<-- 1/48 Mosquito PR.IX -Twin Engined Aircraft WWII

Good idea for those slots Terry.

Thanks Andy. I did it on a B.XVI conversion years ago, and it worked reasonably well. With more tools available to me nowadays, I'm hoping I can do a better job this time around.

Great job so far!

Thanks very much David.
When the 'Milliput' has fully cured, the intercooler vents can be carved and sanded to shape, ans the 'shutters' engraved, which I might get done tomorrow, or Wednesday at latest.
Meanwhile, I've been working on the FB.VI wings and nacelles, shaving down some of the raised detail, ready for assembly.

Good work Terry.

Thanks Wayne.
Everything has come to a halt for now - my right hand is extremely painful and stiff, so can't grip, or handle small parts.

Looking awesome as always Terry, too patients need for me though.

Airframes said:

Finally got the carb intake trunking built-up and sanded to shape, and started on the intercooler exit vents.
After lots of experimentation, I decided that it would be much easier to make these by moulding the shape of the housing and 'shutters' in Milliput, directly onto the nacelles, and then carving and engraving the vent 'shutters' into the putty when set.
I would have preferred to have individual 'shutters', but achieving a scale thickness of each one is virtually impossible.
Not a lot to show just yet, but I'll pot pics when they're finished and primed.
Meanwhile, it's back to the FB.VI for awhile, and see if I can get the nacelles and wings done on that.

Click to expand...

How do you do the carving? I have had issues where dried Milliput cracked on me when trying to carve a feature into it. I have tried both using an blade and a rotary tool at very low speeds. Have not had much luck so curious what your approach is?

Great work on the engine nacelles Terry!

Thanks Paul and John.

Robert, unless the area of Milliput is very thick, then a rotary tool will probably be far too powerful and aggressive, as it is with most areas of plastic modelling.
Carving can be done with a sharp scalpel blade, using the edge and the point lightly, and only 'cutting' to a very shallow depth with each stroke.
The Milliput will only crack if it is 'attacked' deeply and with pressure, or, if incorrectly mixed, or not fully cured.
The trick is to try to achieve as near to the required finished shape as possible when applying and moulding the putty, then lightly sand and shave to get nearer to the shape, progressing in stages until the final, very fine sanding - I use worn 1200 grit wet and dry, used both wet and dry.
To make indentations in the putty when making objects such as, for example, parachute packs, this can be done after shaping the item, then letting it set for about an hour, before gently pressing or scribing the required line or shape, using either the tip of a fine scalpel blade, or a pin or similar tool.
A lot of the carving is actually more like shaving, using the edge of the scalpel blade on the backstroke, at an angle of around 45 degrees.
Note that all of this work should be done only when the putty has fully set and is rock hard, which, depending on the depth or weight of the putty, and ambient temperature, could be up to 24 hours.
Even if the surface seems rock hard after, say, three or four hours, it's best to leave it to fully cure, as. below the surface, it might still be slightly soft, and this will cause cracking when worked.
Hope this helps..

Great work Terry. Hope the pain subsides quickly

Thanks Geo. It's eased off considerably today, so I hope to get a bit more work done on either the PR.IX or FB.VI tonight.

The carb intake trunkings are more or less finished, subject to a final check once primed. and I've made a start on creating the intercooler vent shutters.
As the 'Milliput' is so thin at the edges, I experienced some tiny bits of flaking, but, once lightly sanded and primed, they should be OK, and the detail can be enhanced, after painting, by outlining in pencil.
The pics show the raw 'Milliput' before shaping, and during and after carving, scribing and sanding. The red arrow indicates a panel line, on both sides of the cowlings, which should not be there, and this will be filled with a mix of grey enamel paint and talcum powder - my 'porridge' filler.

Lovely.

Thanks Wojtek and Andy.
Been working on the FB.VI, so haven't yet got the other vents done - maybe tomorrow.

Very nice work Terry. Love the Mossie, looking forward to the rest of the build...

The nacelles are looking great Terry

Thanks very much chaps.

With the FB.VI ready for primer, I've decided to crack on with the PR.IX, and get it to the same stage, so that they can both be primed at the same time.
The nacelles are done, with the vents carved, the carb intakes done, cowling fasteners added, and those extra panel lines eliminated. A thin coat of primer was brushed on, to check the 'Milliput' work and, apart from the need for some very light sanding on the intercooler vents, they've turned out well. The final details will be done with pencil, after the painting stage.
I started to prepare the main undercarriage legs, by thinning and opening out the door guards, and I was relieved to learn that the PR.IX had the same, earlier style guards as the B.IV and FB.VI, so the extra braces don't need to be added.
The main legs are simplified, lacking the retraction jacks, but as these can't be seen anyway, with the doors in place, they're acceptable enough, and are otherwise quite nicely detailed. and include the door wire roller guides. No further detail will be added, other than brake lines, as again, most, if not all of it, won't be visible.
I was going to assemble and attach the main gear legs, as per the instructions, but having done a test fit of the wings, with the 'new' and 'old' parts, I foresee a lot of fiddling, packing and forcing, which could easily damage the legs, so, although it will be extremely fiddly, the gear will be attached after the model has been painted, which should also make painting the model a lot easier.
The 'new' parts, made in India, certainly don't seem to have been designed and made to the same plans, as the fit is, at best, rather like a cheap suit, and the sprue attachment points would do credit to a giant redwood !

PIC 1. The nacelles primed, and just requiring very light sanding on the intercooler vents.
PIC 2. Preparing the main gear legs, with the door guards in the process of being thinned out.
PIC 3. One of the sprue attachment points on the leading edge of the port wing. There's also a distinct upward warp towards the wing tip.
PIC 4. Another problem. The lower, inner wing section ('old' part) does not match-up with the ('new') upper wing section, with the radiator intake tapering outboard - it should be parallel. This will need packing, and very careful alignment with the nacelle 'new' parts.

So I'm just about ready to do battle with the wings, and hopefully get them all assembled, before tackling the next problem, which is fitting them to the fuselage without gaps, and properly aligned !!