Would any invasion stripes still be applied? Think it was September 44 when 235 moved to Banff?

[TBC]

235 codes would have been LA. I believe the codes and individual letter would have all been forward of the roundel on the upper fuselage mostly over top of the wing, but coming slightly aft of the trailing edge. KK was the squadron code for The Outriders, 333 (Norwegian) squadron.

[Dunny]

9 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Not just a Mossie but a Banff Mossie.

I have plans for one of these from the same kit.

Really looking forward to this one Roger. So much so that I'll need to put off the Beaufort so I can concentrate properly. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

No excuses Alistair - fortune favours the brave!

5 hours ago, Quiet Mike said:

Will follow with interest Roger! As you know mine is pretty near the top of the stash as well.

Welcome aboard Mike - look forward to seeing yours kick off

2 hours ago, Lawzer said:

Would any invasion stripes still be applied? Think it was September 44 when 235 moved to Banff?

Not sure Lawzer - I think I've seen video of this aircraft and it definitely had stripes applied, but I could not say if it was at Banff or not...

1 hour ago, TBC said:

235 codes would have been LA. I believe the codes and individual letter would have all been forward of the roundel on the upper fuselage mostly over top of the wing, but coming slightly aft of the trailing edge. KK was the squadron code for The Outriders, 333 (Norwegian) squadron.

Thanks very much TBC! I have decided to go with another 143 Sqn aircraft:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Edited November 19, 2022 by Dunny
Squadron correction

[heloman1]

I'll follow your build if I may, I like the Mozzie. As an aside, when I emigrated to SA, my boss was an ex SAAF Mozzie navigator up in Italy (the red and white fin stripped ones). Between us we built threeof the old Revell kits. His domestic knocked the first two off the sideboard!

Anyway, he told me the groundcrew used to stow there beers in between the two crew access doors, for chilling. When the aircraft banked over, he heard the chink of the bottles rolling around. He opened the door, he and the pilot enjoyed the beers. He said d say it was a once off...

 

Colin

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, heloman1 said:

I'll follow your build if I may, I like the Mozzie. As an aside, when I emigrated to SA, my boss was an ex SAAF Mozzie navigator up in Italy (the red and white fin stripped ones). Between us we built threeof the old Revell kits. His domestic knocked the first two off the sideboard!

Anyway, he told me the groundcrew used to stow there beers in between the two crew access doors, for chilling. When the aircraft banked over, he heard the chink of the bottles rolling around. He opened the door, he and the pilot enjoyed the beers. He said d say it was a once off...

 

Colin

Welcome aboard Colin - glad to have you along! Different times indeed on both counts!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Edited November 20, 2022 by Dunny
Spelling

[AliGauld]

13 hours ago, Dunny said:

No excuses Alistair

No, just Mossie envy and you haven't started on the plastic yet.

God only knows what state I'll be in when that happens. 

I even got the Tamiya kit down from the loft yesterday for a fondle just to ease things.

Pathetic isn't it.

Let me get the Harvard a bit nearer completion and I'll get the Beaufort out as I have the PRU Spitfire to get moving on as well. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Just up the road from me

[AliGauld]

3 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Just up the road from me

Just down the road from my old stomping ground.

I visited the banks of the Deveron many times whilst Ross County were still in the Highland League. 

And yet I knew nothing about the Strike Wing until the last few years when I finally read about it. .

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dr. Quack]

Yaaaaay, Banff.

I'm in.

 

Q

[Dunny]

9 hours ago, AliGauld said:

No, just Mossie envy and you haven't started on the plastic yet.

God only knows what state I'll be in when that happens. 

I even got the Tamiya kit down from the loft yesterday for a fondle just to ease things.

Pathetic isn't it.

Let me get the Harvard a bit nearer completion and I'll get the Beaufort out as I have the PRU Spitfire to get moving on as well. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Don't overdo it, old chap 🤣

8 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Just up the road from me

Lovely part of the world Jamie!

5 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Just down the road from my old stomping ground.

I visited the banks of the Deveron many times whilst Ross County were still in the Highland League. 

And yet I knew nothing about the Strike Wing until the last few years when I finally read about it. .

 

Cheers,

Alistair

I was also completely unaware until I picked up 'A Separate Little War' on recommendation 

5 hours ago, Dr. Quack said:

Yaaaaay, Banff.

I'm in.

 

Q

Welcome aboard Dr Q!

[AliGauld]

5 minutes ago, Dunny said:

I was also completely unaware until I picked up 'A Separate Little War' on recommendation 

Me too.

In fact I'm sure the recommendation was from here.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Lawzer]

there's another book available that's pretty good...

 

http://www.rafbanfftrust.org/shop/banffstrikewingatwar.html

 

I live "sort of" near by and took a trip up there a few years back.  Some of the original (all be it ruins pretty much now) building are still there.  Pretty atmospheric to say the least.

 

Then there's the strike wing memorial not far away :

 

https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/217416/

 

( @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies has this been fixed after the bam ran into it?)

 

 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

32 minutes ago, Lawzer said:

( @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies has this been fixed after the bam ran into it?)

 

Yes it certainly has. It wasn't actually lying in bits for long. It's a half hour or so away but we like to go up to Portsoy for icecream every so often and pass it along the way. Last year we had not one but two holes in a very old wall nearby in Methlick. The first was caused by a Stagecoach bus on inappropriate tyres without chains skidding down the hill on snow, across the T-junction they were supposed to give way at at the bottom and punching a hole in the wall opposite leaving it stranded with the front wheels over the ledge. The bus was recovered, and very shortly afterwards another one did *exactly* the same thing but smashed another hole in the wall about 6ft to the right of the first one. People just love crashing into old stuff in Scotland. It's never their fault of course. The road was broken, the council didn't do enough to prevent winter, or the weather implemented some evil conspiracy against them, or a big boy did it and ran away. Pillocks the lot of them.

[Lawzer]

I can’t remember which rocket rails the tamiya kit has but the airfix one certainly has the correct ones as shown here:

 

 

(Photo credit etienne du plessis - admins please remove if not allowed).

 

if you need said rails let me know - I have a set you can have.

 

Also, flying out of the north east of Scotland in the weather we get up here, any Banff airframe is not going to be an oil painting…..😁

[Matt_]

I shall follow along with this. Big fan of strike wing mossies. 

 

I have this kit, which I'm planning to do as RF610. You know there's always 'that guy' who does a build and goes waaaaaaay over the top with all the aftermarket? Well, guilty as charged in this case. 🧑‍⚖️ I have about 1000 extra bits I've accumulated over the past couple of years, including Aires bomb bay, gun bay, and exhausts; CMK exterior set; Eduard etch; Kitsworld 3d decals; Master barrels; various insignia paint masks; 3 different sets of wheels; 3 canopies; and 2 different 100 gallon tanks. Oh dear. 😬   Might make an interesting 'what-if' were I to stick everything on.

 

In case you're considering any of the duplicates bits and want a comparison: I have Squadron and Taurus canopies - the Taurus one looks way crisper and clearer, less distortion than the kit part (and has no wiper if you want to use a p.e. one). Reskit, Eduard, and Armory wheels - Eduard ones are the best overall IMHO, Reskit ones are also very nice but not weighted, Armory ones are oddly much bigger than others (and kit part) and don't have the same level of detail. Also have Freightdog and Blackbird 100 gallon tanks - Freightdog ones are slightly crisper casting. They differ slightly in size, and I haven't ascertained which ones are correct yet. I forgot I had the Freightdog ones and bought the Blackbird set at Telford. 🙄 

[Dunny]

4 minutes ago, Lawzer said:

I can’t remember which rocket rails the tamiya kit has but the airfix one certainly has the correct ones as shown here:

 

 

(Photo credit etienne du plessis - admins please remove if not allowed).

 

if you need said rails let me know - I have a set you can have.

 

Also, flying out of the north east of Scotland in the weather we get up here, any Banff airframe is not going to be an oil painting…..😁

Thanks for the kind offer - the rails are as in the photo. I did think about scratching the duplex rails with the inner guard, so that I could add the auxiliary tanks, but then decided to model as per the above photo of HR405. As you note weathering will be key to this build as the photos show!

3 minutes ago, Matt_ said:

I shall follow along with this. Big fan of strike wing mossies. 

 

I have this kit, which I'm planning to do as RF610. You know there's always 'that guy' who does a build and goes waaaaaaay over the top with all the aftermarket? Well, guilty as charged in this case. 🧑‍⚖️ I have about 1000 extra bits I've accumulated over the past couple of years, including Aires bomb bay, gun bay, and exhausts; CMK exterior set; Eduard etch; Kitsworld 3d decals; Master barrels; various insignia paint masks; 3 different sets of wheels; 3 canopies; and 2 different 100 gallon tanks. Oh dear. 😬   Might make an interesting 'what-if' were I to stick everything on.

 

In case you're considering any of the duplicates bits and want a comparison: I have Squadron and Taurus canopies - the Taurus one looks way crisper and clearer, less distortion than the kit part (and has no wiper if you want to use a p.e. one). Reskit, Eduard, and Armory wheels - Eduard ones are the best overall IMHO, Reskit ones are also very nice but not weighted, Armory ones are oddly much bigger than others (and kit part) and don't have the same level of detail. Also have Freightdog and Blackbird 100 gallon tanks - Freightdog ones are slightly crisper casting. They differ slightly in size, and I haven't ascertained which ones are correct yet. I forgot I had the Freightdog ones and bought the Blackbird set at Telford. 🙄 

Crikey Matt - that's quite a haul! I feel far less guilty about my additions now - welcome aboard...

[Lawzer]

One other thing - I seem to remember reading that the mlg is “handed” in the tamiya and airfix (not sure about the 1/24 one though) kit:whereas in reality they were the same so could be installed either side with no modification……

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

I've been working on bits and pieces on the Mossie this week - anyone who has built one of these will know there are a lot of bits & pieces to occupy oneself with! This has been mostly detail painting thus far, although I did start on the cockpit assembly yesterday. First of all I attacked the bomb bay - although HR405 will not be carrying bombs, I shall pose the doors open on the pretext of maintenance/arming the cannons. Here's the component masked up after the fuel tanks had been sprayed red-brown:

 

 

And here after detail painting:

 

 

That'll look okay after an oil wash! Next I turned my attention to the nose machine guns. After I'd laid down a black base coat I remembered that I needed to drill out the barrels:

 

 

A bit difficult to see but you get the idea! Next I tackled the cockpit glazing - more specifically the internal framing, with a cocktail stick:

 

 

Again you can just about pick out that they have been painted internal grey-green (on the internal surface!) 🔍 Next I started on the cockpit itself - here's the bulkhead with the fire extinguisher and flares picked out:

 

 

Macro photography is not kind! Here's the main assembly coming together:

 

 

It does look rather naked at the moment so I shall probably add in some wiring and other detail. Here's the instrument panel assembly:

 

 

Again, not a kind photo - it's not as bad as it looks! Here;s a final shot showing the state of progress:

 

 

I've still yet to add the PE ammo chutes, weathering, wiring, oil wash so a fair bit more yet to do. As a final note I've found another photo of HR405 which shows some interesting detail on the upper paintwork. You can see quite clearly on the photo that there is a much lighter patch of paintwork ahead of the tail. My theory is that this is due to the overpainting of the invasion stripes:

 

 

My theory is thus: when the upper portions were overpainted, no EDSG was available, so the next best thing was used. I am guessing that this could be Medium Sea Grey, as many of the Banff Strike wing aircraft were painted in the 'standard' Mossie MSG/DG camouflage? Then, when the lower portions of the stripes were painted out, fresh coats of Sky and the now available EDSG were applied to the relevant areas. This would explain why the EDSG portion is darker than the rest of the upper surfaces, which would have worn and faded. The 'MSG' portion corresponds well to the position of the stripes, so I think it's a viable proposition. Now if I am correct the upper wings will require the same treatment, which will make this a very interesting paint job! Happy to hear any alternate theories or have this one critiqued!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger