D.H. 98 Mosquito NF. XIX***FINISHED***

[PeterB]

Back in 1972 Airfix released their second moulding of the Mossie with parts to build 3 versions, NF. II, FB. VI and FB. XVIII - I built all 3. Later in around 1995 they added a new sprue so that it could also be built as the NF. XIX and the Swedish J.30 and I bought that boxing a few years later.

This GB gives me an excuse to build it. There are reportedly a few inaccuracies, particularly with the distinctive "Universal" or "Bull nosed" radome and the aftermarket replacement issued at the time is no longer available so I may have to do a bit of work on it - we will see!

 

Pete

Edited July 1, 2023 by PeterB

[Marklo]

Should be good. Welcome to the GB Peter.

[CliffB]

Nice to see another one from you Pete.  I hope that nose is not too problematic 🤞

[PeterB]

Here are the sprues.

The same ones as in the second moulding 3 version kit together with a white sprue of extra bits - 4 bladed props and spinners for the J.30 and the "universal nose for that and the NF. XIX which is the one I will be building. Airfix provide decs for MM650/J, an aircraft used by 157 Squadron. In early 1942 they had received NF II which initially they used for home defence, but then in 1943 they also received some FB VI and started carrying out intruder operations. In March 1944 they moved to East Anglia where they were equipped with NF. XIX and became part of 100 Group flying intruder/bomber support missions. The first mention of MM650 in the Squadron Operational Record Book at the National Archives in Kew is in mid June 1944 and they were still flying it in February 1945 when they began re-equipping with NF 30. There are no records of it making any kills, but several contacts are recorded, mostly they turned out to be friendlies but in at least one case they say the contact was an enemy aircraft which managed to outclimb the Mossie so perhaps it was an He 219.

 

I have a bit of a problem with the colour scheme/markings - at that stage in the war the standard fighter camo was overall Medium Sea Grey with a Dark Green disruptive pattern on top, but many intruders had black (Night) undersurfaces. However photos of 157 Squadron aircraft don't seem to show the latter. Also, Airfix have provided a full set of D-Day stripes in decal form, and previous experience suggests they could be difficult to get on correctly. Of course I could paint them on instead but I don't feel so inclined. I could perhaps cut them down and just have them on the undersides as was authorised in July 1944, or even go for the plane in early 1945 when they would have almost certainly gone completely. Any useful info on the "Intruder" black underside scheme and/or 157 Mossies will be gratefully received! I am also unclear whether or not the intruder/bomber support Mossies ever carried the underwing drop tanks provided in the kit to give them longer "loiter" range.

 

I will make a start on the fuselage shortly, beginning with surgery on the nose as per the instructions - Airfix provide a line showing where to cut for the new radome.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited July 9, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

The original 1950's Airfix kit, as was normal at that time, had no cockpit detail as such - just a couple of pins protruding from the inside of the fuselage halves on which you were meant to glue a pair of undernourished crew figures. This kit is rather better as it has an IP, floor and stick together with two seats but it is still not quite right - the navigator/radar operator actually sat to the right of and slightly behind the pilot on the main spar which passed through the cockpit, and behind him was a shelf with the radio on so I will have to do a little work on it. I think I will put the build on hold until I have done the far more accurate Tamiya B.IV cockpit, as that will give me some ideas on how best to do it.

 

Pete

[Beardybloke]

I don't know how appropriate it would be for a later mark, but I found the Aires set for the NF.II and FB.VI very well detailed, though extremely laborious to thin out the fuselage of the Tamiya one - there are a few photos on my GB thread here.

 

I'll be following this build with interest, Pete - this kit caught my eye a few times in the model shop I worked in from the age of 15, but I never got around to buying it!

[PeterB]

15 hours ago, Beardybloke said:

I don't know how appropriate it would be for a later mark, but I found the Aires set for the NF.II and FB.VI very well detailed, though extremely laborious to thin out the fuselage of the Tamiya one - there are a few photos on my GB thread here.

 

I'll be following this build with interest, Pete - this kit caught my eye a few times in the model shop I worked in from the age of 15, but I never got around to buying it!

Hi Steve,

 

Yes, that set looks rather nice but costs more than the ruddy kit did and might not fit this one, so I wont bother. 

 

Pete

[Beardybloke]

2 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi Steve,

 

Yes, that set looks rather nice but costs more than the ruddy kit did and might not fit this one, so I wont bother. 

 

Pete

 

That makes a lot of sense, Pete!

 

If you like, I could send you the guts of my Tamiya kit - I've no use for them, and my other half will thank me for not keeping them in the spares box for the next few decades...

[PeterB]

On 7/6/2023 at 12:45 PM, Beardybloke said:

 

That makes a lot of sense, Pete!

 

If you like, I could send you the guts of my Tamiya kit - I've no use for them, and my other half will thank me for not keeping them in the spares box for the next few decades...

Whilst I am waiting for the Tamiya cockpit parts that Steve has kindly offered me, I have made a start by sawing off the nose using the cut marks Airfix provide.

I then crudely taped the replacement nose on.

As I mentioned earlier a review of the kit says the nose is wrong but not exactly why - they do however say it looks like a cross between the correct "universal" radome and the "thimble" one as fitted to some FB. VI intruders. Because of the position of the engines it is hard to get a side view of the nose from pics, but judging by the drawings I have seen, and the nose on the old Matchbox NF. 30 I have, I would say that the kit nose has too much taper underneath so I have added some Milliput.

 Once it is dry I will gently sand it down and see how it looks - it might just work.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Steve having kindly sent me the spare cockpit interior bits from his Tamiya NF.II/FB.VI build, I assembled them, making a few modifications so that it would fit in the Airfix fuselage. Being from the NF.II the radar bits are not exactly correct for the NF.XIX but they are a lot better than the kit parts and anything I could knock up.

I did modify the radio set behind the navigator/operator's seat so it was a bit more like the real thing, and I have painted the rubber hood on the scope in grey as per pics I have, but I think I will repaint it in a darker colour. Once I have done that and painted the tailwheel, this too is ready for the fuselage to go together. Once thing I have noticed is that as in the B.IV kit Tamiya did not allow much room for the control column to move forward as it is too close perhaps to the IP, but that is only a minor niggle and not unusual in kits.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Fuselage joined up and nose added - it still needs a fair bit of sanding but it looks about right.

So a fair bit of filling and sanding to do.

 

Pete

[Beardybloke]

It looks good so far, Pete - I'm glad the parts were of service

[PeterB]

After several rounds of filling and sanding, the modified nose looks about right so I have re-scribed it and added the wings and tail.

Next up the engines and undercarriage!

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Unlike the Tamiya B.IV, this old Airfix kit requires the undercarriage to be assembled at the same time as the nacelles, which was a bit of a pain.

Getting the front cross brace in place was a real fiddle, and the whole exercise was not helped by the fact that the mould was beginning to show its age with locating pins and holes being either not there as in the case of one of the u/c axles, or else needing drilling out, but I got there in the end. Once they are completely dry I will clean them up, touch up the paintwork, and get them in place - I suspect I will need to use a bit of filler. It will be interesting to see how they compare with the Tamiya parts which are quite similar but go together slightly differently. Airfix say the interior was grey-green but Tamiya say aluminium so rightly or wrongly I have gone with that. I am not the tidiest of modellers and over the last year or so my workbench had become rather cluttered, but after temporarily losing a few bits and pieces I decided to do a belated "spring clean", so the best part of 80 or so paint tins/jars are now back in their storage containers, though I doubt that will last long!😄 

 

Pete

Edited July 25, 2023 by PeterB

[Beardybloke]

Oddly enough, I've just done the undercart on my Tamiya one today - it was a breeze to put together, even with a bit of bodgery to make two identical sets rather than the mirror images that are in the kit. The offending part is the retraction jack which should be on the starboard side of both sets; though it turns out that you can hardly see it once fitted in the nacelle.

 

I suspect the ease of assembly is in no small part due to the crispness of the mouldings!

[PeterB]

The nacelles are on and a bit of filler applied both on the seams and also the sections at the trailing edge which are also showing their age in the form of "dimples". After a bit of cleaning up I applied a coat of primer - once dry I will give it a gentle polish where needed.

Now I have to decide on the colour scheme - all over Medium Sea Grey with green disruptive stripes, or perhaps with the black "intruder" undersurfaces as I mentioned earlier on - I am going for the early 1945 configuration so I think it will be the "normal" night fighter scheme.

 

Pete

[Marklo]

Looking good the work on the nose has paid off.

[81-er]

This one's definitely coming along well, Peter

 

James

[PeterB]

I have given it a couple of coats of Xtracrylic Medium Sea Grey so all it needs now is the green.

Apparently, from about 1942 the fighters had exactly the same camo pattern as the bombers but the colours were reversed and MSG substituted for Ocean Grey on the spinners, upper wing and fuselage.

 

Pete

[81-er]

I didn't know that one, thank you, Pete

 

James

[PeterB]

Still a bit of tidying up to do but getting there.

 

 

Pete

[PeterB]

I think it is about ready for the decs now.

Regarding the camo pattern, for many years I was under the impression that when camo paint was introduced on RAF planes instructions were issued that 2 different patterns were to be used, - Scheme A and the mirror image Scheme B. This might have been an attempt to make them less obvious when on the ground, but I am not sure about that. Then, about 10 years ago, I was painting a batch of Spitfires and Hurricanes in Desert camo and came across photos and drawings of planes where the scheme “pattern” was normal but the colours had been reversed – at first I thought this was either due to an error in reading the plans or else a local variation but later I found several mentions of “Scheme C and Scheme D” for planes with reversed colours. I am not certain whether this was ever “official” but I do know that the Luftwaffe did authorise the reversal of colours on their official patterns before and presumably during the war, which makes the early 3 colour uppersurface patterns even more interesting! Apparently fighter Mossies used "scheme C" as above. The reddish brown "blob" behind the cockpit is the base for the radio aerial which was reputedly left unpainted and was made of Bakelite like my parents first tiny (9"?) TV.

 

Pete

Edited August 3, 2023 by PeterB

[Graham Boak]

I understand that the original intention may have been to utilise C and D patterns, but this did not come to pass.  There are plenty of examples of aircraft with exchanged colours in the Desert but few elsewhere.  I hadn't realised that it was the norm for Mosquito night fighters.

 

The prewar German camouflage patterns called for six permutations of RLM 61/62/63, but most of these were very rarely, if ever, used.   It is worth noting that all  wartime Luftwaffe aircraft had the same pattern, but it appeared different on different types because the plan view of the aircraft appeared in different areas of the drawing - depending upon the nose length.    Also that there was an intermediate set of colours/patterns that was so rare that it hasn't even been mentioned in most references. 

[PeterB]

As Airfix did not provide much in the way of stencils the decs did not take too long though they were of the type which Airfix sometimes used with a lot of thick film/adhesive that goes slimy once wet. The colours of the roundels and fin flash were also a bit out - almost SAAF orange in some lighting.

As I was not using the kit invasion stripes I had to provide some upper wing roundels from my stash and they are the correct colour. All the bits are now on and it is awaiting a finishing coat of varnish.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Finishing coat on and ready for the gallery.

The decs are not brilliant as I mentioned previously and there is still a bit of silvering despite my best efforts - not up to Tamiya standards but passable I suppose.

 

Pete