Hey folks, I'm shiny new here and in my introductory thread this build was mentioned and I figured what better way to make an entrance than to port my build log over to this site as well. Bear with me as I got through pages upon pages and attempt to get them here in order. I apologize for the quoted responses and replies within my posts, but a lot of times they lead to a valid thought or piece of info that I feel you should be privy to. I've tried to space out all the individual posts by 10 or more lines to help you make sense of an otherwise huge thread. From now on I'll update this thread post for post when I update the original thread.
....Thank god this forum has a preview function.
Well, what can I say? Big Mosquito is big.
You may have noticed that there have been no updates to my P-39 thread in a long time. Fear not - they will resume. For now, I have taken on the responsibility of building this beautiful kit on commission and as such it will be my only project until it's finished. I've decided to post progress as a blog out of interests sake, to share in your knowledge and so my client can see progress and to keep me working away.
I started with a whack of research. I'm surprised how hard it has been to find Mosquito colour schemes. The ones in our usual references are either of different variants or they're not of enough importance to deviate from the kit markings.
After research I set about filling as many of the ejector pin markings as I could - mostly those that could be seen once assembled (you'll see some in photos still). I have never seen so many EP markings in my life, I ended up attaching disks of sandpaper to various diameter dowels and putting those in a cordless drill, once sanded smooth with various grades, the parts were primed with Alclad Primer/Filler - similar to Mr. Surfacer, but readily available here in Canada.
I have since done my base coat of black for shading and then my interior Green. I have a lot of time in already, progress doesn't look like much, but will speed up quickly in the next few days as parts start to be glued into the fuselage.
It should be noted that the fit is finicky, alignment is tricky with the complete absence of alignment pins and tabs like we've become used to.
For the interior painting, I've used a technique called Zenithal Lighting - I've used it with great results in the past, like my SBD but never knew its name. You paint the parts a dark colour, then spray the interior colour in the direction that light shines, leaving natural shadows. Think of it as pre-shading for the interior and you'd be right on.
Pics;
Shoddy photo of the pilots backrest cushion, but you get the idea of the technique, the khaki was sprayed directly downwards. This sill still be washed and drybrushed
Roof of the gun compartment in the nose
Airbrushed always looks better
Mask removed, shown with backrest
Surprisingly good fit, the floors and bulkheads were glued together using a square though - no alignment pegs or tabs, edge on edge.
Same shading technique used on the fuse halves
I HATE brush painting, and since my last masking tutorial was so popular, here's a quick little SbS. The pilots seat has padded armrests.
I used a caliper to measure the length and width of the armrests, I marked this on my favourite masking medium - Post Its - and cut the shape out. I could then push the whole armrest through the hole and safely airbrush. spray across the post it for the sides, front and rear. Neater than hand brushing, looks better and even with 'masking' it's faster.
Mask was originally tighter. This one could still be used though - pull it in the direction opposite the airbush and you'll be fine.
Feedback welcome! More updates as we go through the week!
--<
Thanks for joining in and following along fellas.
I would try and tell you how big the kit is, but even the photos I saw of the model compared to something like a 48th scale mustang didn't convey the sense of size or prepare me for what I found when I opened the box. To be honest, this is why I chose to do this as a commission build - it's a model I wanted to build, but I have nowhere to put it other than the dining room table, and we can all imagine how that would go over.
Just a very brief update for the sake of keeping things going - and a bit of a review and how to while I'm at it.
I've spend hours assembling the RB Productions 1/24th scale Sutton harnesses. I've completed one and I'm now on the second. The review is this; compared to the HGW items (RB makes smaller scale belts and I used an HGW item in my Mustang build featured here on Aeroscale) I can't say if I prefer one over the other - they're very different approaches and build very differently. I prefer the photoetch of the RB parts, and the belt material in the RB production kits are pre-cut. The material for the HGW harnesses fall a little nicer and sit a little more naturally on their own, but you have to cut them from a solid sheet of material. A minor inconvenience but it also makes them slightly more difficult to feed them through the p/e buckles. In the end I would likely choose the Radu products in the future, they're both a lot of work but the RB Productions pieces are easier to assemble
Here's one (dodgy) photo of the second harness as it sits right this second. I use dots of blu-tac to position the belts, I often use the same technique for photoetch. (note the Y shaped harnesses actually come in separate pieces for L and R sides in the RB part, whereas in the HGW set it comes as one solid Y shaped piece, but you have to cut them out, which can be tricky where it curves as you can't use a ruler) and then I use Micro Kristal Klear to glue the pieces together. Kristal Klear is tacky enough right off the bat that it will hold the pieces while it cures. You cannot use CA glue on the belts because it will stain and stiffen the material - I verified this on a scrap piece provided.
Editorial afterthought - the brass grommets in the RB Production belts which go into the holes you see in this photo make it a hands down win for the RB pieces, they're stunning when completed.
Once these harnesses are done, then it's time to paint the odds and sods of the cockpit and start gluing stuff together.
Can someone help me out?
What are parts 11L (sep 15) and 26L (step 27)? I cant find anything about them in my references. I think that 11L might be the sanitary tank but Airfix suggests khaki as the paint code. I have no idea what 26L is.
Glenn did some excellent legwork. 11L is definitely a first aid kit - or a storage box for one. I think the other part could be a map case, but are there any photos of it anywhere? It just seems to be an odd shape and size for a map case.
Okay folks - let's put this part to bed permanently.
Thanks very much to Glenn who apparently has an indefatigable library of Mosquito references we were able to sort this all out.
11L is a container of sorts that holds a standard issue RAF first aid kit. The sanitary jug would actually sit behind it and under the seat so Airfix have chosen not to include it. A perfectly acceptable choice.
Here is part 11L
Bottom left of the image. The scallops on the front are "Torch holders" which I believe in the earlier built examples are on the bulkhead behind the navigator's legs
In a bomber at the top of the access port in the floor
The kit part
The aforementioned sanitary tank with the first aid kit removed.
The other part in question took some sorting. The colour call-out is strange (Khaki) Made more frustrating because Airfix uses Humbrol colours but there's no damn colour chart in the instructions - who made this decision? I have to look up every single colour as I don't like Humbrol paints and I dont use them.
Turns out it's a desk type structure on the floor that houses a drawer that pulls out. It holds the navigator's maps and is held in by a leather strap (the drawer.)
Bottom right of the image, below the perforated metal shelf that holds the drift meter
It's out of focus here, but you can see the drawer slid out a few inches.
I hope this helps someone building this kit in the future. Thanks Glenn for your help.
Now I'm off to scratch build a drawer and use a spare piece of the harness to make the leather strap. These always start out as OOB builds you know. I hope to have the fuselage glued together by the end of the weekend, depending on how long the weathering takes. I'll be sure to post photos.
p.s. - Chuk, want to build me a drawer? ;-)
BUILD UPDATE
Making some progress, not quite as much as I'd hoped but a step forward is a step forward.
Firstly, the chart case with newly made chart table
After a repaint to match references and with the cloth strap and metal button installed as per reference photo above
Completed two piece shoulder harness for pilot
I know most people here like to undercoat colour cockpit parts with white paint to make them a little more vibrant. I don't. I find white paint as much of a PITA as the colours themselves - so try this next time; undercoat with silver. It paints nicer, covers 100% in one coat, it's light enough to make the colours vibrant and it's very easy to control the paint when applying.
finished product (without wash or drybrush yet)
Completed control yoke with wrapped handle (floral wire painted buff)
Odds and sods
Dryfit without rudder pedals
More to come - have to gloss, decal, wash, flat coat and drybrush.
Thanks guys. I'm at that odd point where I have to get all of the parts to the same stage so that I can move forward altogether.
My workbench is down for a few days while my basement gets a much needed facelift. So for the next few nights I will be sitting in front of the TV with a table assembling the engines - one of the few components I usually assemble prior to applying any paint.
Finally an update - sorry for the delay guys, it's been hectic here.
First - the aforementioned Merlins - just in longblock form for painting purposes. Were a bit of a pain in the ass to assemble.
Here's the update on the interior - it's all done and glued together!
It took me a long time to find this photo, it was in the Walkaround book I had lost - I needed to see how the harness attached to the seat. The hole is there, but I wasn't sure because it was offset
Turns out that is the correct hole
I scratched the mount with styrene rod and a spare piece of photo etch
The Navigators harness in place
Pilots harness complete
All the interior parts after a wash, decal, drybrush and flat coat. I used the Alclad clear flat - it WILL dry inside your brush as you spray, but I'm always done before it becomes an issue, then I tear it down and clean it as per my article here
Roof of the bomb bay glued in place
Cockpit all glued together
Overall Impression - The fit is mediocre. Not nearly as good as I was expecting from a current generation kit. Not horrible, but some of the simplest things present the most time consuming problems.
Also of note - something I discovered long ago - Tamiya's Nato Black (XF-69) is a perfect scale black. The nice part about using a stock paint is that the colour will be consistent as you progress through your build. Nato black is the perfect colour - dark enough to dry brush, light enough to show a wash. All of my black parts are painted in this colour.
Thanks everyone! It's all coming together. Progress is steady but the parts never seem to end! IIRC next comes the engines, then the bomb bay and then undercarriage.
Haha I knew someone was going to ask about those! They were actually an awesome Christmas present from my Uncle (lcarroll here on the forums). The set comes from drillbitsunlimited.com They have pre selected sets or you can make your own. My Uncle and I tend to exchange tools every year - we're the only two that 'get it'. I'm still waiting for the next big thing to get him.
Cheers!
New photos soon guys - I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts before I forget.
SAC Metal Landing Gear - I'm not overly impressed to be honest. This is the second of two sets that I have used and I've had issues with both. This time the parts that are meant to replace kit parts 23 and 22H don't fit. They're shorter than the kit parts and the pins don't end up in the holes. I opted to use the plastic kit parts instead. I only used the metal parts to replace the main legs and the primary cross brace - 10, 18 and 21H.
The Airfix instructions are an absolute disaster. They're not clear, they don't always make sense, they're full of outright errors and there's no paint chart - which is annoying for those of us who don't routinely use Humbrol paints, I have to keep jaunting up the stairs to find out what colour I'm being asked for.
It should be noted that the colour call outs seem to be based on the airframe that was recently restored to flying condition out of Australia and while they're accurate for the restoration, they might not be prototypical.
I have found a ton of locating pins that dont fit inside their locating holes - especially the square ones used on the braces for the pilot's seat and the engine bearers.
Speaking of the engine bearers, I would glued the two parts for the maint bearers together first, and attach them to the engine second - 14J to 15J first, and then attach to the engine. The mounting system for the engine to the firewall and the landing gear to the firewall sucks, plain and simple - it's like playing Jenga on a subwoofer. The assemblies have a bit of heft to them, but the firewall to the nacelle doesn't have much of a mating face and doesn't align very well. It's as if the engineer has never built a model before.
The assembly of the main gear from steps 106 to 124 yield a very unstable rickety gear if you follow the instructions and don't glue the legs to the cross brace - but it's not possible to glue them because there's nothing to properly align the pieces.
I'm disappointed because the kit is so new and from looking at the sprues when you first open the kit lead you to believe this is a modern kit up to today's standards but you'll end up surprised.
I'll hopefully have the engines and gear all mounted in a few days if I can squeeze time in around Father's Day and I'll post pics.
It's been a long time coming - but here's the update!
There was specific thought behind every photo taken, now let's see if I can remember what it was...
All of the parts left to be painted RAF Interior Green are painted - this was the next big hump. All parts preshaded and given a wash and a drybrush
Likewise for all the 'silver' parts - I paint all the metallic parts at once, which is not to say they're all the same shade. I didn't notice until it was too late that parts of the gunrack were supposed to be black, so I had to repaint them just before this photo
The main gear assembly. All the parts here except the top uprights are from the SAC set. Like I mentioned above I couldn't use the metal uprights because the locating pins didn't match the kit parts and didn't fit the holes. You can see the pins on the plastic parts here facedown.
It really annoyed me that Airfix said to not glue the parts together, they pivot and there's no telling what the correct angle is so you just keep juggling the parts as best you can until you get the supports in place and even then things don't align properly. Also the wheels have such heft to them that they like to swing around if you're not careful.
We were too late to get some Resin tires so I used the ridiculous rubber ones. They come in high gloss. I sanded them, then gave them a wash and a drybrush to bring the tread out. They still need a flatcoat here.
One engine will be closed but it's installed because it has to hold the prop. The bottom part of the engine bearers are all that hold the engine to the firewall. They have square pegs and none of the kit parts with square pegs fit, so I drilled them out and literally put a square peg in a round hole. The irritatingly vague instructions fail to point out that the top of the engine bearers fit into slots in the top of the wing when you mate the nacelles. The instructions are full of surprises like this. I've read the instructions a thousand times and am still getting surprised.
Instuctions showing you which two holes to drill out. a 1/16th drill bit worked perfectly for all these holes and wasn't so big so as to be noticeable
Because I found it impossible to figure out how to route all the pipes until I found other builds online. Did I mention the instructions are terrible? Be careful on the page with the four view drawing of the engine - it isn't clear that it's showing you the installation of two extra pipes. Fire the man that made these instructions plz.
I know it's not entirely in focus, but because it might help some poor sucker
See? The landing gear pivots, and you can imagine the kick it gives when they fly out - hence the tape. Only those two small pins holding the landing gear in place. Same with the engine.
Some nice details like the hose that runs to the extinguisher on the firewall
You can use the tools that you hold your parts with for painting as a quick mask. I sprayed the hydraulic ram polished aluminum and then the head a darker metallic
The result, a nice clean line without having to mask such a small part.
How I align small parts. I see no advantage to having these parts pivot - I would have much preferred a stronger solid part.
The instructions for that assembly. Squares mean do not glue. The pivot did not aid in fitting as I was hoping.
Another use for blu-tack. Hold the above assembly in place while aligning it - You're supposed to glue it, but at an unknown angle, then you roof the wheel well and by some form of PFM (Pure effing Magic) secure the top of the supports to the roof. Clothes peg to tilt the assembly so I could see in easier
Note the arm for the hydraulic ram. You have to fit that into the hydraulic tube which has yet to be mounted m
From the top
Both sides done.
Well that's what I've been working towards guys - both nacelles complete. The rest of the assembly is mostly the armament and then it's paint time. I'll probably just use a roller.
Mal - I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't miss out on building one anyway, I keep feeling a sense of reward when I tackle another step that I was obviously not meant to finish. I take comfort in all of the Mosquitos that are already built on the net and the confidence I have in my own ability
Glenn - Nah no need. It's really not that bad, it has its ups and downs which is why I'm so frustrated. Things will be flying along dry fitting well enough to not need glue, then the next part I grab seems like it was meant for a different kit all together.
Chuk - thanks for checking in. We have all learned a lot from your threads and a lot of what you have taught I have simply modified to suit my own needs.
Bob - be prepared, every now and then I say something clever AND funny. I wish I was entirely kidding about the roller, the size of this model doesn't hit you until you see one in person. The flaps are the size of my hand.
Julian - welcome to the thread and thank you, I'm making it through.
Joel - thanks, it's nice to feel more pages on the left of the instructions and more on the right. I'm looking forward to the finish. I generally have a really good idea of what the instructions say because I read them over for weeks before I start, but there are so many things in this kit that Airfix just leaves to to guess at or figure out on your own.
Just a quick nothing update - I wanted to be a little more positive this evening. I'm working on some odds and ends and I'm happy to say that while the elevators didn't fit well together, the rest of the stabilizer fit together perfectly. That's my issue is some parts like the rack for the 20mm cannons fit so perfectly it's like lego, and then others serve as a starting block for your own part.
Like I said I wanted to be a bit kinder to Airfix this time, except the elevators and ailerons, the rest of these assemblies fit as well as any of the parts in Tamiya's Mustang.
The gun rack is simply dry fit here, look at the photo above, I simply pressed it together - it has the smallest pegs you've ever seen, but it holds far better than the larger ones in this kit and unlike ALL the square pegs, it fits.
The tanks have seams still yes - the backs aren't painted either, you wont see more than the face of them once they're seated in the roof of the bomb bay. I mixed my own colour for them, it's impossible to find Model Master British Crimson around here. It's an amazing colour that I default to on a lot of misc warbird parts, it adds a different element without being silly.
...I also can't find any GAP at any of the LHS |
EDIT - for those wondering, I keep enough supplies on my paint table (I have a glue/assembly table too) that it became a huge PITA to change the paper after each build, I now use the bottom of a case of pop to paint on and when it becomes nasty I switch to a new one. I use the old ones as trays to group parts like in my last post.
I was afraid it was a Paragon part, I think the whole operation is out of business.
And you don't know the half of it -
A lot more work than it looks, the seams have ALL been done since this morning, the nacelles weren't bad - but because you have to put the landing gear in before you glue them together and the gear makes up half of the models weight, they're a little cumbersome. The wingtip fit was disastrous but this well documented in everyone's build.
I've also prepped all the armament except for the actual guns themselves - I'm trying to get into a position to paint, almost there. | |)
Chuk, chuk, chuk... This is the Fighter version so there is no wheel for a Hamster. It has a stick so I'm training a squirrel.
Thanks guys, it's finally at that point where all the small bits are making one big one that resembles something. I don't know how much I'll get done today as I have to do some volunteering and appointment hopping.
I'll probably sit around in my best pensive pose and figure out how the hell I'm going mask the landing gear and wheel wells. @
I plan on doing a writeup based on the steps in the instruction manual - my general notes, thoughts, fit issues etc so that you can be prepared for them as you build.
Well because things were moving along so well, it was only a matter of time until something went terribly wrong and after several hours of open heart surgery we're back on track.
I take half the blame for this, I misrouted the engine plumbing, but I did my due diligence and checked photos on every build thread around. I spent DAYS doing just this. I still place half the blame on airfix for their vague instructions and assemble by guess build process.
Please forgive my crude use of MSPaint in an effort to help illustrate what I'm talking about.
Now I don't claim to be more than an average builder at best, and this is a rookie mistake, but like I said - I thought I had done my homework.
This is the offending step - I've mentioned it before, it seems like a courtesy four view drawing; which it is. But amidst all the regular construction steps it gets a little lost. I stared at it a few times before I noticed it's indicating the installation of two new parts which I've circled. The problem stems from how differently this step is illustrated and the fact that Airfix uses almost the same symbol for paint, decals and parts and they tend to get lost in the ink (can someone explain to me why the hell they had to make a huge instruction manual for a huge kit? I have NOWHERE to put this stuff!
Fake Edit; these seem far more obvious now that I've circled them.
Here's images from an earlier update. I've put one of the main coolant pipes outside the engine bearer when it should have been inside, and I put a small tube that runs through the middle of the engine barer but is supposed to go on the outside of the coolant tube....I'm glad I drew this out in paint for you.
You can see where the coolant tube meets the two smaller coolant lines - they are held in with glue and stick into the pipe only by about 1/16th". They are routed correctly in front of the inside frame and behind the outside frame, but the assembly needs to be inside the upper arm of the bearer (this is all inside the nacelle at this point or I could have corrected it easily had I known at this point)
Here's the smaller tubing, it's correctly inside the inner and outer frame, but needs to be outside the coolant pipe. These tubes are smaller than 1/16" and break so easily that you'll want to handle them as little as possible. I can't recommend RB's micro saw set highly enough - I promise that you wont ever get these parts off their sprue without breaking them if you try to use a sprue cutter or number 11 blade.
The mounts at the top of the frame sit on this shelf and are slotted into holes in the upper wing - something that isn't made clear in the instructions. Because the assembly is so large (the nacelles) and the engine is being pushed rearward while the bulkhead that the frame slots into slides forward and at this point you're out of hands, almost every single one of these pairs will break on you. They break cleanly though so you can line them up again and friction fit them, touch them with cement and you're good to go. I also found that most of these are too long to begin with, pushing the upper mounts further back than the bulkhead which exacerbates the problem. Melting them back into one piece with contact cement takes care of both problems
You can see the arm has snapped, and you can see how both sides are buckling as there isn't enough room - and this side has none of the plumbing in place :|
Incredibly fragile
So I had two options to correct this problem - as this was the only engine being displayed it had to be done correctly. option 1 was to break off the coolant pipe where it joins the two small hoses and re-route everything. Option two was to saw the upper mounting arms, re route them from above and glue to the severed half in the same manner I managed the broken ones. I decided that option 1 wasn't feasible because fitting those parts was a blue language symphony in the first place with the engine out of the nacelle.
I used one of the amazing mirco saws and made two nice clean cuts leaving a true face on the four ends. It was tricky manouvering a saw between all that plumbing and framework
I separated the mount into two pieces. You can see that only one has the block that fits the bulkhead. My plan was to snake the frame down through the plumbing - threading a needle - glue the top to the bulkhead, reattach the other end of that frame and then attach the other part of the upper frame and glue it back to it's other half as well.
At the top you see the slot, the wide silver pipe far right was the offending one. You can see the two cut ends, one right at the silver coolant pipe and the other down at the bottom of the silver coolant pipe where there's a flange.
Glued in at the top after being fed down the correct path to approximately where it would mate up with the other side of the cut You get a good idea of how the engine bearers are designed to fit looking at the one on the other side of starboard engine.
I told you it was almost in line with the frame I cut it off of. needle nose tweezers and the handle an old fine point brush make great tools to place and fiddle until things sit. I had to hold both ends together, put down my brush-prod, find the glue and get it in there without breathing.
One of two done
The outside strut fed down through the plumbing to meet up with it's lower half and glued in up top
Sorry I know the lines are small and crude
The green lines are the upper arms now glued back together, light blue is the original offending pipe, darker blue is yet another tube that runs through there, but it's much more obvious how this one fits in. It only runs from the firewall up to that bulkhead.
Saved the day. Before I started the green lines curved up inside the thick silver pipe and the mounting block on the end of the frame fell below the curve at the top of the wing, and I couldn't have that.
The explanation is much simpler than the problem. I would say go study the instructions and you'll understand, but you wont because they're pretty bad.
The nacelle which is closed at this point, has the engine in it which is all the way forward, has two mounting pins on the lower arms of the engine cradle which don't fit the firewall, upper arms which just sit above the firewall until you figure out they get inserted to slots in the upper wing AS you attach the nacelles. You have to try and coordinate getting those fragile beams aligned while popping the ungainly nacelle with landing gear in place (but not very secure)into the upper wing - sandwiching the split flaps in place.
That said if this was an engineless kit, the engineering behind the nacelle/wing/flap fit would be genius and rewarding.
I sincerely hope this helps someone when they go to build their Mossie
Thanks Joel, I tried to make it as clear cut as I could, but I knew it might take some rereading to really understand.
I used to say the same thing about scale, but the large kits kept getting nicer and nicer and here I am now.
Sorry guys, I didn't get to the bench - I was busy; photos by yours truly.
Sorry, to be clear I took these photos this Saturday at Geneseo
The wife and I
Geneseo airshow - it's on again tomorrow but it's a grass field and it's supposed to pour so I don't know how much flying will get done.
I was lucky to see it for a second time flying and yes, the Lanc is about 15 minutes away from my house. I see it flying almost every weekend, but with it going to the UK for two months it's going to be a quiet summer. Luckily the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is "Canada's Flying Museum" so most of their collection flies. They're currently restoring a Bolingbrook (Canadian Blenheim), TBM, and Grumman Tracker. Their most recently completed restoration also flew at the airshow I went to on Saturday - a Westland Lysander. They also just received an actual D-Day veteran C-47 which they will return to its D-Day markings. They already have a DC-3 painted in Canucks Unlimited livery that flies regularly.
I'll post more photos as I process them. Now I'll get back to the model table!
For information's sake - neither do the SAC ones. I know they're just metal reproductions of kit parts, but in case anyone was wondering.
Anyways - time for an update. A lot of work, but not much to see.
So the problem is this - you know when you've bought a sub sandwich and there's simply too many fillings to close the bun? That's essentially how the front of the Mosquito's fuselage turns out. It's a real struggle to get it to close on the top and bottom seams. This is a common problem with this kit for a number of reasons. I got this one to close up, but when I went to attach the nose, it only fit for 3/4's of the circumference.
The bottom left didn't fit at all.
Note that the top half of the gun bay fits nicely for the most part.
The interior conforms to the bulkhead as it should - so it's not a warped part
You really get a feel for how bad it is here. You'll note this causes a problem for the cover of the cannons on the bottom of the fuse
This is as nasty as the step to the nose
To make matters worse - even where the cover fits, it's way too thick to sit flush
and that's without the other half of the shroud installed (part 14B)
So I discussed this at length with Chukw and we bounced some ideas back and forth. I was concerned that simply sanding the step down would ruin the line of the nose if I kept the sanding far enough forward to not interfere with the fit of the crew door. We agreed the best approach was to use a spreader to widen the top of the lower nose to fit better at the top and then sand down the step that would be left on the lower quarter.
A piece of sprue from the kit did the job.
I engineered it so it didn't put any strain on the left hand side of the lower nose (right side in the photo) which was glued on 24 hours earlier. It's also installed against the bulkhead so there's no movement as the part pushed back to it's natural position. The harder the part pushed on the rod, the more the rod pushed back essentially.
And here's where we stand at this very minute:
Now there's a very minimal amount of sanding to do and we're golden! Now I'm working on the lower gunbay cover. I'll get to that as I progress.
Thanks Gents! I'm much relieved.
It's a sad day for a model company - especially one as established as Airfix - when Trumpeter does something better than you. All of my Trumpeter builds have removable panels sitting in place and one of them I can't even get back off because it fits so well.
....Thank god this forum has a preview function.
Well, what can I say? Big Mosquito is big.
You may have noticed that there have been no updates to my P-39 thread in a long time. Fear not - they will resume. For now, I have taken on the responsibility of building this beautiful kit on commission and as such it will be my only project until it's finished. I've decided to post progress as a blog out of interests sake, to share in your knowledge and so my client can see progress and to keep me working away.
I started with a whack of research. I'm surprised how hard it has been to find Mosquito colour schemes. The ones in our usual references are either of different variants or they're not of enough importance to deviate from the kit markings.
After research I set about filling as many of the ejector pin markings as I could - mostly those that could be seen once assembled (you'll see some in photos still). I have never seen so many EP markings in my life, I ended up attaching disks of sandpaper to various diameter dowels and putting those in a cordless drill, once sanded smooth with various grades, the parts were primed with Alclad Primer/Filler - similar to Mr. Surfacer, but readily available here in Canada.
I have since done my base coat of black for shading and then my interior Green. I have a lot of time in already, progress doesn't look like much, but will speed up quickly in the next few days as parts start to be glued into the fuselage.
It should be noted that the fit is finicky, alignment is tricky with the complete absence of alignment pins and tabs like we've become used to.
For the interior painting, I've used a technique called Zenithal Lighting - I've used it with great results in the past, like my SBD but never knew its name. You paint the parts a dark colour, then spray the interior colour in the direction that light shines, leaving natural shadows. Think of it as pre-shading for the interior and you'd be right on.
Pics;
Shoddy photo of the pilots backrest cushion, but you get the idea of the technique, the khaki was sprayed directly downwards. This sill still be washed and drybrushed
Roof of the gun compartment in the nose
Airbrushed always looks better
Mask removed, shown with backrest
Surprisingly good fit, the floors and bulkheads were glued together using a square though - no alignment pegs or tabs, edge on edge.
Same shading technique used on the fuse halves
I HATE brush painting, and since my last masking tutorial was so popular, here's a quick little SbS. The pilots seat has padded armrests.
I used a caliper to measure the length and width of the armrests, I marked this on my favourite masking medium - Post Its - and cut the shape out. I could then push the whole armrest through the hole and safely airbrush. spray across the post it for the sides, front and rear. Neater than hand brushing, looks better and even with 'masking' it's faster.
Mask was originally tighter. This one could still be used though - pull it in the direction opposite the airbush and you'll be fine.
Feedback welcome! More updates as we go through the week!
--< Thanks for joining in and following along fellas.
I would try and tell you how big the kit is, but even the photos I saw of the model compared to something like a 48th scale mustang didn't convey the sense of size or prepare me for what I found when I opened the box. To be honest, this is why I chose to do this as a commission build - it's a model I wanted to build, but I have nowhere to put it other than the dining room table, and we can all imagine how that would go over.
Just a very brief update for the sake of keeping things going - and a bit of a review and how to while I'm at it.
I've spend hours assembling the RB Productions 1/24th scale Sutton harnesses. I've completed one and I'm now on the second. The review is this; compared to the HGW items (RB makes smaller scale belts and I used an HGW item in my Mustang build featured here on Aeroscale) I can't say if I prefer one over the other - they're very different approaches and build very differently. I prefer the photoetch of the RB parts, and the belt material in the RB production kits are pre-cut. The material for the HGW harnesses fall a little nicer and sit a little more naturally on their own, but you have to cut them from a solid sheet of material. A minor inconvenience but it also makes them slightly more difficult to feed them through the p/e buckles. In the end I would likely choose the Radu products in the future, they're both a lot of work but the RB Productions pieces are easier to assemble
Here's one (dodgy) photo of the second harness as it sits right this second. I use dots of blu-tac to position the belts, I often use the same technique for photoetch. (note the Y shaped harnesses actually come in separate pieces for L and R sides in the RB part, whereas in the HGW set it comes as one solid Y shaped piece, but you have to cut them out, which can be tricky where it curves as you can't use a ruler) and then I use Micro Kristal Klear to glue the pieces together. Kristal Klear is tacky enough right off the bat that it will hold the pieces while it cures. You cannot use CA glue on the belts because it will stain and stiffen the material - I verified this on a scrap piece provided.
Editorial afterthought - the brass grommets in the RB Production belts which go into the holes you see in this photo make it a hands down win for the RB pieces, they're stunning when completed.
Once these harnesses are done, then it's time to paint the odds and sods of the cockpit and start gluing stuff together.
Can someone help me out?
What are parts 11L (sep 15) and 26L (step 27)? I cant find anything about them in my references. I think that 11L might be the sanitary tank but Airfix suggests khaki as the paint code. I have no idea what 26L is.
Glenn did some excellent legwork. 11L is definitely a first aid kit - or a storage box for one. I think the other part could be a map case, but are there any photos of it anywhere? It just seems to be an odd shape and size for a map case.
Okay folks - let's put this part to bed permanently.
Thanks very much to Glenn who apparently has an indefatigable library of Mosquito references we were able to sort this all out.
11L is a container of sorts that holds a standard issue RAF first aid kit. The sanitary jug would actually sit behind it and under the seat so Airfix have chosen not to include it. A perfectly acceptable choice.
Here is part 11L
Bottom left of the image. The scallops on the front are "Torch holders" which I believe in the earlier built examples are on the bulkhead behind the navigator's legs
In a bomber at the top of the access port in the floor
The kit part
The aforementioned sanitary tank with the first aid kit removed.
The other part in question took some sorting. The colour call-out is strange (Khaki) Made more frustrating because Airfix uses Humbrol colours but there's no damn colour chart in the instructions - who made this decision? I have to look up every single colour as I don't like Humbrol paints and I dont use them.
Turns out it's a desk type structure on the floor that houses a drawer that pulls out. It holds the navigator's maps and is held in by a leather strap (the drawer.)
Bottom right of the image, below the perforated metal shelf that holds the drift meter
It's out of focus here, but you can see the drawer slid out a few inches.
I hope this helps someone building this kit in the future. Thanks Glenn for your help.
Now I'm off to scratch build a drawer and use a spare piece of the harness to make the leather strap. These always start out as OOB builds you know. I hope to have the fuselage glued together by the end of the weekend, depending on how long the weathering takes. I'll be sure to post photos.
p.s. - Chuk, want to build me a drawer? ;-)
BUILD UPDATE
Making some progress, not quite as much as I'd hoped but a step forward is a step forward.
Firstly, the chart case with newly made chart table
After a repaint to match references and with the cloth strap and metal button installed as per reference photo above
Completed two piece shoulder harness for pilot
I know most people here like to undercoat colour cockpit parts with white paint to make them a little more vibrant. I don't. I find white paint as much of a PITA as the colours themselves - so try this next time; undercoat with silver. It paints nicer, covers 100% in one coat, it's light enough to make the colours vibrant and it's very easy to control the paint when applying.
finished product (without wash or drybrush yet)
Completed control yoke with wrapped handle (floral wire painted buff)
Odds and sods
Dryfit without rudder pedals
More to come - have to gloss, decal, wash, flat coat and drybrush.
Thanks guys. I'm at that odd point where I have to get all of the parts to the same stage so that I can move forward altogether.
My workbench is down for a few days while my basement gets a much needed facelift. So for the next few nights I will be sitting in front of the TV with a table assembling the engines - one of the few components I usually assemble prior to applying any paint.
Finally an update - sorry for the delay guys, it's been hectic here.
First - the aforementioned Merlins - just in longblock form for painting purposes. Were a bit of a pain in the ass to assemble.
Here's the update on the interior - it's all done and glued together!
It took me a long time to find this photo, it was in the Walkaround book I had lost - I needed to see how the harness attached to the seat. The hole is there, but I wasn't sure because it was offset
Turns out that is the correct hole
I scratched the mount with styrene rod and a spare piece of photo etch
The Navigators harness in place
Pilots harness complete
All the interior parts after a wash, decal, drybrush and flat coat. I used the Alclad clear flat - it WILL dry inside your brush as you spray, but I'm always done before it becomes an issue, then I tear it down and clean it as per my article here
Roof of the bomb bay glued in place
Cockpit all glued together
Overall Impression - The fit is mediocre. Not nearly as good as I was expecting from a current generation kit. Not horrible, but some of the simplest things present the most time consuming problems.
Also of note - something I discovered long ago - Tamiya's Nato Black (XF-69) is a perfect scale black. The nice part about using a stock paint is that the colour will be consistent as you progress through your build. Nato black is the perfect colour - dark enough to dry brush, light enough to show a wash. All of my black parts are painted in this colour.
Thanks everyone! It's all coming together. Progress is steady but the parts never seem to end! IIRC next comes the engines, then the bomb bay and then undercarriage.
Matt,
Cockpit is looking museum quality! Pure artwork. As a side note. Where did you get the small drill bit set in the blue case? I can think of hundreds of times I could have made use of such a set. Hook a friend up with the manufacturer data please. &
Haha I knew someone was going to ask about those! They were actually an awesome Christmas present from my Uncle (lcarroll here on the forums). The set comes from drillbitsunlimited.com They have pre selected sets or you can make your own. My Uncle and I tend to exchange tools every year - we're the only two that 'get it'. I'm still waiting for the next big thing to get him.
Cheers!
New photos soon guys - I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts before I forget.
SAC Metal Landing Gear - I'm not overly impressed to be honest. This is the second of two sets that I have used and I've had issues with both. This time the parts that are meant to replace kit parts 23 and 22H don't fit. They're shorter than the kit parts and the pins don't end up in the holes. I opted to use the plastic kit parts instead. I only used the metal parts to replace the main legs and the primary cross brace - 10, 18 and 21H.
The Airfix instructions are an absolute disaster. They're not clear, they don't always make sense, they're full of outright errors and there's no paint chart - which is annoying for those of us who don't routinely use Humbrol paints, I have to keep jaunting up the stairs to find out what colour I'm being asked for.
It should be noted that the colour call outs seem to be based on the airframe that was recently restored to flying condition out of Australia and while they're accurate for the restoration, they might not be prototypical.
I have found a ton of locating pins that dont fit inside their locating holes - especially the square ones used on the braces for the pilot's seat and the engine bearers.
Speaking of the engine bearers, I would glued the two parts for the maint bearers together first, and attach them to the engine second - 14J to 15J first, and then attach to the engine. The mounting system for the engine to the firewall and the landing gear to the firewall sucks, plain and simple - it's like playing Jenga on a subwoofer. The assemblies have a bit of heft to them, but the firewall to the nacelle doesn't have much of a mating face and doesn't align very well. It's as if the engineer has never built a model before.
The assembly of the main gear from steps 106 to 124 yield a very unstable rickety gear if you follow the instructions and don't glue the legs to the cross brace - but it's not possible to glue them because there's nothing to properly align the pieces.
I'm disappointed because the kit is so new and from looking at the sprues when you first open the kit lead you to believe this is a modern kit up to today's standards but you'll end up surprised.
I'll hopefully have the engines and gear all mounted in a few days if I can squeeze time in around Father's Day and I'll post pics.
It's been a long time coming - but here's the update!
There was specific thought behind every photo taken, now let's see if I can remember what it was...
All of the parts left to be painted RAF Interior Green are painted - this was the next big hump. All parts preshaded and given a wash and a drybrush
Likewise for all the 'silver' parts - I paint all the metallic parts at once, which is not to say they're all the same shade. I didn't notice until it was too late that parts of the gunrack were supposed to be black, so I had to repaint them just before this photo
The main gear assembly. All the parts here except the top uprights are from the SAC set. Like I mentioned above I couldn't use the metal uprights because the locating pins didn't match the kit parts and didn't fit the holes. You can see the pins on the plastic parts here facedown.
It really annoyed me that Airfix said to not glue the parts together, they pivot and there's no telling what the correct angle is so you just keep juggling the parts as best you can until you get the supports in place and even then things don't align properly. Also the wheels have such heft to them that they like to swing around if you're not careful.
We were too late to get some Resin tires so I used the ridiculous rubber ones. They come in high gloss. I sanded them, then gave them a wash and a drybrush to bring the tread out. They still need a flatcoat here.
One engine will be closed but it's installed because it has to hold the prop. The bottom part of the engine bearers are all that hold the engine to the firewall. They have square pegs and none of the kit parts with square pegs fit, so I drilled them out and literally put a square peg in a round hole. The irritatingly vague instructions fail to point out that the top of the engine bearers fit into slots in the top of the wing when you mate the nacelles. The instructions are full of surprises like this. I've read the instructions a thousand times and am still getting surprised.
Instuctions showing you which two holes to drill out. a 1/16th drill bit worked perfectly for all these holes and wasn't so big so as to be noticeable
Because I found it impossible to figure out how to route all the pipes until I found other builds online. Did I mention the instructions are terrible? Be careful on the page with the four view drawing of the engine - it isn't clear that it's showing you the installation of two extra pipes. Fire the man that made these instructions plz.
I know it's not entirely in focus, but because it might help some poor sucker
See? The landing gear pivots, and you can imagine the kick it gives when they fly out - hence the tape. Only those two small pins holding the landing gear in place. Same with the engine.
Some nice details like the hose that runs to the extinguisher on the firewall
You can use the tools that you hold your parts with for painting as a quick mask. I sprayed the hydraulic ram polished aluminum and then the head a darker metallic
The result, a nice clean line without having to mask such a small part.
How I align small parts. I see no advantage to having these parts pivot - I would have much preferred a stronger solid part.
The instructions for that assembly. Squares mean do not glue. The pivot did not aid in fitting as I was hoping.
Another use for blu-tack. Hold the above assembly in place while aligning it - You're supposed to glue it, but at an unknown angle, then you roof the wheel well and by some form of PFM (Pure effing Magic) secure the top of the supports to the roof. Clothes peg to tilt the assembly so I could see in easier
Note the arm for the hydraulic ram. You have to fit that into the hydraulic tube which has yet to be mounted m
From the top
Both sides done.
Well that's what I've been working towards guys - both nacelles complete. The rest of the assembly is mostly the armament and then it's paint time. I'll probably just use a roller.
Mal - I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't miss out on building one anyway, I keep feeling a sense of reward when I tackle another step that I was obviously not meant to finish. I take comfort in all of the Mosquitos that are already built on the net and the confidence I have in my own ability
Glenn - Nah no need. It's really not that bad, it has its ups and downs which is why I'm so frustrated. Things will be flying along dry fitting well enough to not need glue, then the next part I grab seems like it was meant for a different kit all together.
Chuk - thanks for checking in. We have all learned a lot from your threads and a lot of what you have taught I have simply modified to suit my own needs.
Bob - be prepared, every now and then I say something clever AND funny. I wish I was entirely kidding about the roller, the size of this model doesn't hit you until you see one in person. The flaps are the size of my hand.
Julian - welcome to the thread and thank you, I'm making it through.
Joel - thanks, it's nice to feel more pages on the left of the instructions and more on the right. I'm looking forward to the finish. I generally have a really good idea of what the instructions say because I read them over for weeks before I start, but there are so many things in this kit that Airfix just leaves to to guess at or figure out on your own.
Just a quick nothing update - I wanted to be a little more positive this evening. I'm working on some odds and ends and I'm happy to say that while the elevators didn't fit well together, the rest of the stabilizer fit together perfectly. That's my issue is some parts like the rack for the 20mm cannons fit so perfectly it's like lego, and then others serve as a starting block for your own part.
Like I said I wanted to be a bit kinder to Airfix this time, except the elevators and ailerons, the rest of these assemblies fit as well as any of the parts in Tamiya's Mustang.
The gun rack is simply dry fit here, look at the photo above, I simply pressed it together - it has the smallest pegs you've ever seen, but it holds far better than the larger ones in this kit and unlike ALL the square pegs, it fits.
The tanks have seams still yes - the backs aren't painted either, you wont see more than the face of them once they're seated in the roof of the bomb bay. I mixed my own colour for them, it's impossible to find Model Master British Crimson around here. It's an amazing colour that I default to on a lot of misc warbird parts, it adds a different element without being silly.
...I also can't find any GAP at any of the LHS |
EDIT - for those wondering, I keep enough supplies on my paint table (I have a glue/assembly table too) that it became a huge PITA to change the paper after each build, I now use the bottom of a case of pop to paint on and when it becomes nasty I switch to a new one. I use the old ones as trays to group parts like in my last post.
I was afraid it was a Paragon part, I think the whole operation is out of business.
And you don't know the half of it -
A lot more work than it looks, the seams have ALL been done since this morning, the nacelles weren't bad - but because you have to put the landing gear in before you glue them together and the gear makes up half of the models weight, they're a little cumbersome. The wingtip fit was disastrous but this well documented in everyone's build.
I've also prepped all the armament except for the actual guns themselves - I'm trying to get into a position to paint, almost there. | |)
I suspect you're concurrently training a hamster to fly this thing?
Chuk, chuk, chuk... This is the Fighter version so there is no wheel for a Hamster. It has a stick so I'm training a squirrel.
Thanks guys, it's finally at that point where all the small bits are making one big one that resembles something. I don't know how much I'll get done today as I have to do some volunteering and appointment hopping.
I'll probably sit around in my best pensive pose and figure out how the hell I'm going mask the landing gear and wheel wells. @
I plan on doing a writeup based on the steps in the instruction manual - my general notes, thoughts, fit issues etc so that you can be prepared for them as you build.
Well because things were moving along so well, it was only a matter of time until something went terribly wrong and after several hours of open heart surgery we're back on track.
I take half the blame for this, I misrouted the engine plumbing, but I did my due diligence and checked photos on every build thread around. I spent DAYS doing just this. I still place half the blame on airfix for their vague instructions and assemble by guess build process.
Please forgive my crude use of MSPaint in an effort to help illustrate what I'm talking about.
Now I don't claim to be more than an average builder at best, and this is a rookie mistake, but like I said - I thought I had done my homework.
This is the offending step - I've mentioned it before, it seems like a courtesy four view drawing; which it is. But amidst all the regular construction steps it gets a little lost. I stared at it a few times before I noticed it's indicating the installation of two new parts which I've circled. The problem stems from how differently this step is illustrated and the fact that Airfix uses almost the same symbol for paint, decals and parts and they tend to get lost in the ink (can someone explain to me why the hell they had to make a huge instruction manual for a huge kit? I have NOWHERE to put this stuff!
Fake Edit; these seem far more obvious now that I've circled them.
Here's images from an earlier update. I've put one of the main coolant pipes outside the engine bearer when it should have been inside, and I put a small tube that runs through the middle of the engine barer but is supposed to go on the outside of the coolant tube....I'm glad I drew this out in paint for you.
You can see where the coolant tube meets the two smaller coolant lines - they are held in with glue and stick into the pipe only by about 1/16th". They are routed correctly in front of the inside frame and behind the outside frame, but the assembly needs to be inside the upper arm of the bearer (this is all inside the nacelle at this point or I could have corrected it easily had I known at this point)
Here's the smaller tubing, it's correctly inside the inner and outer frame, but needs to be outside the coolant pipe. These tubes are smaller than 1/16" and break so easily that you'll want to handle them as little as possible. I can't recommend RB's micro saw set highly enough - I promise that you wont ever get these parts off their sprue without breaking them if you try to use a sprue cutter or number 11 blade.
The mounts at the top of the frame sit on this shelf and are slotted into holes in the upper wing - something that isn't made clear in the instructions. Because the assembly is so large (the nacelles) and the engine is being pushed rearward while the bulkhead that the frame slots into slides forward and at this point you're out of hands, almost every single one of these pairs will break on you. They break cleanly though so you can line them up again and friction fit them, touch them with cement and you're good to go. I also found that most of these are too long to begin with, pushing the upper mounts further back than the bulkhead which exacerbates the problem. Melting them back into one piece with contact cement takes care of both problems
You can see the arm has snapped, and you can see how both sides are buckling as there isn't enough room - and this side has none of the plumbing in place :|
Incredibly fragile
So I had two options to correct this problem - as this was the only engine being displayed it had to be done correctly. option 1 was to break off the coolant pipe where it joins the two small hoses and re-route everything. Option two was to saw the upper mounting arms, re route them from above and glue to the severed half in the same manner I managed the broken ones. I decided that option 1 wasn't feasible because fitting those parts was a blue language symphony in the first place with the engine out of the nacelle.
I used one of the amazing mirco saws and made two nice clean cuts leaving a true face on the four ends. It was tricky manouvering a saw between all that plumbing and framework
I separated the mount into two pieces. You can see that only one has the block that fits the bulkhead. My plan was to snake the frame down through the plumbing - threading a needle - glue the top to the bulkhead, reattach the other end of that frame and then attach the other part of the upper frame and glue it back to it's other half as well.
At the top you see the slot, the wide silver pipe far right was the offending one. You can see the two cut ends, one right at the silver coolant pipe and the other down at the bottom of the silver coolant pipe where there's a flange.
Glued in at the top after being fed down the correct path to approximately where it would mate up with the other side of the cut You get a good idea of how the engine bearers are designed to fit looking at the one on the other side of starboard engine.
I told you it was almost in line with the frame I cut it off of. needle nose tweezers and the handle an old fine point brush make great tools to place and fiddle until things sit. I had to hold both ends together, put down my brush-prod, find the glue and get it in there without breathing.
One of two done
The outside strut fed down through the plumbing to meet up with it's lower half and glued in up top
Sorry I know the lines are small and crude
The green lines are the upper arms now glued back together, light blue is the original offending pipe, darker blue is yet another tube that runs through there, but it's much more obvious how this one fits in. It only runs from the firewall up to that bulkhead.
Saved the day. Before I started the green lines curved up inside the thick silver pipe and the mounting block on the end of the frame fell below the curve at the top of the wing, and I couldn't have that.
The explanation is much simpler than the problem. I would say go study the instructions and you'll understand, but you wont because they're pretty bad.
The nacelle which is closed at this point, has the engine in it which is all the way forward, has two mounting pins on the lower arms of the engine cradle which don't fit the firewall, upper arms which just sit above the firewall until you figure out they get inserted to slots in the upper wing AS you attach the nacelles. You have to try and coordinate getting those fragile beams aligned while popping the ungainly nacelle with landing gear in place (but not very secure)into the upper wing - sandwiching the split flaps in place.
That said if this was an engineless kit, the engineering behind the nacelle/wing/flap fit would be genius and rewarding.
I sincerely hope this helps someone when they go to build their Mossie
Matt,
After reading through your last post twice, I can't tell you how glad I am to be a strictly 1/48 scale modeler m
Joel
Thanks Joel, I tried to make it as clear cut as I could, but I knew it might take some rereading to really understand.
I used to say the same thing about scale, but the large kits kept getting nicer and nicer and here I am now.
Sorry guys, I didn't get to the bench - I was busy; photos by yours truly.
Sorry, to be clear I took these photos this Saturday at Geneseo
The wife and I
Geneseo airshow - it's on again tomorrow but it's a grass field and it's supposed to pour so I don't know how much flying will get done.
I was lucky to see it for a second time flying and yes, the Lanc is about 15 minutes away from my house. I see it flying almost every weekend, but with it going to the UK for two months it's going to be a quiet summer. Luckily the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is "Canada's Flying Museum" so most of their collection flies. They're currently restoring a Bolingbrook (Canadian Blenheim), TBM, and Grumman Tracker. Their most recently completed restoration also flew at the airshow I went to on Saturday - a Westland Lysander. They also just received an actual D-Day veteran C-47 which they will return to its D-Day markings. They already have a DC-3 painted in Canucks Unlimited livery that flies regularly.
I'll post more photos as I process them. Now I'll get back to the model table!
For information's sake - neither do the SAC ones. I know they're just metal reproductions of kit parts, but in case anyone was wondering.
Anyways - time for an update. A lot of work, but not much to see.
So the problem is this - you know when you've bought a sub sandwich and there's simply too many fillings to close the bun? That's essentially how the front of the Mosquito's fuselage turns out. It's a real struggle to get it to close on the top and bottom seams. This is a common problem with this kit for a number of reasons. I got this one to close up, but when I went to attach the nose, it only fit for 3/4's of the circumference.
The bottom left didn't fit at all.
Note that the top half of the gun bay fits nicely for the most part.
The interior conforms to the bulkhead as it should - so it's not a warped part
You really get a feel for how bad it is here. You'll note this causes a problem for the cover of the cannons on the bottom of the fuse
This is as nasty as the step to the nose
To make matters worse - even where the cover fits, it's way too thick to sit flush
and that's without the other half of the shroud installed (part 14B)
So I discussed this at length with Chukw and we bounced some ideas back and forth. I was concerned that simply sanding the step down would ruin the line of the nose if I kept the sanding far enough forward to not interfere with the fit of the crew door. We agreed the best approach was to use a spreader to widen the top of the lower nose to fit better at the top and then sand down the step that would be left on the lower quarter.
A piece of sprue from the kit did the job.
I engineered it so it didn't put any strain on the left hand side of the lower nose (right side in the photo) which was glued on 24 hours earlier. It's also installed against the bulkhead so there's no movement as the part pushed back to it's natural position. The harder the part pushed on the rod, the more the rod pushed back essentially.
And here's where we stand at this very minute:
Now there's a very minimal amount of sanding to do and we're golden! Now I'm working on the lower gunbay cover. I'll get to that as I progress.
Thanks Gents! I'm much relieved.
It's a sad day for a model company - especially one as established as Airfix - when Trumpeter does something better than you. All of my Trumpeter builds have removable panels sitting in place and one of them I can't even get back off because it fits so well.
