Bitten by a Mosquito... (Tamiya 1/48)

[Lucky13]

Awesome looking Mosquito!

 

[JohnAnthony]

Thanks gents, got back to it today but I just don't have a lot of time to model so someone stop me if I'm being overly tedious. For some reason there are gaps between the bulkheads and fuselage. I double and triple-checked the innards and everything is seated correctly so it's a design flaw - not a big one though. These gaps got filled with white glue and I'm waiting for them to cure...

The wing tips were attached and they also have a less-than-perfect fit as you can see. I know there is a panel separation there but this is going to require a bit of filling and sanding as well. I wish these sections had simply been molded onto the wings as the attachment is rather delicate...

Horizontal stabs attached, checking dihedral, looks good. There are some small gaps on the underside that will need to be filled later...

Started shaping the brake lines. I typically have to make a dozen of these to get two that look exactly right so this is just the start...

That's it for today. Now I sit and watch the paint dry.

 

[Lucky13]

Can't leave now...!! Cooome ooon....!! Looking great mate!

 

[Airframes]

Coming along nicely.

 

[Crimea_River]

Looking good John, and don't worry about being tedious. You're not even close!

Now if you were to talk about, say, invisible aircraft......

 

[Lucky13]

Like a certain lassie's '109 you mean?

 

[Crimea_River]

No. I meant that hread about "colour pics for an aircraft I'm building". That was getting pretty old.

 

[JohnAnthony]

No. I meant that hread about "colour pics for an aircraft I'm building". That was getting pretty old.

Well sh*t I was about to make a thread like that - a long-term B-25 build which is still in the research stage while I acquire all the aftermarket for it.

Anyway, here's today's progress report. The gaps between the horizontal stabs and fuselage got a bead of Tenax to weld them up a bit, as did the gaps between the wings and tips. A bit of light sanding got the surfaces evened-out. The camera window went on and the gaps on the underside of the wings got taped and puttied. Also started masking everything. Tomorrow the topside surfacing and masking and we are ready for the paint booth!

 

[Crimea_River]

What's Tenax?

And don't say the one before eleven ax.

 

[JohnAnthony]

Tenax-7R, it's a plastic welder as opposed to an adhesive. What it does is draw the plastic into itself by capillary action. I use it on very fine seams, applying it with a small brush. You can literally see the seams closing up before your eyes and the action is complete in 10 seconds. It doesn't work for larger seams though but it's perfect for those little narrow ones.

Tenax-7 R Liquid Plastic Welder

 

[JohnAnthony]

Tenax is my best friend when it comes to tweaking joins in kits that have a less-than-perfect fit. That Italeri A-7 I posted had some fussy issues - all or the external tid-bits like the radome, pylons, refueling port etc. were molded with FLAT surfaces that were supposed to join a curved fuselage. I did a bit of sanding on the pieces but in 1/72 there's only so much you can do. Tenax did the rest and if you're really careful and patient the outcome looks like a kit with perfectly-engineered pieces...

Another kit that I had SERIOUS surface problems with was the Hobbycraft Hornet. This thing needed to be sanded level, re-scribed, and certain details rebuilt with Evergreen...

In this case I used Tenax as a finisher. After all the major reconstruction was done I went in with a bead of Tenax into all the little nooks and crannies and after a coat of primer, voila!! Smooth as a baby's butt...

 

[Lucky13]

Nice stuff there mate!

 

[Crimea_River]

I don't think I've seen that stuff before. I wonder if it's any different from any other liquid glue like Tamiya extra thin or Pro-Weld, both of which I use for similar purposes, although not for surface work.

 

[Airframes]

The name rings a bell - I think it's very similar to Pro-Weld, and E.M.A. Plastic Weld, and will either be MEK or Dicloromethane based. If it's MEK-based, you could have some fun with it - makes a good explosive! Oops, shouldn't have said that !!

 

[JohnAnthony]

Primer went on today. I'm VERY pleased with the surfaces - no seams, gaps, nothing to adjust.

The wing/fuselage join came out quite nicely...

And the first color of the scheme goes on...

Once the scheme is completely done I'll go over the airframe with some find-grit paper to uncover some of the pre-shading. Later I'm going to try some of Wayne's pastel weathering techniques to finish.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Looking good.

 

[Angels one-five]

That's looking really good.

 

[Wayne Little]

;thumbright:

 

[JohnAnthony]

Finally got some painting in today. Tamiya very nicely gives you this 1/48 sheet for the traditional RAF scheme...

Let the cutting and taping commence!!

Calling upon all the scissor and tape skills I learned in kindergarten...

After a few hours we are ready for the spray booth (aka cardboard box in backyard)...

Tamiya RAF Dark Green. Soon we will strip the gal and all shall be revealed!

Wait for it...











Wait for it....













Voila!

Yup, she's a looker! 8) Not perfect but hey I'm no Wayne Little. I'll let her dry off for a few days then tape her up again and attend to her underside.

 

[JohnAnthony]

Well I got the under underbelly done this morning. The only "official" color I used was the Tamiya RAF Dark Green. The medium sea grey and ocean grey were mixed by myself. I'm not sure how accurate they are. I looked at color swatches on the internet and pics of models etc. but there is a lot of variation in color tone from one photo to another. This is my best guess, and this pic doesn't even represent the true colors - the greys are not so blue at all and the green is darker. Ah well, I need to work on my photo skills...

At this point I'm going to fine tune the paint job with a tiny brush before we move on the lacquer and decals.