1/72 DeHavilland DH 98 Mosquito Mk XVlll (033019)

[John Symmons]

Building the 1/72 Airfix DeHavilland DH 98 Mosquito Mk XVlll (03019)
A lesson in masking.

My attempt at building the DeHavilland Mosquito Mk XVlll Tse Tse, (only 25 built) this is quite an old release that I brought a few years back mainly out of curiosity to see what had changed since I last made one way back with it’s first release with the start of the series two in the 1950’s. I’m not sure when this tooling dates from but I see it’s still available at R220 to R250 in SA, mine cost R66 so must be at least 5 or more years old. I’ll not describe the kit only to say it is typically Airfix moulded in the now usual soft grey plastic the kit giving you 96 parts and a choice of three marks/options a NF Mk ll night fighter a FB Mk Vl of the RAAF and the RAF Coastal Command FB Mk XVlll  with a choice of bombs or rocket projectiles. The basic airframe accounting for about 60 parts and a further +/- 14 parts for mark specific armament. The instructions call for 6 assembly steps that I do not recommend you follow and a black & white colour diagrams for painting and decal placement, all colours being given as Humbrol colours. The decals are a bit basic and only give you the wing roundels, fuselage codes and numbers and fin flashes, no stencil or warning markings are included. I see that this kit has been re-issued with the same options in the current Red boxing, and another re-issue was done with the “bull” nose as the mark XlX and J-30 with the same type of nose conversion but is now not listed in the Airfix Catalogue. 

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/DH%20Mosquito%20Mks%20ll%20Vl%20XVlll%20Box%20Art%20Web_zps4hg8hecs.jpg

The kit is a bit basic but does hold some traps for the unwary, I recommend you check-out other builds on this forum and over at ATF and other sites. I wanted to make the Mosquito with invasion stripes as featured in the colour profile in the Ducimas book of Camouflage and Markings; RAF Fighter Command 1936 to 1945, and as such the model really turned out to be quite an exercise in masking. One useful point, the book mentioned above does feature a photo of QM-D that is one of the options offered in the decals for the Mk XVlll While the kit does offer the choice of un-shrouded or shrouded exhausts most Mk XVlll’s had shrouded exhausts as did QM-D, the un-shrouded exhaust aircraft also seemed to have the paddle bladed propellers ( As featured in the old Frog kit, I’ll ,be mentioning this Frog kit later on.).
To model the Mk XVlll the nose has to be removed and the reshaped nose glued on, this I recommend to do after the fuselage halves have been joined. The fit of the new nose leaves a lot to be desired, filler needed, ( In the Frog kit you had two or three different noses allowing several marks to be modelled with-out any cutting, even the bomber version. Maybe a point for Airfix to ponder if they ever re-tool the Mossie, that way you could do most of the fighter, fighter/bomber and bomber versions.)
I started with the interior, added some generic scratch detail; not that much can be seen with the thick canopy in place. Two crew members are supplied that are typical 1990’s Airfix, just be careful with the positioning of the navigator as he can interfere with the positioning of the starboard wing, dry fitting is called for. Once the fuselage has been joined trapping the tail wheel, do not glue the tail wheel in the retracted position as it will interfere with the proper seating of the tail-plane; note the tail wheel is in two halves; Airfix have not supplied two tail wheels as I saw in one build review. The nose removed and the Mk XVlll glued on after inserting the guns through the new nose. These guns are very finely moulded so drilling out the nose holes will be called for, just do lots of dry fitting. If I was to redo this kit I would cut the guns off their backing plate, and assemble them at the end of the construction after all assembly, painting and decals are done, I did manage to break one of the guns off while masking. The wings were next after gluing the landing lights in between, managed to dislodge one of the landing lights with my masking attempts but fixed it with Kristal Klear, then the engine nacelles halves joined with the propeller shaft glued in place, ( as I’m not interested in play value the propellers will be fixed) and mated to the wings. Warning; when I was reading one build review the reviewer mentioned that the nacelles were a terrible fit to the wings and gave him loads of trouble, just follow the numbers, as the two outer halves of the port & starboard nacelles fit together perfectly as do the inner halves and they just look right, but then they will not fit the wing cut-outs on the trailing edge. The back of the nacelles on my one had small sink holes on the top surface that I was unable to totally remove also they didn’t fit flush with the wing’s top surface, maybe a thin shim of evergreen would be the better answer to fix both problems. To improve the fit of the nacelles to the wing I removed the locating pins and trimmed and sanded the mating surfaces till the rear fitted better. If you want to build the model with wheels down the instruction call for the undercarriage to be assembled before the nacelles are glued together, but the undercarriage can be assembled into the nacelles after they are assembled just remove the bottom half of the locating boss in the nacelle halves to make it a “C” shape, then you should have no problems.
Now to spray the white for the invasion stripes, when dry these were masked off leaving gaps for the black stripes. The stripes were 18 inch; according to the Ducimas text; which scales down to a quarter inch or just over 6mm. I used normal Tamiya tape and ordinary masking tape, it was a mission getting everything straight and parallel but finally managed it and sprayed the black, remover the tape to a total failure. Had to remove the the paint with meths and start again.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Masking%20fail%201%20Web_zps568ehsoh.jpg

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The failed attempts.

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Failures cleaned.

Note that the above photos show the exhaust and drop tanks assembled onto the wing, if I was to redo this model these would be left off until the stripes were done, also I noticed after the all the painting was finished that the wing stripes did not come out as far as shown in the profile and photos. On measuring the wing stripes it seems that they were 21 inch stripes and not 18 inches as mentioned in the book’s text. Can anyone confirm this?
Re-masked and re-sprayed the stripes and trying the new plastic Tamiya tape and found that this is better at conforming to compound curves but it is no better than ordinary house-hold masking tape cut into thin strips. I was using 3mm tape and still had to cut it thinner, also it didn’t seem to hold down over raised detail, it kept lifting if left for a few hours where-as the house-hold tape seemed to stay put longer once burnished down. Any way masking done and stripes finished and all came out OK. Now for the overall grey. The kit calls for Humbrol 64 light grey where-as the colour should be medium sea grey, I used Vallejo bluegrey pale #156 as I had no Humbrol 64. Masked out the stripes and canopy, glued on the tail-plane and squirted paint over the wings and fuselage (wing not yet attached to fuselage), then the grey masked off ready for the green camouflage. There are the original camouflage drawings in the Docimus book so I followed these. With the masking I tried two methods; after roughly tracing the edges onto the model the edges were masked with either blue-tack, ( that light blue sticky putty mainly used for kids art-work in schools ) or artists water colour masking, ( simular to Maskol only can be cleaned with water and is much cheaper ) only problem is it’s clear but as it’s also very glossy this helps to see the edge. For the fuselage bottom edge I used a thin stripe of ordinary masking tape and a very thin strip of the new Tamiya tape around the nose just above the guns, this is when I possibly broke the gun off.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Camo%20Masking%201%20Web_zpsf1m8gvob.jpg

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You can easily see the variours maskes.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Camo%20Painted%201%20Web_zpsemohwfjx.jpg

After airbrushing.

The green I used was again Vallejo only a mix of German Camouflage Bright Green #80 with some Black Grey #168 to give me a dull dark green simular to the green in the profiles I have. It is possibly a bit too light, but looks about right on the model; mixed up more than I needed so I was able to touch up any faults with a brush if needed. When the mask was removed the blue-tack mask left a very slight soft but smooth edge where-as the masking fluid left a very hard but slightly jugged edge. The jagged edge was smoothed with a brush and some touching-up done. Overall I was very pleased with the result and I’ll be using both methods in the future depending on the edge required.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20mask%20off%201%20Web_zpsyynsfzk0.jpg

Wings only dry fitted, you can easily see the results of the masking techniques. Very pleased with the line-up of the wing to fuselage green camouflage.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20mask%20off%206%20web_zps4nsq7hnx.jpg

Some touching-up needed.

I’ll continue later with more photos.
Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

 

[peebeep]

This particular kit was first released in 1972 and still holds up very well against more recent offerings. The outline shapes are very good, apart from fit issues the only things that are a bit of a minus is the thick canopy moulding and lack of cockpit detail. One thing with masking, if you're not sure how well burnished down the edges of the tape are, run some clear varnish or base colour up to the border of the tape to seal it.

[John Symmons]

Thanks Paul maybe I'll try that next time I do some masking, Thanks for the tip, This is what I like about this forum & for me what keeps it alive. 

Now the first bit has been posted I can post the finishing bit. Hope you find it of interest.

Remember we do this for fun   John the Pom

[John Symmons]

Finalising the build.Firstly some touching-up of of some of the spray painted areas.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Fuselage%20touch-up%204%20Web_zps4osfzlz1.jpg

Some fuselage touch-up

 

The undercarriage was assembled, this is tricky so take your time mine needed some light pressure to stay closed and true. The wheels were painted by mounting them onto some stretched 1mm evergreen rod and slowly spinning them in a battery drill, did the same with the white band on the propeller spinners; the 1mm rod fits them perfectly. Undercarriage assembled, 57mm gun installed after quite a bit of trimming down and painted a lighter grey with a steal muzzle. ( In the book pg 138 shows this in close-up and the barrel almost looks gloss white ) Also attached the intake guards unfortunately one disappeared into the carpet monster so had to roughly fashion one from sprue, looks OK it you don’t look to closely.  Wings finally attached to the fuselage, I was very impressed with the fit of the wings into the fuselage just had to trim a touch off the starboard lug as the navigator was interfering with the fit. 

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Waiting%20for%20Decals%20amp%20Rockets%201%20Web_zpsetja1ydw.jpg

Wing assembled now waiting for final touches

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Rockets projectiles added.

 

Now it’s looking like a Mosquito arguably the most photogenic of all World War 2 aircraft (Do I hear howls of protest from the Spitfire fans well we’re all entitled to our opinions and as as a boy I used to live just a few minutes walk from the Leavesden factory, and must have seen the Mosquito flying maybe I’m a biased DeHavilland fan.) Final assembly was the propellers and spinners painted as per Airfix’s instructions; nice to see Airfix has scribed faint lines at the blade tips for the yellow; rocket projectiles assembled, painted and added and the trailing aerial added ( stretched sprue) this was left unpainted being left in it’s natural silver. In all my references the Mk XVlll show that it did not carry the dorsal radio mast same as the NF XV and the B XVl, so this was left off contrary to the instructions. Decals added after first glossing the surfaces with Humbrol Clear (seems to work OK) all went on without too much trouble with a little help from micro set only had to use micro sol on the starboard fuselage codes to set it over the pipe that runs along that side. I did manage to ruin one of the registration codes and had to make one by hand painting onto decal paper, not the best but looks OK. Matted over the Humbrol Clear with Vallejo matt added some weathering to grubby it up a touch, again if you check page 138 you’ll see how grubby the nose gets from all the gun smoke and sea spray.Some views of the finished bird it certainly looks the part and is light years ahead from that 1950’s tooling, I’m pleased with it, my first aircraft in about 40 years, but is it better than the old Frog kit in some areas yes, the Frog model had far better wheels, and better assembly for the different marks, but as it’s no longer available it’s a bit of a moot point comparing the two, and as I’ve never even seen the Tamiya one un-assembled I can’t comment I’ve only seen some made-up, and the only way I could really tell its Tamiya when standing next to an Airfix model is that it’s the bomber version.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Finished%202%20Web_zps40fqk2s6.jpg

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Views of finished model.

 

So is this model really worth-while? Yes, especially as the Tamiya one is soooo much more expensive if you can find it. The Airfix Mossie could do with an up-grade, and using what Airfix already have a re-tool would certainly be worth while. After all they do a 24th and 48th scale modern tool versions so maybe it’s time for a new 72nd scale model. Just re-think the nose section for the various marks, especially the bomber versions, the option of bulged bomb-bay and interior, improve the cockpit interior, thinner cockpit canopy, wheel well details, maybe separate vinyl tyres with tread, three propeller types and cowlings for the two stage super-charged engines, all the marks could be made even the TR33 with torpedo. Finally add a stand as I’ve mention before the Mosquito is a most photogenic aircraft and I’m sure a flying option would be greatly appreciated especially if the propellers could be replaced with thin clear discs to replicate the spinning props. And finally maybe some spare bits like the intake guards and small decals that might be lost or damaged in assembly would be useful.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/idiotone/DH%2098%20Mosquito/Mossie%20Finished%2014%20Web_zpsw79ijr0s.jpg

Come-on Do-You Feel Lucky   Make-My Day.

Please feel free to comment all criticism welcome.So what’s next; I see there’s nothing on the Ju 52, and as I have two very old ones of these dating from their first release in the earliy 60's, and having never made an Iron Anne think it’s time to try the float-plane version maybe with winter camouflage. Could look good in a diorama with the Airfix E-boat; or maybe the one from the opening sequence of “Where Eagles Dare”, or how about the “Libyan Clipper” used by 173 squadron in the desert; a Ju 52 in British desert markings could be interesting.Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

[DavidJC]

Good looking build in the end. I found the bits about the invasion stripes particularly of interest since my intention is, at some point, to do other models with Suez and Korean stripes.

[Pretty Mediocre Modeller]

Very nice build on this old girl, well done mate.

I also built this kit many years ago, as the plain black night fighter, and it is a good kit for it's age. I've also had problems with invasion stripes,if you don't get the spacings spot on it sticks out like a sore thumb!

[Dad Paul B]

Of course the real invasion stripes were added by hand a day or 2 before the invasion, in a hurry. As such modelled versions look far too pristine compared to photos of the real thing (especially some shots I have seen of gliders which look really rough with plenty of paint runs).

This looks great and I am planning a Mossie at some point (I have some 617 markings I want to use). I noticed the 60s/70s heavy rivetting on the wing roots.

This is a classic which really deserves a new tool (given recent output I would guess we won't need to wait too long for a new tool, especially since the 1/24 was apparently very successful.

[John Symmons]

Here's to "holding-thumbs". If a new one does arrive before I become too infirm I'll quite likely have another go.

Thanks to all the kind comments.

Remember we do this for fun   John the Pom.