De Havilland Mosquito B.XVI - FINISHED - by AJohnson - Airfix - 1:72

[AJohnson]

Hi there "Mossie"/"Wooden Wonder" fans, here is a starter post for my build log, following on from my Beaufort, I'm on a bit of a plastic roll atm.

 

This is Airfix's new release 1/72 Mosquito and if the Beaufort is anything to go by then it ought to go together without any major issues.

 

A few pictures of what you get and a few at the end highlighting the already much debated (on other forums) "mould issues" with the kit.  Tackling these straight off, the problem has occurred in that for their kit, Airfix used the TT.35 at RAF Cosford for the basis of the kit and very faithfully LIDAR scanned it (as is the way with kit design these days) and faithfully reproduced every detail.  The word "every" being the key one here...  The TT.35 was the Target Tug version of the B.XVI and had a few differences in the bomb bay doors and rear fairing to accommodate the targets they towed.  The other thing the scanning crew captured was the modern undercarriage support struts, which for some reason the kit designers overlooked and reproduced in the kit! (see last two pictures)

 

Now from reading the furore on other forums you would have thought that a comet was about to crash into the Earth or something!  😲  But hopefully; although perplexing that a major kit manufacture might make these kind of "School boy" errors, you will all agree it is not the end of the World and nothing a bit of sanding/filling won't fix.  There off my soap box now...

 

I think I'm set on doing the 109 Squadron version in the Night camo.

Edited October 17, 2022 by AJohnson

[Dave_E]

I’m in. 👍😀

[Old Collingwood]

I'm certainly in,   I built the Revel  1/48  scale version  and also did her as a night bomber.

 

OC.

[Javlin]

I'm in Luv a Mossie!!

[Canute]

I'll be following, too. This should be good.

[CDW]

I'll follow your progress on the Skeeter!

[AJohnson]

Evening all, I've not had too much time on this yet, hope this coming week might fix that, on holiday/vacation!  🙂

 

I've just been dry fitting the main parts and all seems good so far.  The only minor bug bear with this kit (and to be fair most recent Airfix kits) is the massive sprue connections to the parts.  They dwarf some of the parts! Also the designers have got some sprue connections on to the trailing edges of the wings or control surfaces, you have to be real careful snipping them free and cleaning up.  But all done and only two very small holes to fix on the wing leading edges with a bit of putty.  Just for variety I painted and decaled the control panel.

 

I'm going to have to take it steady, now I have had a good old snoop about the parts and instructions, I think this could easily go together in a few sessions and be done before you know it!  Most of the parts are "interior green" or alloy/silverish, so plenty of pre assembly before painting can be done.

Edited August 31, 2022 by AJohnson

[mtaylor]

My observation from the kit logs here is that the oversized sprue is becoming more common. Not sure why except maybe it's because folks complained that parts fell off the sprue in unopened boxes.

[AJohnson]

On 9/1/2022 at 1:33 AM, mtaylor said:

My observation from the kit logs here is that the oversized sprue is becoming more common. Not sure why except maybe it's because folks complained that parts fell off the sprue in unopened boxes.

I’m not on sure ground here, but I have read somewhere that the larger spruce “gates” I think they are called, are down to manufacturers using alloy instead of steel moulds that wear quicker so they need to use lower pressures to prolong production runs. Therefore they need bigger gates/connections to the part mould sections for the lower pressure plastic to get into.  Could be talking a load of old Croc there, but I have that from somewhere. 
I will do an update soon but there seems to be loads more pin ejector marks in the parts also, maybe this is also a by-product of this lower pressure mould technique?

[CDW]

34 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

I’m not on sure ground here, but I have read somewhere that the larger spruce “gates” I think they are called, are down to manufacturers using alloy instead of steel moulds that wear quicker so they need to use lower pressures to prolong production runs. Therefore they need bigger gates/connections to the part mould sections for the lower pressure plastic to get into.  Could be talking a load of old Croc there, but I have that from somewhere. 
I will do an update soon but there seems to be loads more pin ejector marks in the parts also, maybe this is also a by-product of this lower pressure mould technique?

I think you are stating a fact concerning the size of the sprue gates. It’s been my experience that limited run kits have in common, large sprue gates. I often use a razor saw to cut the parts away from the sprue leaving a small portion to trim and file away to smooth it all out.

The surface detail on this model looks good. It appears the fuselage halves join along the center/sides of the model? How is that fit. Will sanding or filler be required? 

[mtaylor]

You're probably right, Andrew. Been a long time since I did a "new" plastic kit.  

[Old Collingwood]

Have you  seen my  buddies  work  with  the companies   project   - 

 

OC.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Old Collingwood

[AJohnson]

Short update to show progress so far on the interior.  I've not had as much time as hoped this last couple of weeks, but got down to a little cockpit detailing today and spraying loads of things green.

 

Need to add some seatbelts and the centreline fuel tank before I can close up the the two halves.  I might add the flare cartridges and fire extinguisher just in front and below the Navigators seat, but not much more, as with the framed canopy in place, not a great deal of detail is going to be visible at this scale. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by AJohnson

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking good!

[AJohnson]

Cockpit completed.  Added Tamiya tape seatbelts, with spare PE. off-cuts for buckles etc.

 

Also added flare canisters and fire extinguisher, made from spare styrene rod, tape and paper and yes when closed up hardly any of it will show! 😆

 

On the underside, the fuselage fuel tank added, this will also not be easily seen once the bombs and racks go in, but we know its there!

 

Next up glue the fuselage together and sand/fill, won't bore you all with that update, but will show the tails assemblies going on and the bomb-bay bulge fix that will be needed to make this into a B.XVI Mossie and not a TT.35 Mossie!

 

Thanks for the likes and comments guys! 😁

[CDW]

Your cockpit and bomb bay look super!

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice work!  I always feel like it's a big leap forward in the build finally getting the fuselage buttoned up after all the work that goes into putting together the mostly unseen cockpit.

[AJohnson]

Only being able to have intermittent bashes at my Mossie, as the Admiral keeps coming up with end of Summer garden projects to get it ready for the autumn/winter! 🤨

 

The rear bomb bay fairing has been built up to rectify the TT.35 part included in the kit, still a bit to do before I'm done with that, but final sanding and filling will require an overall undercoat to assess the final bits and pieces that need attending to; such as around the crew hatch is one area I'm not happy with yet.  The kit is definitely in its "Ugly Duckling" stage, with filler visible etc.

 

The undercarriage was quite fiddly, plenty of little parts, but using the underwing sections as a jig, as per. the instructions it went smoothly. 

 

Engine nacelles completed and attached to the wings, no filler needed apart form a tiny run of plastic putty into the wing seems will be needed.

 

Wings not attached yet, I will make sure I'm happy with the finish of those and the fuselage first, so the last bit of possible filling/sanding will be the wing roots.

 

Thanks for looking in. 👋

Edited September 22, 2022 by AJohnson

[Old Collingwood]

That is  looking  cool   - some nice  work there.

 

OC.

[AJohnson]

Hello everyone, I've been away from this little project for a bit, working getting in the way, shouldn't complain - it pays the bills! 🙂

 

So just a small update, have managed this week to finish off a few of the smaller parts, bombs, undercarriage and props ready for attachment at the end of the built.  Also masked the clear parts ready for first undercoat.

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by AJohnson

[AJohnson]

Well we are about ready for painting, undercoat done, final inspection, fine rubbing down and the addition of tail aerial to do; I would be happier leaving that off until the end, but the way the part fixes to the tail fin means it might spoil the paint finish, so I will have to be careful! 😬

 

The hardest part of the build has actually been the canopy.  It has alternate parts for the side window panels, so you can have the "blown/bulged" B.XVI versions or the "blister" alternative - similar to the ones on the Lancaster's canopy. (This indicates for those who might be interested, Airfix might be intending to do another version of the Mossie, probably a Photo recon. bird, which might interest US members as a few USAF units used the Mosquito in that role.) 

 

Anyways these little side panels have been an absolute B@&^%£! to fit satisfactorily.  🙄 Being safe I used canopy glue to avoid fogging, but this would just not pull together the main canopy to these small panels and keep their shape and twice the assembly sprung apart. (I think the main canopy is slightly bent upwards away from the seating on the fuselage.)  So with a deep breath, plenty of magnification and lighting I fixed them with medium C-A used very carefully with an applicator tip. Blowing on the parts like an asthmatic 🌬️to keep the air moving to avoid the dreaded fogging.  Upshot I think it is all still clear, though I will probably find later my masking hasn't worked and I now have a green canopy! 😂

 

Next update Cammo time! 😁 thanks for looking in and the likes. 👍

Edited October 11, 2022 by AJohnson

[Old Collingwood]

Looking Great.

 

OC.

[AJohnson]

 Painting update, but first a school-boy error to confess! 🤭 

 

Whilst going over the kit and doing last minute polishing and filing around the canopy frame with thin putty I noticed I had glued the horizontal stabilisers on upside down! 🤣  Not too bad to fix, they are almost identical surfaces but for two circular access panels that should have been underneath and two rectangular raised ones that needed to be on top.  So needed to fill one pair and made the other pair with thin plastic card, there nothing to see move along.... 😉

 

Painting was fairly straight forward, Colourcoats Enamels doing the trick again without drama.  This all needs to harden off for a day, so I can mask it all for the bomber black coat.

 

Until next time! 👋

[Egilman]

Great job on the pattern! doing it the old fashioned way is the best way in my opinion.... Flat masks and a slight lift to the masks for the fuzzy edge...

 

Beautiful work....

[Canute]

Nice finish. And a good save on the tailplanes. Nobody will know.😉

[Javlin]

13 hours ago, Egilman said:

Flat masks and a slight lift to the masks for the fuzzy edge...

I always felt EG the delineation between straight/fuzzy comes down alot to the scale of the subject and 1/72 was always straight in my book.The crate is looking Nice Andrew!

[AJohnson]

4 hours ago, Javlin said:

I always felt EG the delineation between straight/fuzzy comes down alot to the scale of the subject and 1/72 was always straight in my book.The crate is looking Nice Andrew!

Hi Javlin Thanks & @Egilman & @Canute for the kind words.

 

Regarding the "fuzzy" v "hard" demarcation of the camouflage, I discussed this in my Beaufort build not long ago.  Yes scale has a great deal to do with it, but also (with the caveat there was huge variation) the full-size aircraft were also sometimes painted in this manner with masks.  So unless doing something 1/24 scale and bigger, or modelling something that actually was sprayed with a large "fuzzy" width in real life, some form of masking on model camo. is the only option really.  

 

Besides this is all academic really, as my "freehand" airbrushing is not up to doing anything without a mask"! 😆

 

The black underbelly will be done today, more updates soon!  

 

Thanks all.

 

 

[AJohnson]

Here is a picture of some clearly spray-painted Lancasters in the factory, you can just make out the "fuzz", but try that at 1/72 and it will be very hard to see as Javlin says.

 

All down to research on a particular A/C. or personal preference, after all these are our models, me personally I don't like "fuzz" on my clothes or my models! 🙂

[CDW]

Great reference photo there AJ. Full color too, makes it all the better. Love your model paint and finish. The enamel laid down very smooth.

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, AJohnson said:

Regarding the "fuzzy" v "hard" demarcation of the camouflage, I discussed this in my Beaufort build not long ago.  Yes scale has a great deal to do with it, but also (with the caveat there was huge variation) the full-size aircraft were also sometimes painted in this manner with masks.  So unless doing something 1/24 scale and bigger, or modelling something that actually was sprayed with a large "fuzzy" width in real life, some form of masking on model camo. is the only option really.  

100% agreement... Anything below 1/32nd scale getting a decent "fuzzy" line is very difficult... It amazes me when those modelers doing 1/72 manage to do it... But then repetition is the practice that brings skills... There is like 4 different ways of doing fuzzy edge camo....

 

And the supreme consideration is what the builder wants to represent... All aircraft during WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam had both styles of camo, hard edge and fuzzy edge... (depending on the equipment they had to paint with).... Neither style is wrong...

 

And I didn't mean to express the ideal that anything is wrong with either... Correct camo is more pattern than technique anyway and yes scale matters... For example a 4" overspray pattern (fuzzy edge) on a 1/32nd scale aircraft or 1/35th scale tank is equal to 1/8th inch in scale... Speaking from experience it is doable but not easy to do... (takes a LOT of practice and experimentation to get it right) 1/8th inch in a spray is almost impossible to execute with most spraying devices...

 

What you have done is beautiful in my opinion accurate for pattern which on most British aircraft was done with masks during WWII... 

 

All I was commenting on is the technique for doing it is perfect, a minimum of fuss, best way to do it in my opinion for what it is worth...

 

Sorry if I offended...