<-- **** DONE: 1/48 Mosquito NF.XII - Twin Engined Aircraft of WWII

Good work so far Terry!

The search continues but I found this interesting....

Thanks very much, Hugh and Geo.
And yes Geo, it would seem that 108 Squadron's time with the Mosquito was limited overall. After eventually starting Ops on the type, they flew them to Egypt, where it's likely they became the 'property' of 46 Sqn, the subject of this build, and who's Beaufighters 108 Sqn might have 'inherited' !

Got a lot more progress done, with the nose joint cleaned up, the canopy joint sealed, landing lamps masked, wings and wing tips fitted, and the tail planes in place.
Just got to do a little tidying and clean up, and it'll be ready for paint.

PIC 1. The main wings slot on to the short spars, and are 'locked' in place by this 'pin and plug', which fits into a hole in a lug running of the spars.
PIC 2. This shows the spars, with the lug and hole, marked by the arrow,, which fits inside the wing, in line with the recess and hole shown above.
PIC 3. The wings are slotted in place, and cemented around the butt joints, with the 'plug' then cemented into the recess. It's not fully 'home' here, as this was a trial fit, but, when properly fitted and cemented, the joint, on the port wing at least, was far from perfect. The main problem was the very minimal mating surfaces of the wing root, where only a small, thin bead of cement contacts the fuselage.
This lead to a slight droop on the port wing, with the dihedral 'out' by around 2 mm, compared to the starboard wing, the latter being a very good, tight fit.
PIC 4. Here is the very small gap in the wing root joint, caused by the slight droop in dihedral. Tiny, yes, but it would be very visible once painted.
PIC 5. The solution was to pull the wing in place to the correct dihedral, and then run a very fine bead of CA adhesive along the joint line.
The dihedral is still very slightly 'out', but I don't think it will be noticeable, once the model is sitting on its 'legs'. The joint will be cleaned-up once the wings have fully set.
PICS 6 and 7. The single nav lamp win tips have been fitted, again with less than perfect joints,with the worst one being on the starboard side this time. Once fully set, the joints will be filled and sanded flush. The lamp lenses will be fitted after painting the model.
PIC 8. Both landing lamps have been masked, using Tamiya tape. I was going to use 'Maskol' liquid mask, but this has a tendency to 'shrink back' slightly on circular parts, which is not always noticeable, until the area is painted and the 'Maskol' is removed.
PICS 9 and 10. The tail planes have been fitted, and the model is almost ready for the first painting stage. Once all joints have been attended to, and the model given an overall clean and polish, it will be sprayed overall in Medium Sea Grey, and I'll be using the Model Master paints, kindly supplied by Andy (Crimea River) - thanks again Andy !
This will act as a primer for the modified and filled areas, as well as a base for a second coat of MSG. This will be followed by the Dark Green on the upper surfaces, and then the 'Night', which was sprayed over the original finish, with a 'freehand', loose pattern along the lower fuselage.

I hope to get the first coat of paint done tomorrow, although as I have a scheduled hospital appointment, and have some 'running around' to do, I might not get this done until some time tomorrow night.
Thanks again for watching, and I'll be back as soon as possible.

Got that little plug thingy for the wings on my Betty kit too, rather handy I think.

Doin' good there Terry.

Thanks Wayne, and yes, I like the plug thingy. Fit on the starboard side is very tight, and could almost be left without cement. If there was more plastic on to which cement could be applied at the actual joint, it would be great, but this might just be 'feature' of this particular kit, due to the wing shape.

Nice work Terry. Good luck with whatever the hospital is going to do to you.

Thanks Andy. Hospital was just my routine, six-monthly session with the Consultant.
Apparently, apart from the severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, a damaged 'disc' in the neck, damage to both shoulders, and a bit of weight loss, I'm still alive, and fit and healthy !!!

Progressing well now.
After fitting the exhausts and shrouds, and the carb intake ice guards, the small gaps on the wings, wing tips and tail planes were filled with PVA, sanded as required, and the model was then cleaned, and prepared for painting.
Having decided to use the Model Master enamels that Andy kindly gave me last year, I thought I'd hit a major problem at first, as I couldn't get the bl**dy lid off the jar !
Perseverance, a number of uncouth phrases, and the threat of taking the bottle to MacDonalds seemed to work, as the cap suddenly clicked, and came free.
The model was then given an overall coat of Medium Sea Grey, this first coat acting as a primer, when a second, thinner coat was applied to the upper surfaces for the base colour.
The paint stirred easily, mixed with the thinners without a problem, and sprayed smoothly and beautifully, being almost touch dry within a few minutes, and clean-up of the airbrush was quick and trouble free.

Andy - I LOVE this paint !!

The model will now be left overnight, to ensure the paint is fully dry, before marking the camouflage pattern in pencil, masking the fuselage for a straight-line, hard edge demarcation, and spraying the Dark Green freehand, again using Model Master paint.
Once that's done, a mix of matt black with a touch of white, to create a 'scale' black, will be sprayed on the undersides and lower sides of the fuselage, again doing this freehand along the fuselage demarcation line.
All being well, I hope to get the first stage done some time tomorrow, with the black probably being sprayed on Saturday, if the green needs time to fully dry.
Pics below show how the model now looks.

Thanks my friend.
Now that I've been able to handle and inspect the model, there are a couple of areas that need attention which, hopefully, I can correct before proceeding with the rest of the paintwork.

PIC 1. The depression at the forward edge of the blanked-off camera window needs a bit of filler to smooth it into the line of the fuselage.
PIC 2. The underside of one engine nacelle, and both of the carb intakes, now show a slightly poor joint. Some 'porridge' will probably cure this - off to the shops for more Talcum powder, and some clear gloss enamel varnish tomorrow !
PIC 3. The rear edge of the canopy is showing a gap, which can be corrected with 'Milliput'. A slightly poor design feature here, as, if the rear of the canopy is located into the fuselage, then the windscreen doesn't match-up with the forward edge of the cockpit opening.

A bit of a delay in the painting now, as these areas must be corrected first. Still, I have another six months to get it right !

I knew you'd like that paint,Terry, after you've been putting up with that Humbrol crap. I've always maintained, though, that the lids are the weakest part of the offering. Make sure to not shake the jars so that no paint gets on the seal and make sure the seal is clean when you put the lid back on. Running the lid under hot water for a minute usually frees it up nicely.

Terry is a pleasure to follow his works for the nice planes that do not show them and the ease of how you explain each step, and to see how you explained to Robert the masking is very generous of you I believe that as explained you could Until my daughter could do it.
That the plane goes to that association is a great recognition for the squadron and the association on my part, in my country something like this would be seen as something bad, you would say that you are violent militarist or even harder things

Thanks chaps, and thanks for the tip re the paint lids Andy.
Thanks for the compliment Sergio. Rather an unusual attitude regarding veterans, but then, the political implications are probably very different in your country.

I'm now re-stocked on Talcum powder - or at least Johnson's baby Powder, the nearest i could find in the local shop - and hope to make those corrections later tonight. Given that all goes well, the model will be left overnight, at least, before continuing with the painting.
Meanwhile, I'll make a start on the landing gear and props, and perhaps start on the preparation work for the FB.VI in my other build.

Lovely work so far Terry!

Terry, it might just be a thing of the past but the lids of plastic pop bottles have/had a removable soft plastic liner that, a least the one I tried years ago, fit perfectly into the Model Master/ Polyscale lids and created a nice seal. I'm sure your local supermarket wouldn't mind you opening one of every brand to check. If no longer available, I wonder if an appropriate size piece of Saran Wrap or whatever it is you call the product over there inserted in the lid would prevent it from sticking

Good tip Geo, I'll try it out. So far, I haven't had a problem with leakage, just getting the lid off when first opening - they be effing tight !

I've made a start on correcting those seams and depressions. Milliput has been applied around that ridge at the rear of the canopy, and also to the seams on the carb intakes and the depression in the blanked-off camera window, as well as two small areas around the nose joint.
When fully set, tomorrow, these areas will be lightly sanded, then 'resurfaced' with a mix of grey paint and talcum powder, as will the wing tip joints, which, when set, will be sanded to final shape.
More sometime tomorrow.

Moving right along.