Tamiya 1:72 Mosquito FB Mk.VI

Tamiya 1:72 Mosquito FB Mk.VI

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dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Tuesday 4th August 2015
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jamieduff1981 said:
Looking good. Those Browning barrels look nice.

Must finish mine...
I've chopped them down a bit, but they are the same as the ones I used on the Defiant, and look great. They make a huge difference to the look of a model, particularly considering they are so cheap, and the fact I still have no idea how they mass produce them. They must have some micro milling/turning machines, because even at 1:72 they look pretty much perfect - they even have hollow ends.

jamieduff1981

8,022 posts

139 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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I've done a bit of work on model warships of late and like your Brownings, turned brass barrels, masts, bits and booms is all the rage at the moment.

I've been building 1/350 20mm Oerlikon cannons with turned barrels (not drilled though).

What they can do now is incredible, but it's approaching the lower limits of what a mortal can handle and stick together without glue blobs drowning the parts and bonding them to tweezers. I've taken to applying thin CA with a cut sewing needle eye, but even that's to cumbersome.

AMS will always defeat!

Your work in 1/72 is better than mine in 1/48. I have to give you that!

johnS2000

458 posts

171 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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Thanks dr but I've bitten the bullet and ordered the Micro Mark set from across the pond .

I only wanted to punch out masks for wheel centres mainly cos I have trouble getting a decent finish and the one mentioned seemed the best .

Lovely work on the Spit and the Mossie though ! I have to admit it puts me off my own builds a bit cos they dont quite turn out the same .

Yertis

18,015 posts

265 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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dr, what is your technique for washes? I need to apply some on the Audi 90 that I'm actually making some progress on, but it's so long since I used this technique (35 years). I could Google around I suppose but you seem as good a place to start as any!

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 5th August 2015
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Yertis said:
dr, what is your technique for washes? I need to apply some on the Audi 90 that I'm actually making some progress on, but it's so long since I used this technique (35 years). I could Google around I suppose but you seem as good a place to start as any!
I haven't got a magic method for washes, and I've only done it once on a car (XJR9) around the door and nose shut lines:



- I'm afraid I can't rememebr what colour I used but it might be in the build thread somewhere. It was some kind of dark grey; I seem to remember Tamiya Smoke, but it doesn't make much sense to have used acrylic on acrylic. I use MIG dark wash on all my aircraft, but invariably end up re-doing it: Sometimes it seems to go "grainy" before removal of the excess, and then looks terrible, sometimes it doesn't and looks good. I think it's something to do with mixing and how long it's left before application.

Basically I apply it over a couple of coats of Klear, with a fine brush, into panel lines, allow to dry for a few minutes, then wick the excess off with a brush dampened with thinners and/or wipe with a lint free cloth with a dab of thinners on it. Wipe in the direction of airflow.

If the panel lines are not sharp, it doesn't work too well, which is one of the reasons I value good surface finish on a kit quite highly.

Sorry, not much help, but I'm sure there is better advice for cars on the internet.

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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Tried the Eduard canopy masks for the first time tonight. As expected they weren't perfect, but at least the ones that were wrong were too big, so I could cut them to size:



Gave it a coat of cockpit green first so that the internal frames are the right colour:



Then sprayed with Vallejo Air Aluminium and matt varnish. After a bit of scraping with a wetted cocktail stick to remove any imperfections, it looks OK:



Windscreen wiper needs picking out in black, and a bit of a wash in the small nooks and crannies and it will be ready for fitting. Whenever that might be.

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Tuesday 3rd November 2015
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Now begun applying white primer to the airframe (wings and tailplanes first). Once preshaded with NATO black, this will form the basecoat for the wood decals:



Still rescribing the lost detail on the fuselage resulting from filling the joins:



Not even sure if it woud be better to make these panels smooth (dinghy hatch, camera blank plates etc) and represent them with decals later.

TBH I don't really know what I'm doing - despite having had lots of advice, it's still all a bit odd, and I'm not clear as to how the decals will respond to cutting/forming once in place.


jamieduff1981

8,022 posts

139 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
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I'm not sure whether it helps or hinders, but the plywood laminates were made up from lots of individual pieces with skarfed edges. The appearance and shape of the pieces in situ was not far away from the planking on a wooden ship's hull, although the parts were not so long and flowing but more short and fat.

What I think I'm saying is that you can cover the fuselage in lots of little bits if it helps.

With flying plane skins carrying torsional loads mainly, it is standard practise to skin wings and tail surfaces with the grains at 45deg to the spars. A Mossie wing pre fabric would therefore be made of 8ft squares laid at 45deg to the span.

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
quotequote all
jamieduff1981 said:
I'm not sure whether it helps or hinders, but the plywood laminates were made up from lots of individual pieces with skarfed edges. The appearance and shape of the pieces in situ was not far away from the planking on a wooden ship's hull, although the parts were not so long and flowing but more short and fat.

What I think I'm saying is that you can cover the fuselage in lots of little bits if it helps.

With flying plane skins carrying torsional loads mainly, it is standard practise to skin wings and tail surfaces with the grains at 45deg to the spars. A Mossie wing pre fabric would therefore be made of 8ft squares laid at 45deg to the span.
I've pretty much settled on the panel break scheme:



It'll represent the main joints as seen here (the dinghy hatch is clearly visible just behind the cockpit):



Current thinking is to draw these lines on the white primer with pencil, preshade as normal, then apply Tamiya tape precisely to the lines, then remove the tape and transfer the resulting patterns to the decals. Then apply the decals.

I think even though I spend a fair bit of time reinstating the lost panel lines for the smaller hatches etc, I'd be better filling them and drawing them on in pencil. Each separate panel will need a different piece of decal anyway, in order to represent different grain direction. Recessed lines might make the panel surrounds look a bit naff.

jamieduff1981

8,022 posts

139 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
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I think you're right. There wouldn't have been a physical feature where they joined, they were scarf jointed so that adjoining bits of plywood blended in to one another approximately, then it was clamped down under the steel bands on the mould and sanded afterwards:






dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
quotequote all
Yes I'll fill them and sand smooth - it's much easier that way.

I've got a lot of reference images of the skin, but there were so many processes and filled screw holes etc that mine will only ever be a stylised representation.

One thing I cant find is whether the ventral camera blanking panel was wood or aluminium, and if the circular panels on the underside of the fuselage were actually signalling lamps or just blanking panels. There are two on the rear fuselage about mid way along, and one offset to port just behind the bomb doors.

Mutley

3,178 posts

258 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
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dr_gn said:
One thing I cant find is whether the ventral camera blanking panel was wood or aluminium, and if the circular panels on the underside of the fuselage were actually signalling lamps or just blanking panels. There are two on the rear fuselage about mid way along, and one offset to port just behind the bomb doors.
I finally got to Hendon a couple of weeks ago, and took a few photos of their mozzie, Will have a look tonight see if I have anything that may help

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 4th November 2015
quotequote all
Mutley said:
dr_gn said:
One thing I cant find is whether the ventral camera blanking panel was wood or aluminium, and if the circular panels on the underside of the fuselage were actually signalling lamps or just blanking panels. There are two on the rear fuselage about mid way along, and one offset to port just behind the bomb doors.
I finally got to Hendon a couple of weeks ago, and took a few photos of their mozzie, Will have a look tonight see if I have anything that may help
Thanks - it's the underside of the rear fuselage where the lights are (if that's what they are).

Mutley

3,178 posts

258 months

Thursday 5th November 2015
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Hi Doc, I hope these help in some way. They certainly have a look of signalling lamps

Looks like a colour system, but unfortunately, I think the white light is the front one


Here they are on the Duxford aircraft.

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Thursday 5th November 2015
quotequote all
Thanks, so they are lamps on that version, but they aren't FB's - or are they? The model has only two circular marks under the rear fuselage.

I think on some versions they may have been blanked off. On the model, there is also one behind the bomb doors. I think - if fitted - this one would be red.


wolfracesonic

6,940 posts

126 months

Friday 6th November 2015
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If any one at Hendon has been following dr gn's meticulous work and research they''ll end up altering their mosquito to match his.

tvrtuscans

1,009 posts

210 months

Friday 6th November 2015
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There are three Mossies at the DH museum near St Albans, if anyone has any appropriate photos of those...albeit one being the prototype I think.

Mutley

3,178 posts

258 months

Friday 6th November 2015
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tvrtuscans said:
..albeit one being the prototype I think.
It is, the restoration finished just in time for the anniversary of the first flight

Mutley

3,178 posts

258 months

Friday 6th November 2015
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
Thanks, so they are lamps on that version, but they aren't FB's - or are they? The model has only two circular marks under the rear fuselage.

I think on some versions they may have been blanked off. On the model, there is also one behind the bomb doors. I think - if fitted - this one would be red.
Therein lies the rub. I'll have a look at the museum guide books to see what variants they are.

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,140 posts

183 months

Friday 6th November 2015
quotequote all
Mutley said:
dr_gn said:
Thanks, so they are lamps on that version, but they aren't FB's - or are they? The model has only two circular marks under the rear fuselage.

I think on some versions they may have been blanked off. On the model, there is also one behind the bomb doors. I think - if fitted - this one would be red.
Therein lies the rub. I'll have a look at the museum guide books to see what variants they are.
I think the Duxford one is a Trainer or target Tug. It's got the glazed nose, and from what I've seen these versions had different signalling lights form the Fighter Bomber versions.