David's late Mbox Mossie B35 - can't finish in time.

[DavidWomby]

I suddenly realised I DO have something in the stash that meets the criteria. I'll try to do the Matchbox Mossie as a B35 using the Revell issue of the kit (but when they still had rights to the Matchbox brand name), Aeroclub's paddle-bladed props and bulged bomb bay and Freightdog's decals for an all silver 14 Squadron machine.

Box and aftermarket parts.


Sprues (all nice Revell grey plastic).


A few of you may recall I tried this kit in the 'Twin prop-engine Fighters' GB almost a year ago and didn't finish.

http://www.uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=265&t=8784

In fact, that one is still sat on the bench. Hopefully this one will be finished and, who knows, it may even encourage me to finish its NF36 sister.

David

[Martin R]

David,

That's a lovely kit! I look forward to watching this progress.

regards,

Martin

[fredk]

Nice

[TomW]

Another excellent CBK choice. Especially with the Aeroclub extras as well.

Regards

Tom

[DavidWomby]

I put some bulkheads in the cockpit and a box to busy up the rear of the cockpit. I replaced the pilot's seat with something fancier from the spares box. As this will be built 'in flight' there will be two crew in there and so I don't plan anything else except a decal instrument panel.



As on my NF36, the model is much improved by opening up the small chin intakes on the nacelles. I also cut out the leading edge light in the starboard wing, the underwing lights and the wingtip lights.



I have cut out the Aeroclub vacform bulged bomb bay and it's a pretty good fit but will need some fettling.

Annoyingly, the B35 had wingtip antennas as you can see here:

http://www.14sqn-association.org.uk/14_ ... to.html#14

So each wing will need drilling in 3 places and I'll have to find something suitably thin but rigid for the antennas. Stretched sprue is too fragile for my taste - maybe some 5A UK fusewire?

David

[VickersVandal]

Great start there

Would guitar strings be the right thickness? If you unwind the brass from a bass E, it's fairly thick - though it is likely to be polygonal rather than round in cross section.

[JamesPerrin]

Fuse wire is quite soft. Try stripping the wire from bag ties though these are more often found binding cables of electric goods nowadays.

[Molly-new]

For thin wire like this I have started using the plastic cord that you get which attaches labels to garments when bought new. Being plastic it is easy to attach with normal glue, and is firm enough to hold it's shape.

[DavidWomby]

Thanks for the suggestions for the antennas, gentlemen. I'll investigate them.

David

[DavidWomby]

Not much progress today. I glued on the bits of clear sprue to make the wingtip and leading edge lights. I am also tracking down some of the suggested materials for the antennas.

The fuselage is ready to close up but the small windows Matchbox provides for the sides of the nose are REALLY thick and do not fit well. I am experimenting with some Clearfix in one and if that works, I'll remove it then fill those windows with Clearfix after painting.

David

[Chuck Finley]

I love those post-war versions of WW2 bombers. There's nothing like a Mosquito with a big belly and two-stage Merlins.

[Martin R]

Not much progress today. I glued on the bits of clear sprue to make the wingtip and leading edge lights. I am also tracking down some of the suggested materials for the antennas.

The fuselage is ready to close up but the small windows Matchbox provides for the sides of the nose are REALLY thick and do not fit well. I am experimenting with some Clearfix in one and if that works, I'll remove it then fill those windows with Clearfix after painting.

David

David,

I'm not sure what clearfix is. Is it a PVA based 'white' glue? If so, that should work quite well. I used that on my build of this kit.

regards,

Martin

[DavidWomby]

David,

I'm not sure what clearfix is. Is it a PVA based 'white' glue? If so, that should work quite well. I used that on my build of this kit.

regards,

Martin

Martin

Clearfix is a Humbrol product that is a glue to attach canopies. The results weren't great - some bubbles but the main problem is the resultant glazing is recessed. It's hard to show but this pic might illustrate it.



I'll try again with white wood glue (the PVA type you refer to) which is actually what I would normally use anyway. Another thing I might have to do is thin the lips of those windows down from the inside of the fuselage. I'm not closing the fuselage until I am confident I can get good looking glazing there.

David

David

[DavidWomby]

Here's pic of the lights added to the starboard wing. I also had to wedge some plastic card into the outer join of the nacelle to the wing to get the nacelle flush with the top of the wing..



Today those big chunks of clear plastic should get sanded down to match the wing shape.

I am adding another aftermarket part to the mix. The B35 had no blisters on the canopy side but bulged panels instead. The one I am modelling also had no blister on the canopy top either. Fortunately, I found that I have a suitable vac canopy in Paragon set 7229. This build is really proving the value of all my acquisitiveness 10-15 years ago!



David

[fredk]

Have you tried UHU or Bostick glue for the windows? They used to be the old favourites for small vehicle windows.