D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

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vacant
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D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by vacant »

It was the best of kits. It was the worst of kits. It was the oldest of kits, It was the newest of kits. It was the most accurate of kits. It was the least accurate of kits. This, if you have not already worked it out, is a tale of two kits.

I bought both of them as part of a job lot of kits. One was the original 1957 tool Airfix Mosquito. The other was the later retooled kit from the 1970s. I thought it would be interesting to build both of them at the same time, taking advantage of the more recent kit to make parts that would upgrade the original kit. I have not done everything that could or should have been done to upgrade the old kit, but this is what I did.

The flight deck on both kits was quite basic so I made a new floor for the old kit using the new one as a template. I made new seats for both models and added other bits to busy up the area.

The undercarriage was always going to be the greatest challenge. The new tool undercarriage is a complex set of pieces that are hard enough to build using the injection moulded parts provided. Not to be daunted, I embarked on a complete scratch build of the undercarriage to replace the extremely crude pieces in the old kit. I was moderately happy with the result.

The wheels and tyres on the old kit were always too narrow. They were more suited to a racing bike on a velodrome than an aircraft on an aerodrome. I hunted in the spares box and found replacements that looked about the right size. I carved some tread marks in both tyres.

By this stage, it was a case of so far so good. Then it came to fitting the scratch built undercarriage and wheels into the wheel wells of the old kit. I knew the undercarriage was the right size as I checked it by dry fitting it in the new tool kit. There was, however, no way that it would fit into the old kit. The nacelles and wheel wells were far too narrow. I solved the problem by some carving and by inserting some big fat (my usual scale when measuring) plastic card shims. Eventually, I managed to fit the new undercarriage into the much modified wheel wells. The old u/c doors of course, did not fit the modified wheel wells so I made some new ones from plastic card.

The fcanopy of the old kit seemed to be about one third smaller than on the new kit so I used the new kit one to mould a replacement. I should have opened up the flight deck area a bit more but had not spotted the problem in time so I left it as it was.

I replaced the tail wheel of the old kit with one that better matched the new one, though it is a bit oversize.

I drilled holes in the underside of the wings of the old kit to insert landing lights.

I added some air intakes to the old kit to make them look more like the new kit.

There were a few other minor modifications to both kits in an attempt to make them look similar at least in shape. But what, I hear you grumble, about changing the width of the fuselage? The old too kit’s fuselage is too narrow. I could and should have made it wider, but I noticed the problem too late so I left it as it was.

Different colour schemes were chosen, i.e. different both from each other and from the other three Airfix Mosquitoes I have built.

Now I am left with the upper wing part for a new tool Mosquito (I have no idea why that was also in the box), wheels, undercarriage legs and doors from an old Mosquito and a few other odds and ends. Is that enough to build another Mosquito – no it isn’t.

This work was not a far far better thing than I have ever done, but I think I now deserve a far far better rest than I have had for the last week.

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Eric Mc
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by Eric Mc »

Nice work. I'm a big fan of the later kit which I have built a number of times over the years. I never built the original moulding.
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DavidWomby
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by DavidWomby »

Great to read the comparison.

David
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iggie
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by iggie »

Nice to see both at the same time; like Eric, I have built the newer tooling a couple of times but never the older one
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by Gregers »

Great builds and prose. Far far better than I in both respects.

All the best.

Greg
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by ShaunW »

A pair of nice builds, Vacant. It looks perhaps like the decals have given you a problem with these builds. I built the newer kit (a 1990's reissue) a few years ago and attempted to finish it as the NF Mk.II as you have there (the black model for those who aren't up on Mosquito variants) only the decals completely disintegrated upon contact with water. The model remains on the shelf of shame!
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vacant
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by vacant »

The decals on the black one were out of register showing white around the edges. I painted over the white as best I could. I also painted over the rest of the clear parts of the decals, but the photo shows up areas that I missed - will have to attend to that. There are also a few problems with the roundels on both models, but that's another story.
Lone Modeller
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by Lone Modeller »

As usual you work your magic on old moulds and make something wonderful from them. A great deal of work there - have a good rest and build something a little easier next.
dollar19
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by dollar19 »

It’s always a pleasure to watch you work your magic on a build and this is no exception. I always look upon your work as little bits of inspiration, perspiration and genius.
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Clashcityrocker
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by Clashcityrocker »

You are approaching legendary status with your constant flow of well built models from not so well starting points. :wanw

Nigel
vacant
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by vacant »

The forum is awash with 'legends' with different specialities, skills and techniques (that I often try to copy). It's just a fun, informative and supportive place to share our modelling interests.
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Chuck E
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by Chuck E »

I think that both kits are from the later release. The original was very odd looking. The one that was doing the rounds during the 70's was modified later on, with the radar nose. The undercarriage and decals are from a later release. I remember getting the first kit when the film 633 Squadron was released. We all had to have Mossies.

Here it is. Shirt button wheels and heavy machine guns. Basic undercarriage and rockets on a plate.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixt ... -t152.html;

Much better 70's release. Still good, but I love a new tool.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixt ... t1036.html;
So many models, so little time.
vacant
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by vacant »

No Chuck E. the black one is the earlier release. If you read the text, you will see that I have heavily modified it to look as if it is a later release. The undercarriage from the old kit was discarded - I entirely scratch built the undercarriage to make it look like a later release. I also replaced the wheels. The radar nose was taken from a different kit and added. The decals were also from a later issue. The canopy is also moulded from a later release kit.

But thanks for the comment for two reasons. One is that I was successful in fooling you into thinking it was a more recent release. The other is that I have now noticed that there are some aerials on the wing tips that I have forgotten to add.
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skypirate
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by skypirate »

Wow! My kind of project! (Though, I too am looking forward to a rest!)
Of course I built the original kit as a boy, and actually have one for restoration (with some lovely modern Airfix EG-T decals). Don't hold your breath!
And I have built the newer kit a couple of times. As you have found, it is quite respectable, but could definitely share some tyre width with the old kit!

As a result, your old kit looks fine in that night fighter scheme.

Great job!

David
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FAAMAN
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Re: D.H. Mosquito; Airfix 1/72

Post by FAAMAN »

Beautifully done, congrats :beer:
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Model kits are meant to be assembled . . . . . . . . . . eventually.
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