The Wooksta's Mosquito Blog: Plan V3.0

[The Wooksta!]

"Neil, this is snow!"

Well, still not a Mosquito, but the Highball Sea Hornet is coming along.  The wings have been sanded, the nacelles are assembled and attached, the yawning chasms filled.  I'll sand them back tomorrow.  I've located what will be the fairing around the Highball bay - a damaged Aeroclub bulged bay.  I'd pried it off an abandoned Airfix Mosquito but it didn't come off clean and there are bits missing.  Still, nothing that filler and surgery won't cure.  The tail fin is sanded down - the base is always just too deep and wide to fit properly.  I also gave the carved out sections another file, because I wanted the bay to fit a bit better, so now the fuselage closes up properly.  Once I've got the wings all buttoned up and primed, I'll make a start on the cockpit.  As I said earlier, it's not an urgent project, although if it's together structurally by Bolton, I'll be happy.
I've still to consider a scheme, but the high demarcation Sea Hornet scheme is likely correct - the conversion to Highball on PX219 didn't start until mid '48 so that's the right timeframe.

Mosquito-wise, the NF36 now has the underside done so it needs a coat of varnish before I can decal it.  The PR.IV is ready to decal and the Malta Highball one may need another coat of Dark Slate Grey on the nose before I can mask it to do the underside, with a small pause to fix an area on the port fuselage.  There's more masking to do tomorrow, but the 45 Sqn one is masked ready to spray the Medium Sea Grey underneath.

Another afternoon in a cold shed...

Comments for those bored enough to follow the thread and can actually be arsed to reply go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=49042.0

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Eenie, meenie, meinie, mo."

The arrival of the Alleycat NF.XII/XIII nose earlier made me dig out something I'd cobbled together a few years back and I was quite surprised that my homemade effort looked fairly close.

You cannot view this attachment.. You cannot view this attachment.

Basically, a Tamiya FB.VI nose section with a home cast clone of the old Airkit mk XII nose chopped up, then just built up with plastic card scrap plus my usual superglue and baking soda.  It'll need a coat of primer to find the likely flaws, but it's good enough.

So do I do a mk XII or an early XIII?  The former were all converted NF.IIs (as were the NF.XVIIs), the NF.XIII converted from FB.VIs.  Which means an NF.XII needs the backdating - take off the wing reinforcement strips and fill the weapon bay doors to the earlier profile.  The latter is easy, as I have two already done for this eventuality.  But doing an NF.XII means using one of my dwindling stash of FB.VIs - which I want as FB.IVs.  However, that's a complete nose, I have spare instrument panels and floors from the aircraft converted to T.IIIs, so I can use one of the decent stash of B.IVs tucked away.  I do have some vac form canopies, but I think Rob Taurus does one for the Tamiya kit if need be. 

If and when I get round to doing an NF.XVII, I'll again have to do the backdating to the wing.  The Alleycat distractions say that the NF.XIIs had the early balloon tailwheel, but AFAIK these were largely replaced with the twin contact one by mid'43.  So I'm calling bollards to this and chalking it up to trying to flog extra resin stuff.  I'll have a flip through the relevant Wingleader volume, but TBH there's not a lot available on the thimble nose Mosquitoes.  I mean yes, I *could* flip through the Richard Franks books, but the cat doesn't like me flinging books across the room in disgust at the sheer number of errors, assumptions, half truths and downright falsehoods in them and they don't do my blood pressure any good either.  Some nice pretty pictures though.

The Hornet wing did get a coat of primer, the seam was indeed visible and has been refilled with superglue.  However, due to the weather turning way too cold to stay outside, I've yet to reprime them.  Which I really need to do, as the cockpit internals are cleaned up and also need a coat of primer.  I'd ideally like to get the fuselage closed up over the next few days.  Like I keep saying, I really enjoy the building, the painting and finishing just bore me.  Although I'm not detesting masking as much as I did.  Which I suppose is some kind of progress.

Comments for those bored enough to follow the thread and can actually be arsed to reply go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=49042.0

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"I'm afraid I couldn't find any needles, so we'll have to use 6-inch nails."


The Highball Sea Hornet is now closed up, although I still need to add the stick in the cockpit.

You cannot view this attachment.

There's a lot of filler work, as this particular Skybirds kit isn't behaving properly.  Either I haven't sanded something down properly or the nose cone has shrunk. I don't know.  Just getting the tailfin to fit the slot it was meant to fit into has been a right struggle.

You cannot view this attachment.
You cannot view this attachment.
You cannot view this attachment.

I've had to add some plastic card shims so the starboard wing will fit properly but it's coming along nicely despite the fact that it's fighting me every step of the way. 

Last thing done today was to carve out a chunk of what will be the fairing around the Highball bay, but it needs a lot of work and filler yet.



Comments for those bored enough to follow the thread and can actually be arsed to reply go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=49042.0

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Hey, that's my clause!"

As the Highball Sea Hornet is largely whiffery - it's end scheme definitely is - it now has it's own thread here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=54551

The Editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Following me having a minor light hearted tussle with Paul Lucas with regard to Highball colours on Britmodeller, he revealed an interesting nugget - there were to be fifty Mosquito FB.VIs modified for Highball use in the the Far East and a second Highball squadron out there, following trials.  The Atomic bombings put paid to that, but given that PZ281 was used for the trials in 1945, I think this does have some basis in reality.  This means yet another Highball Mosquito to add to the list, but there are some questions - were they to be modified for carrier use? What scheme were they to be in? Would they carry BPF style markings if they were to be carrier borne?

But I have the kits, the moulds and some new resin...


Comments for those bored enough to follow the thread and can actually be arsed to reply go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=49042.0

For more information, please reread.