Tutorial Novice - DH-98 Mossie - WWII ID Model

[lastvautour]

And again, primer, putty and sand.

Lou

[1.JaVA_LGorrit]

Hi Lou,

Wow! She is turning into a nice piece of work.

Just glued on the tailfin and fixed the nacelles to the main wing.
Will continue tomorrow.
My model is finally starting to look like a mossie indeed.
Although she looks a bit overweight to me.
For some reason the model looks "fatter" than the real thing.
Will post some pictures again soon.

Cheers.

Jorrit

[Balsabasher]

Dont worry Gorritt,every subsequent model gets that bit better,you have been plunged into the deep end with what is a fairly complex aircraft from which to make a model,you will have learned so much from doing this model and I know that you have enjoyed every minute of the build,looking forward to seeing your little masterpiece which is what it is.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

When looking at your photos, your Mossie matches mine in every respect. The drawing used are a decent representation but far from an accurate rendition so your eyeball Mk I makes up for the variations. Place your Mossie a few meters away and walk around it, the extra weight you saw will melt away magically. Remember what I said about being your own worst critic. I eagerly await your next photos.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

In actual fact Lou there were very few really accurate plans produced during WW2,most were produced by eyeball from photographs provided by the Ministry of aircraft production MAP,the highly inaccurate Tiger Moth drawing done by Mr Cooper and his lady tracers for the publications 'Aircraft of the Fighting Powers' transpired into the Airfix Tiger Moth then the bigger one done by Aurora,it took another 30 years before Airfix finally brought out the accurate version,personally to me the charm of these old drawings warts and all is why I like them,remember a while back we discussed the worst Spitfire drawing ! if you look at C.A.Pollits Spitfire 1 published as a free plan in the old Aeromodeller in the thirties it leaves a lot to be desired but still holds the character of the first Spitfire's.
Once more as you say we become our own worst critics as we spend a lot of time studying and carving in the shapes,I prefer eyeball scale and the subsequent freedom it gives us,nothing is perfect and many things especially in models a compromise,thats my two penneth anyway !
Barry.

[cliff strachan]

Very good indeed, Barry. Thank heaven we aren't looking for perfection.
Cliff.

[lastvautour]

Following a bit more sanding and some primer. Colour scheme?

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Why not make it into that Canadian racing Mosquito ? they did a book on it,or Spartan Air Services used them for magnetometer research work in Canada,just in case you would like something a bit different ?
Barry.

[1.JaVA_LGorrit]

Hi Lou,
Looking at your model, I must say that mine looks about the same.
Just working on the last details.
- the scoops
- the exhaust caps
- the blisters
I am genetically blessed with huge hands, so these little parts are causing me some frustration.
About the paintscheme: was thinking about doing a mail delivery or racing mossie at first, but right now I intend to go with the regular military scheme.
Looking forward to what you will choose for yours.

Jorrit

[1.JaVA_LGorrit]

Here's a quick progress update:

[lastvautour]

Your Mossie looks great Jorrit. The military version has many schemes to choose from. I will do the all yellow prototype. I have started to spray the white primer as a base and will follow with bright yellow although the paint I have looks to be maybe a bit to bright, but we will see.

Lou

[Will]

Lou,

The Mosquito prototype had shorter nacelles than the production types.  They had to be extended past the trailing edge to improve the aerodynamics.  I'm not sure whether the first plane was modified, but I believe it still exists.

Nonetheless your model looks great, just thought I'd give a heads-up before you commit to a colour scheme.

Will

[Balsabasher]

Another fairly straightforward scheme were the all Cerulean blue Photo Recce versions of the Mosquito,the higher PRU aircraft flew the lighter the shade of blue was used,there were also silver Mosquitoe's with yellow training bands used by the Civilian anti aircraft co-operation units of the RAF at Exeter,just thought that I would mention some of the more basic coloured aircraft that are suitable for matching to auto rattle cans that make for easier schemes.
W4050 was modified with the extended nacelles as can be seen in a picture after this posting,it is in the museum at London Colney,UK so Lou is safe on that aspect on the later modded aircraft.

Barry.

[Balsabasher]

This will also help with the yellow shade Lou,cadmium yellow.

Barry.

[lastvautour]

OOPS, forgot the tail wheel. I wrapped sandpaper around a paint brush handle and sanded the recess. I slice of 1/8 dowel made the wheel and a flat toothpick for the wheel strut. Once glued down. a bit of sanding to fair the forward end of the strut to the fuselage will tidy things up. The white primer will dry to a matt finish but looks high gloss at this point. I will try the rattle can yellow I have. After all if it does not work out, a few days from now some sandpaper will do the trick before reapplying some more primer for another colour scheme. That is the good thing about wooden models, a bit of sanding does not hurt them.

Lou
Barry. Thanks for the info.