A few weeks ago I had a little empty spot to fill with a new kit, so I pulled out the Mosquito kit. I had a nice Eduard photoetch set to go with it, so I went at it. Tamiya’s kit like most of their stuff is excellent. Nice detail, great fit, lots of optional parts. I started with the cockpit/bomb bay/gun bay assembly adding the Eduard instrument panel, throttles, dials and seatbelts. I also cleaned up and detailed many of the kit provided parts. I also added ammunition belts to the nose gun bay. They will not show, but they were fun to bend and shape into place.
I also was able to put together the two landing gears. They provided a challenge especially the small cross arms just above the wheels. I actually broke one and had to scratch together an arm from some Evergreen stock rod. In the next photo, notice the Eduard mud guards. I used the kit parts to shape the guards and super glued the strengthening spars. The kit parts are fine, but the photoetch was fun to work with and does look great once applied. The other neat thing about this style of gear is that in dry fitting I found that they fit so well and firmly that they do not need to be glued.
Next will be assembly of the fuselage and wings. Rick
I intend to use kit decals and build a RNZAF fighter bomber fighting in England around March-April 1944. I’m not sure of it’s significance, but Tamiya apparently liked the scheme. I’m painting with ModelMasters enamals, dark green/ocean gray over medium sea gray. Rick
Dawg that’s funny, I thought the same thing when I saw that picture for the first time. Purely coincidental, I’m not creative enough to do that on purpose. Rick.
If you really want to see a stunner, check out the Virtual Tour that the Museum has put together. It is nearly as good as being there. I am amazed at the quality of the photos.
Wow, nice job on the office and landing gear there Rick. I’ve been wanting to add this kit to my stash but I don.t happen to have my 40% off coupon with me when I see it at Hobby Lobby. Looking forward to watching your progress.
I just noticed the Tamiya Night Fighter Mosquito on the clearance shelf at my local Hobby Lobby for $26. Maybe I’ll go buy it now that someone has piqued my interest in it.
Nice-looking build so far, Rick. Keep up the good work!!
Wings are on. Tamiya doesn’t disappoint. Wing joins are very tight. Just a little Mr. Surfacer to seal up the joints. The fuselage closed up very nicely. I used Tenax7R to “weld” the joints. The fuselage is quite different from most other aircraft. There are hardly any seams, raised or recessed, on the fuselage. The wings and nacelles look a little more traditional. I preshaded the recessed lines and access doors and panels. Mossie is ready for a finished look. Rick
I enjoyed building the Tamiya Mosquito. Probably my most favorite build and the kit does not disapoint. I never had to fill any gaps and sand down any seems…Now I’ve got buy another kit to build to add to the two I already have! Thanks Guys for posting about this awesome kit, now I’ve just got to have another[:D]
that museum is amazing. my step dads brothers took me their a few months back. there isn’t enough time in one day for the place. you need a whole weekend.
I recently built this kit, as well. It’s fantastically engineered. The only area that you need to pay special attention to, are the decals. I put down several gloss coats and still got some silvering. Even after perforating the excess carrier film, I still couldn’t get out all of the air, even with multiple application of setting solution.
Got the paint on with little trouble. I’ve been having good luck with ModelMasters enamals, so that’s what I went with here. The decal sheet for the Mosquito looked good and the colors seemed right, so I went with the decorations right out of the box. I believe 447 Sqdn. RNZAF. I noticed the lines of the Mosquito in flight are quite striking, and though not completed, I could not resist a few in flight shots. One thing that Tamiya does that I do not like is the rubber sleeve that holds the propeller in place. I prefer the conventional attachments that allow the prop to spin. So, for that matter, the props don’t give the sensation of action. But it is a good looking airframe, suspended. I’ll be putting the gear and doors on to day, and hopefully calling her done later. Rick
“The fuselage is quite different from most other aircraft. There are hardly any seams, raised or recessed, on the fuselage.”
Not sure if you know but there would be no panel lines at all as the Mosquito was made from wood - balsawood I think. This had a nice side effect in that it was a lower radar signature, see we Brits invented stealth [;)]
