In part I we looked at the kit’s cockpit, detailed assembly and did a dry fit,
in part II we painted some of the insides – now in part III of Gary’s build
review the structure of the lovely HK Models De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. IV in 1/32nd
scale goes together. See how he super details these internals before he
finishes off the exterior in today’s build review.
Build review:
De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. IV
HK Models
1/32nd scale
320 Parts + Photo Etch
Decals for 3 Aircraft from Cartograf
Price around $170 USD from HK’s Distributors Worldwide
De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. IV
HK Models
1/32nd scale
320 Parts + Photo Etch
Decals for 3 Aircraft from Cartograf
Price around $170 USD from HK’s Distributors Worldwide
It’s been a while since we provided an update on the HK
Models Mosquito build but be assured that I have been busy at work on the bench
finishing off this impressive kit. I hope it’s been worth the wait.
In part
1 and part
2 of the build I focused primarily on the construction of the model.
With this work mostly complete now it’s time to get to the painting, decaling
and weathering steps. Remembering that my model is a pre-release test shot I
did not have access to the final kit decals or paint options. I therefore
looked elsewhere for inspiration and found myself drawn to the boxart of the
latest release of the Revell kit.
The thing I liked the most about this scheme was the invasion
stripes on both wing top and bottom and round the entire rear fuselage. This
made the scheme (and hopefully my model) more visually interesting.
The final kit has now been released and as expected there
were lots of small changes & tweaks made by HK Models since my test shot. Adam
did a full review of the production kit here when it arrived if you are
curious what changed and what you will get in the box yourself.
And now on with part 3 of our build.
One of the main references I used during my build was the
Aero Detail book. As I was studying the line drawings of the Mosquito one thing
that jumped out at me was the panel line and rivet detail present on the metal
parts. I think it stands out in drawings because the Mosquito being made almost
entirely from wood means that the few metal areas with rivet detail are quote
noticeable.
HK unfortunately has not made any attempt to reproduce the
surface rivet details on the nacelles so I figured this was a good chance to
get out my riveting tool (Rosie the Riveter) before I started to assemble the
parts.
While consulting the Aero Detail drawings I also noticed
that more rivet detail could be added to the nacelle upper surface.
Using the Aero Detail drawings (and a quick visual check of
the Tamiya 1/48 kit) led me to remove and replace several of the panel lines in
this area as well. I’m not 100% confident the drawings are accurate but I
decided this after I had done the modifications and didn’t want to second guess
myself too much :-)
The cowlings had a
few missing panels and rivet details so I used my trusty Pactra tape and Tamiya
scriber to add them back in.
With all the surface detailing completed it was time to
break out the paint. First up was the interior of the main wheel wells. A
primer coat of Flat Black was followed by a light coat of Mr Color H364 BS283
Aircraft Grey Green. Detail painting of the moulded in wiring and cables
followed and finally an enamel wash.
The Mosquito undercarriage is a fairly complicated mechanism
and so the model parts likewise are broken down into many parts. Take care and
test fit at this stage to make sure everything lines up correctly before you
commit glue. I saw one photo with the engine oil tank painted in the primer red
color found on the fuselage fuel cells. This was a custom blended paint I made
up from Tamiya acrylics. The metal parts of the undercarriage are “silver
paint” on the Mossie and I have simulated this Alclad Aluminium coated with
Tamiya Flat Clear which takes off the Alclad metal sheen and makes it looks more
like paint.
Both nacelles are now assembled with the engines painted in
black. The general fit in this area is very good with almost no adjustments
needed.
Because we needed to put the undercarriage in place before
main painting I needed to find a way to mask it carefully. Everyday household
aluminium foil was ideal as it was able to wrap around the whole wheel assembly
and then be secured using Tamiya tapes strips. It was also a good opportunity
for me to try out some Vallejo Masking Fluid which performed well much like
Maskol or Mr Masking Sol.
Next up the clear parts were attached to the forward
fuselage and the masked. This has been done “by hand” as no pre-cut masks are
available yet for this model. All the clear parts fitted brilliantly. I was most
impressed with the canopy itself as this literally clicked into place and was
held down by a few small drops of CA.
A loose dry fit of the major sub-assemblies is always a good
idea prior to gluing. I’m happy to report no major fit challenges here.
A combination of Tamiya Tape and Vallejo Fluid was used to
mask off the main canopy. There are no less than five separate pieces that make
up this canopy and they all fit perfectly. Very well done HK.
With the nacelles glued to the wings, it was now time to
attach the nose to the wings. This was a pretty good fit and I used a clamp to
keep everything lined up as the glue dried.
A view underneath shows the as yet incomplete bomb bay. I
have pre-painted the fuel cells and will mask them off before assembling the
bomb bay sidewalls.
At this point the main assembly was done. A small amount of
Milliput was used to blend any gaps present between the fuselage and wing. I
have also applied a coat of the cockpit interior colour to the canopy framing.
Anyone looking thru the clear parts later will therefore see the correct
interior colour on the framing.
The whole model next received a coat of Tamiya Grey Primer.
This is the stuff that comes in a rattle can which I decant from the can and
then spray through my airbrush.
The last thing to be painted before getting started on the
main camo was the Bombay. The side walls have now been added. The Tamiya primer
provides an excellent surface onto which the top colour coats can grip.
The fit of the nacelles on my model was a bit tricky. I
needed to do a bit of trimming to get them to align properly with the wing. I
put this down to this kit being a test shot. I was no big drama. I have used
some foam to quickly plug up the radiator intake prior to painting.
My biggest concern going into the painting phase was how to
break up all that empty expanse of wing and fuselage. Normally we can rely on
panel lines and rivets to help us generate some visual interest on the models
surface. Unfortunately that trick does not work with a wooden aircraft like the
Mossie. No metal, no panel lines, no rivets!! What to do? I’m not (nor have
ever been) a big fan of pre-shading (panel lines in particular). However always
open to try new things I went searching on the web. I remember seeing an Arado
196 built by fellow Aussie modeller Ralph
Riese where he used an interesting technique to break up the surface
texture before painting. Ralph made it look easy and the result was fantastic.
I wondered if his idea might be applicable to my Mossie. The basic idea was to
cover the surface of the model with areas of light and dark. I did not want to
use black (too stark) so I mixed up a random mixture of red brown and black.
The “pre-shading” mix was sprayed over the whole airframe,
top and bottom. Heavier coverage was made in corners and crevices where the top
paint colour should look darker (like say a shadow). There was no formula here,
I just followed my nose.
Once the pre-shade was dry I loaded up a fairly thin mixture
of Tamiya XF83 Medium Sea Grey. I applied this over the lower surfaces in
several light coats, building it up in a random fashion. I was not trying to
get a uniform coverage, in fact quite the opposite. Once this had dried I added
some white to the base colour and again randomly went over the surface to make
it look “splotchy”.
At this point I was convinced that it was too much. What I
have done in the past is talk myself out of leaving it and “tone it down”. This
results in the thing looking better at this point but once I add more
weathering, washes etc the overall effect becomes muted. This time I ignored
the voices in my head and left it alone confident that further down the track
that it would all be well (fingers crossed).
The demarcation between lower and upper camo on the Mosquito
(like most RAF aircraft) is a hard line. Thin strips of Tamiya tape serve
perfectly for this task.
Gary's fourth and final part of this build will be with us in a
day. This will include the final weathering and painting of his wonderful
kit. 'Till then stay tuned.
Gary Wickham
The new 1/32nd
scale Mosquito MKIV kit is available worldwide from HK Models Distributors worldwide.
