Thanks everyone! It's all coming together. Progress is steady but the parts never seem to end! IIRC next comes the engines, then the bomb bay and then undercarriage.





Haha I knew someone was going to ask about those! They were actually an awesome Christmas present from my Uncle (lcarroll here on the forums). The set comes from drillbitsunlimited.com They have pre selected sets or you can make your own. My Uncle and I tend to exchange tools every year - we're the only two that 'get it'. I'm still waiting for the next big thing to get him.


Cheers!

New photos soon guys - I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts before I forget.

SAC Metal Landing Gear - I'm not overly impressed to be honest. This is the second of two sets that I have used and I've had issues with both. This time the parts that are meant to replace kit parts 23 and 22H don't fit. They're shorter than the kit parts and the pins don't end up in the holes. I opted to use the plastic kit parts instead. I only used the metal parts to replace the main legs and the primary cross brace - 10, 18 and 21H.

The Airfix instructions are an absolute disaster. They're not clear, they don't always make sense, they're full of outright errors and there's no paint chart - which is annoying for those of us who don't routinely use Humbrol paints, I have to keep jaunting up the stairs to find out what colour I'm being asked for.

It should be noted that the colour call outs seem to be based on the airframe that was recently restored to flying condition out of Australia and while they're accurate for the restoration, they might not be prototypical.

I have found a ton of locating pins that dont fit inside their locating holes - especially the square ones used on the braces for the pilot's seat and the engine bearers.

Speaking of the engine bearers, I would glued the two parts for the maint bearers together first, and attach them to the engine second - 14J to 15J first, and then attach to the engine. The mounting system for the engine to the firewall and the landing gear to the firewall sucks, plain and simple - it's like playing Jenga on a subwoofer. The assemblies have a bit of heft to them, but the firewall to the nacelle doesn't have much of a mating face and doesn't align very well. It's as if the engineer has never built a model before.


The assembly of the main gear from steps 106 to 124 yield a very unstable rickety gear if you follow the instructions and don't glue the legs to the cross brace - but it's not possible to glue them because there's nothing to properly align the pieces.

I'm disappointed because the kit is so new and from looking at the sprues when you first open the kit lead you to believe this is a modern kit up to today's standards but you'll end up surprised.

I'll hopefully have the engines and gear all mounted in a few days if I can squeeze time in around Father's Day and I'll post pics.

Gorgeous work Matt, really beautiful.

Matt,
Looking forward to your next update. Sure sounds like you have your hands full with this build, so far you're more then up to the challenge.
Joel

[quote] - it's like playing Jenga on a subwoofer.

Now that is one I haven't heard!! I am gonna be laughing all morning now!

It's been a long time coming - but here's the update!

There was specific thought behind every photo taken, now let's see if I can remember what it was...

All of the parts left to be painted RAF Interior Green are painted - this was the next big hump. All parts preshaded and given a wash and a drybrush


Likewise for all the 'silver' parts - I paint all the metallic parts at once, which is not to say they're all the same shade. I didn't notice until it was too late that parts of the gunrack were supposed to be black, so I had to repaint them just before this photo



The main gear assembly. All the parts here except the top uprights are from the SAC set. Like I mentioned above I couldn't use the metal uprights because the locating pins didn't match the kit parts and didn't fit the holes. You can see the pins on the plastic parts here facedown.



It really annoyed me that Airfix said to not glue the parts together, they pivot and there's no telling what the correct angle is so you just keep juggling the parts as best you can until you get the supports in place and even then things don't align properly. Also the wheels have such heft to them that they like to swing around if you're not careful.

We were too late to get some Resin tires so I used the ridiculous rubber ones. They come in high gloss. I sanded them, then gave them a wash and a drybrush to bring the tread out. They still need a flatcoat here.



One engine will be closed but it's installed because it has to hold the prop. The bottom part of the engine bearers are all that hold the engine to the firewall. They have square pegs and none of the kit parts with square pegs fit, so I drilled them out and literally put a square peg in a round hole. The irritatingly vague instructions fail to point out that the top of the engine bearers fit into slots in the top of the wing when you mate the nacelles. The instructions are full of surprises like this. I've read the instructions a thousand times and am still getting surprised.



Instuctions showing you which two holes to drill out. a 1/16th drill bit worked perfectly for all these holes and wasn't so big so as to be noticeable



Because I found it impossible to figure out how to route all the pipes until I found other builds online. Did I mention the instructions are terrible? Be careful on the page with the four view drawing of the engine - it isn't clear that it's showing you the installation of two extra pipes. Fire the man that made these instructions plz.



I know it's not entirely in focus, but because it might help some poor sucker



See? The landing gear pivots, and you can imagine the kick it gives when they fly out - hence the tape. Only those two small pins holding the landing gear in place. Same with the engine.



Some nice details like the hose that runs to the extinguisher on the firewall




You can use the tools that you hold your parts with for painting as a quick mask. I sprayed the hydraulic ram polished aluminum and then the head a darker metallic



The result, a nice clean line without having to mask such a small part.



How I align small parts. I see no advantage to having these parts pivot - I would have much preferred a stronger solid part.







The instructions for that assembly. Squares mean do not glue. The pivot did not aid in fitting as I was hoping.



Another use for blu-tack. Hold the above assembly in place while aligning it - You're supposed to glue it, but at an unknown angle, then you roof the wheel well and by some form of PFM (Pure effing Magic) secure the top of the supports to the roof. Clothes peg to tilt the assembly so I could see in easier



Note the arm for the hydraulic ram. You have to fit that into the hydraulic tube which has yet to be mounted



From the top




Both sides done.






Well that's what I've been working towards guys - both nacelles complete. The rest of the assembly is mostly the armament and then it's paint time. I'll probably just use a roller.

Well that all seemed quite easy Matt!

Everything is so much better with the Typhoon, I have commented that the designer of that must build models.

With all the trials and tribulations though it is looking very good, stick at it Matt as the finished model will be stunning

Beautiful work on the engine Matt, absolutely stunning. I feel like I should be sending you a bottle of Excedrin to help you thru this! But again, such a pleasure to watch a craftsman at work.

This is a marvelous mixture of artistry, Vulcan logic and Pure Fin' Magic! Well done, Mat- and cheers!

chuk

Quote: "I'll probably just use a roller"

That made me laugh out loud. Excellent work so far, well done!


Bob

Magic work Matt, really excellent,

Matt,
You certainly have made outstanding progress. The end results are spectacular. Of course if that was my build, I'd be banging my head against the wall. It just never ceases to amaze me that if someone does proof read the instructions, they're certainly not building the model with them.

Looking forward to your next update.
Joel

Mal - I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't miss out on building one anyway, I keep feeling a sense of reward when I tackle another step that I was obviously not meant to finish. I take comfort in all of the Mosquitos that are already built on the net and the confidence I have in my own ability

Glenn - Nah no need. It's really not that bad, it has its ups and downs which is why I'm so frustrated. Things will be flying along dry fitting well enough to not need glue, then the next part I grab seems like it was meant for a different kit all together.

Chuk - thanks for checking in. We have all learned a lot from your threads and a lot of what you have taught I have simply modified to suit my own needs.

Bob - be prepared, every now and then I say something clever AND funny. I wish I was entirely kidding about the roller, the size of this model doesn't hit you until you see one in person. The flaps are the size of my hand.

Julian - welcome to the thread and thank you, I'm making it through.

Joel - thanks, it's nice to feel more pages on the left of the instructions and more on the right. I'm looking forward to the finish. I generally have a really good idea of what the instructions say because I read them over for weeks before I start, but there are so many things in this kit that Airfix just leaves to to guess at or figure out on your own.



Just a quick nothing update - I wanted to be a little more positive this evening. I'm working on some odds and ends and I'm happy to say that while the elevators didn't fit well together, the rest of the stabilizer fit together perfectly. That's my issue is some parts like the rack for the 20mm cannons fit so perfectly it's like lego, and then others serve as a starting block for your own part.

Like I said I wanted to be a bit kinder to Airfix this time, except the elevators and ailerons, the rest of these assemblies fit as well as any of the parts in Tamiya's Mustang.



The gun rack is simply dry fit here, look at the photo above, I simply pressed it together - it has the smallest pegs you've ever seen, but it holds far better than the larger ones in this kit and unlike ALL the square pegs, it fits.



The tanks have seams still yes - the backs aren't painted either, you wont see more than the face of them once they're seated in the roof of the bomb bay. I mixed my own colour for them, it's impossible to find Model Master British Crimson around here. It's an amazing colour that I default to on a lot of misc warbird parts, it adds a different element without being silly.

...I also can't find any GAP at any of the LHS




EDIT - for those wondering, I keep enough supplies on my paint table (I have a glue/assembly table too) that it became a huge PITA to change the paper after each build, I now use the bottom of a case of pop to paint on and when it becomes nasty I switch to a new one. I use the old ones as trays to group parts like in my last post.

Absolutely eye-watering Matt. You are indeed a master at this art.

Thanks Glenn


I just realized in reading through this thread that I forgot to take a picture in the first update on this page - I have noticed on the Glycol tank mounted on the front of the engine has a seam through the 'cap'. I have seen this on every one of these kits that's built on various forums. It's not raised enough to fill and sand, so I punched a disk of styrene and placed it on top. For added interest I painted it a hunter green. Two second fix.


Back to the bench I go.

Edit - does anyone know who makes these?



The kit ones are black rubber. I get why, but what a strange idea.

Based on a quick googling: Paragon. Apparently out of production at the moment, so finding them might be tricky.

Nice progress on the kit! Looking forward to seeing it finished. That thing's huge!

I was afraid it was a Paragon part, I think the whole operation is out of business.


And you don't know the half of it -



A lot more work than it looks, the seams have ALL been done since this morning, the nacelles weren't bad - but because you have to put the landing gear in before you glue them together and the gear makes up half of the models weight, they're a little cumbersome. The wingtip fit was disastrous but this well documented in everyone's build.

I've also prepped all the armament except for the actual guns themselves - I'm trying to get into a position to paint, almost there.

I suspect you're concurrently training a hamster to fly this thing? Nice progress, Matt- cheers!

Matt,
Outstanding progress. It's really starting to look like a super detailed Mosquito. Really looking forward to seeing it with some paint on.
Joel

Chuk, chuk, chuk... This is the Fighter version so there is no wheel for a Hamster. It has a stick so I'm training a squirrel.


Thanks guys, it's finally at that point where all the small bits are making one big one that resembles something. I don't know how much I'll get done today as I have to do some volunteering and appointment hopping.

I'll probably sit around in my best pensive pose and figure out how the hell I'm going mask the landing gear and wheel wells.

Matt,

Drop cloths?

Great build! I'm saving your posts to a Word doc so I have it handy when I finally get around to tackling mine.

Michael

lol Michael, that's about right.

I plan on doing a writeup based on the steps in the instruction manual - my general notes, thoughts, fit issues etc so that you can be prepared for them as you build.

It is quite the piece of art work. Excellent.

Well because things were moving along so well, it was only a matter of time until something went terribly wrong and after several hours of open heart surgery we're back on track.


I take half the blame for this, I misrouted the engine plumbing, but I did my due diligence and checked photos on every build thread around. I spent DAYS doing just this. I still place half the blame on airfix for their vague instructions and assemble by guess build process.

Please forgive my crude use of MSPaint in an effort to help illustrate what I'm talking about.



Now I don't claim to be more than an average builder at best, and this is a rookie mistake, but like I said - I thought I had done my homework.

This is the offending step - I've mentioned it before, it seems like a courtesy four view drawing; which it is. But amidst all the regular construction steps it gets a little lost. I stared at it a few times before I noticed it's indicating the installation of two new parts which I've circled. The problem stems from how differently this step is illustrated and the fact that Airfix uses almost the same symbol for paint, decals and parts and they tend to get lost in the ink (can someone explain to me why the hell they had to make a huge instruction manual for a huge kit? I have NOWHERE to put this stuff!

Fake Edit; these seem far more obvious now that I've circled them.


Here's images from an earlier update. I've put one of the main coolant pipes outside the engine bearer when it should have been inside, and I put a small tube that runs through the middle of the engine barer but is supposed to go on the outside of the coolant tube....I'm glad I drew this out in paint for you.

You can see where the coolant tube meets the two smaller coolant lines - they are held in with glue and stick into the pipe only by about 1/16th". They are routed correctly in front of the inside frame and behind the outside frame, but the assembly needs to be inside the upper arm of the bearer (this is all inside the nacelle at this point or I could have corrected it easily had I known at this point)


Here's the smaller tubing, it's correctly inside the inner and outer frame, but needs to be outside the coolant pipe. These tubes are smaller than 1/16" and break so easily that you'll want to handle them as little as possible. I can't recommend RB's micro saw set highly enough - I promise that you wont ever get these parts off their sprue without breaking them if you try to use a sprue cutter or number 11 blade.



The mounts at the top of the frame sit on this shelf and are slotted into holes in the upper wing - something that isn't made clear in the instructions. Because the assembly is so large (the nacelles) and the engine is being pushed rearward while the bulkhead that the frame slots into slides forward and at this point you're out of hands, almost every single one of these pairs will break on you. They break cleanly though so you can line them up again and friction fit them, touch them with cement and you're good to go. I also found that most of these are too long to begin with, pushing the upper mounts further back than the bulkhead which exacerbates the problem. Melting them back into one piece with contact cement takes care of both problems

You can see the arm has snapped, and you can see how both sides are buckling as there isn't enough room - and this side has none of the plumbing in place

Incredibly fragile




So I had two options to correct this problem - as this was the only engine being displayed it had to be done correctly. option 1 was to break off the coolant pipe where it joins the two small hoses and re-route everything. Option two was to saw the upper mounting arms, re route them from above and glue to the severed half in the same manner I managed the broken ones. I decided that option 1 wasn't feasible because fitting those parts was a blue language symphony in the first place with the engine out of the nacelle.

I used one of the amazing mirco saws and made two nice clean cuts leaving a true face on the four ends. It was tricky manouvering a saw between all that plumbing and framework



I separated the mount into two pieces. You can see that only one has the block that fits the bulkhead. My plan was to snake the frame down through the plumbing - threading a needle - glue the top to the bulkhead, reattach the other end of that frame and then attach the other part of the upper frame and glue it back to it's other half as well.

At the top you see the slot, the wide silver pipe far right was the offending one. You can see the two cut ends, one right at the silver coolant pipe and the other down at the bottom of the silver coolant pipe where there's a flange.


Glued in at the top after being fed down the correct path to approximately where it would mate up with the other side of the cut You get a good idea of how the engine bearers are designed to fit looking at the one on the other side of starboard engine.


I told you it was almost in line with the frame I cut it off of. needle nose tweezers and the handle an old fine point brush make great tools to place and fiddle until things sit. I had to hold both ends together, put down my brush-prod, find the glue and get it in there without breathing.



One of two done


The outside strut fed down through the plumbing to meet up with it's lower half and glued in up top



Sorry I know the lines are small and crude

The green lines are the upper arms now glued back together, light blue is the original offending pipe, darker blue is yet another tube that runs through there, but it's much more obvious how this one fits in. It only runs from the firewall up to that bulkhead.



Saved the day. Before I started the green lines curved up inside the thick silver pipe and the mounting block on the end of the frame fell below the curve at the top of the wing, and I couldn't have that.






The explanation is much simpler than the problem. I would say go study the instructions and you'll understand, but you wont because they're pretty bad.

The nacelle which is closed at this point, has the engine in it which is all the way forward, has two mounting pins on the lower arms of the engine cradle which don't fit the firewall, upper arms which just sit above the firewall until you figure out they get inserted to slots in the upper wing AS you attach the nacelles. You have to try and coordinate getting those fragile beams aligned while popping the ungainly nacelle with landing gear in place (but not very secure)into the upper wing - sandwiching the split flaps in place.

That said if this was an engineless kit, the engineering behind the nacelle/wing/flap fit would be genius and rewarding.





I sincerely hope this helps someone when they go to build their Mossie

Well Matt, that all seems to be quite straight forward

Nicely done, this is why instructions derived from the original CAD images are far better, as its quite simple to angle the image and show how parts fit, this is how the Tiffie instructions are

I hope you had a break after all this effort and I'm sure that its going to benefit me