1:48 de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk.VI, 143 Sqn, RAF Banff, January 1945

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

My latest completion is Tamiya's 1:48 Mosquito FB Mk.VI, which is oft shown on this site (unsurprisingly, because it's still a great kit despite getting a little long in the tooth). I have chosen to model this as HR405 of 143 Sqn RAF, which was part of the Banff Strike wing formed in late 1944, tasked with striking shipping and land targets along the Norwegian coast. It's a fascinating campaign during the latter part of the war of which I was blissfully ignorant before I read this book:

 

 

Highly recommended if you get the chance. Now there are a number of commonly modelled Banff subjects, but HR405 was the sometime mount of 143 Sqn's CO, Wg Cdr (later Air Chief Marshall) Christopher Foxley-Norris DSO MiD. Whilst reading up on Foxley-Norris I discovered that he was born in Birkenhead, as was I! There are a number of photos of HR405, which were taken in January 1945 as part of a photoshoot for Illustrated magazine (images for discussion only and will be removed on request):

 

 

 

 

The aircraft was also involved in many of the 143 Sqn sorties, and was mentioned itself in the book a couple of times. The aircraft survived the war and was later sold (to Turkey, I think?) There are a few things worthy of note from the photos:

 

1. The level of staining on the Sky undersurfaces, as well as the repair patches on the port stabiliser

2. The spinners, which I believe to be white rather than yellow as usually presented in schemes

3. The RP rails were of the earlier standard, rather than the duplex rails later developed by the Banff Strike Wing (these were only fitted to all aircraft in March 1945)

4. Most unusually, the distinct 'saddle' of lighter paint ahead of the tail, which I believe is to do with the overpainting of the invasion stripes

 

Now my theory is that when the upper portions of the stripes were overpainted, no EDSG was available, so the next best thing was used - I chose the next best thing to be Dark Slate Grey.  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 'DSG' portion corresponds well to the position of the stripes, so I think it's a viable proposition. I also applied the DSG treatment to the upper wings, which would have been overpainted at the same time as the upper fuselage. As you can see there is no discernible difference in tone to the Sky undersides, so I chose not to portray any difference in shade.

 

Here's the WIP if anybody is interested:

 

Now onto the pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a final B&W shot along with the original to test my theory:

 

 

 

I reckon that's close enough for me! I've very much enjoyed this build, and I'm more than tempted to supplement it with a Dallachy Beaufighter and perhaps a Mustang too! Thanks for all who have followed along and provided encouragement and advice - it has been sincerely appreciated.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Dunny
Added WIP link

[ForestFan]

That’s very nice 👍 

[Ngantek]

Fantastic work Roger. I really like the approach you took with the dark slate grey, it's a novel and interesting reading of the saddle shade conundrum, and looks great to boot. I'm with you on the spinners too, white looks like a good match.

 

The faded colour and shade variation you've managed to get looks really fantastic, and matches the wear implied by the photos perfectly.

 

What a great build. Fantastic work.

 

Andy

 

 

[Dunny]

2 hours ago, ForestFan said:

That’s very nice 👍 

Thanks for the kind words!

1 hour ago, Ngantek said:

Fantastic work Roger. I really like the approach you took with the dark slate grey, it's a novel and interesting reading of the saddle shade conundrum, and looks great to boot. I'm with you on the spinners too, white looks like a good match.

 

The faded colour and shade variation you've managed to get looks really fantastic, and matches the wear implied by the photos perfectly.

 

What a great build. Fantastic work.

 

Andy

 

 

Appreciate the kind words Andy, and glad you see the logic!

[VolkerR.]

Fantastic result. The paint job is perfect.

[Dunny]

5 minutes ago, VolkerR. said:

Fantastic result. The paint job is perfect.

You are most kind Volker - thank you!

[AliGauld]

Can't put it any better than that.

The total package.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dunny]

39 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Can't put it any better than that.

The total package.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

You are most kind Alistair - thank you!

[Hairy Stickler]

Superb job! Really like the history behind the actual aircraft.

 

Thanks very much for sharing 

 

Peter 

 

[F-32]

[Mike]

Love those pics of the underneath - makes me want to build a Mossie  Nice job of the scheme too

 

btw why have I never noticed that your username is equivalent to ‘toilet’?

[Winded Penguin]

The detachable panels are well-integrated, to the point that they aren't noticeable on the model. Great work, especially in that scale 👍

[georgeusa]

14 minutes ago, Mike said:

btw why have I never noticed that your username is equivalent to ‘toilet’?

The things you learn on this site always amaze me.  I have never heard the term "dunny" applied to a toilet.

Now, on topic, this is a beautiful Mossie.  You have worked really hard to capture the look of your kit to the real thing in the pictures.  The finish and grubbiness of the underside matches.  And, I agree with you about the spinners being white.  Your black and white photo compared to the time period photo match on spinner look.  Thanks for sharing such a great build.

[galgos]

Beautiful work Roger, you've got the finish absolutely bang on.  Gotta love a Mossie but this one's exceptional. 👏

[bigbadbadge]

Great job on this one Roger, a cracking enterpretation of a wonderfully characterful machine. The DSG looks fantastic over the EDSG and the weathering looks spot on.

A real pleasure to follow on as usual and a Dallachy Beau sounds brilliant. 

Chris

[Dric]

Great Mossie here bravo !

[mick b]

Yet another superb result Roger, amazed how you bang out such excellent results in a relatively short period!

 

Mike

[wellsprop]

Beautiful! 

[Dunny]

9 hours ago, Hairy Stickler said:

Superb job! Really like the history behind the actual aircraft.

 

Thanks very much for sharing 

 

Peter 

 

Thanks very much Peter - the book is definitely worth a read if you get the chance

4 hours ago, Mike said:

Love those pics of the underneath - makes me want to build a Mossie  Nice job of the scheme too

 

btw why have I never noticed that your username is equivalent to ‘toilet’?

Thanks very much Mike - a play on my surname, and truly toilet humour!

4 hours ago, Winded Penguin said:

The detachable panels are well-integrated, to the point that they aren't noticeable on the model. Great work, especially in that scale 👍

Thanks very much WP. As with most Tamiya the engineering cannot be faulted - the nose gun cover almost snaps into place!

3 hours ago, georgeusa said:

The things you learn on this site always amaze me.  I have never heard the term "dunny" applied to a toilet.

Now, on topic, this is a beautiful Mossie.  You have worked really hard to capture the look of your kit to the real thing in the pictures.  The finish and grubbiness of the underside matches.  And, I agree with you about the spinners being white.  Your black and white photo compared to the time period photo match on spinner look.  Thanks for sharing such a great build.

Thanks George - you are most kind. A dunny is Aussie slang for an outside toilet which is now in general use...

3 hours ago, galgos said:

Beautiful work Roger, you've got the finish absolutely bang on.  Gotta love a Mossie but this one's exceptional. 👏

Thanks very much Max!

3 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great job on this one Roger, a cracking enterpretation of a wonderfully characterful machine. The DSG looks fantastic over the EDSG and the weathering looks spot on.

A real pleasure to follow on as usual and a Dallachy Beau sounds brilliant. 

Chris

Thanks for the kind words Chris, and for the support along the way!

2 hours ago, Dric said:

Great Mossie here bravo !

Thanks very much!

1 hour ago, mick b said:

Yet another superb result Roger, amazed how you bang out such excellent results in a relatively short period!

 

Mike

Appreciate the kind words Mike - thank you!

20 minutes ago, wellsprop said:

Beautiful! 

Thanks very much Ben!

[shortCummins]

excellent result and I really enjoyed your build log

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

[Dunny]

24 minutes ago, shortCummins said:

excellent result and I really enjoyed your build log

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

Thanks for the kind words John - much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[russ c]

Superb Mosquito there Roger, looks amazing

[Fritag]

Terrific Mossie, Roger.  Lovely finishing all round, but I particularly like the weathering on the props

[Dunny]

9 hours ago, russ c said:

Superb Mosquito there Roger, looks amazing

Thanks for the kind words Russ!

1 hour ago, Fritag said:

Terrific Mossie, Roger.  Lovely finishing all round, but I particularly like the weathering on the props

Thanks very much Steve - appreciate the kind words

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Roger.. it's exquisite! 

 

i love the painstaking research you did beforehand. Something i like to, but not always do. 

 

The overall washed out finish is superb!

 

Love it! Thanks for showing another of your modelling triumphs!

Kind Regards, Andy