INTRODUCTION: THE TAMIYA 1/32 MOSQUITO Mk IV
The Mossie is Tamiya's most recent 1/32 scale kit and what a gem: detail abounds and she is a knockout. So far about half of my builds over the past six years has been Tamiya 1/32 kits and they just keep getting better and better.
My order from Sprue Brother arrived not in the best condition and even though the box was beat up a bit, all was A-OK except the decals which have been replaced, as they were bent and creased. Thank you SB for some teriffic customer service! The basic plan is to replace and slightly detail where necessary, only if it will be visible on the finished model and absolutely no surgical slicing or dicing. I have always been a large scale builder and since my return to the hobby about 6 years ago, I've been floored at the advances in kits, the details and the AM community. My Mossie will reflect my preferences in building and finish; I add details with AM products and if it looks close, that surely is fine with me. I'm not a weathering guy but like to show a bit of use.
The Mossie hopefully is going to be my ticket back trying my hand at the contest table as my brother and I are shooting for being ready for the 2017 MosquitoCon in April 2017 and to be honest, I'm pretty sure it's close to 40 years since our last contest days. Back in the day, quality kits all had raised panel lines, Hasegawa was tops on my list, there was no such thing as PE, resin anything, Pactra was my paint of choice and Micro Scale was THE NAME IN DECALS for me.
The Tamiya Mosquito Mk VI, the AM accessories and my with my reference material.
I'm underway and hopefully in a few days will finally have enough completed for the first update.
Thanks for checking in
Enjoy
Peter

Forgive my ignorance but why are the gun bay barrels pointy (on the Brassin set)? I've got the Master 1/48 barrel and pitot set and they are, to use the jargon of the day, not pointy.

Regards

The cones on the ends of the cannons are blast/flash shields so the pilot wouldn't be blinded by cannon fire at night. I'm sure not all Mossei's had them but they sure do look good.
Peter

Pete,
I don't have to tell you that I'll be more then just following along on your 1/32 scale Mossy build, while I do the same with Tamiya's 1/48 scale late 1990's kit.

At the rate I'm going of two steps forward and one step back, there is an excellent chance that you'll actually be done before me.

Almost ordered the same Eaglecal decals, they were out of stock at Sprue Brothers.

Looking forward to your 1st build update post.

Joel

UPDATE 7/22/16: BEGINNING THE FRONT OFFICE
1/32nd scale beauty does start out in the front office and details just abound. I'm slowly working my way through the numerous cockpit steps and as often the case failed to follow my basic plan from the start. I was going to use the two sets of RB Sutton Harnesses but the last minute decided on the kit PE sets: just a bit of annealing and they worked out fine; the Sutton Harnesses will be saved for another day. The front office so far has been an absolute joy to work on, detailed to the 'nines' and to this point, not much is missing. I've spent an enormous amount of time masking and air brushing and only those parts that were nearly impossible to air brush were brush painted. The subtle color variations on the leather boot for the joy stick doesn't show up well in the photos, as the floor boards are close in color and shade but lack the semi gloss finish of the boot. Details and panels lines were high lighted with an oil pin wash and in spots with black MIG Panel Line Wash.
I've tossed and turned over the correct color for RAF Interior Green and after looking at a zillion photos have come up with my own mix which seems pretty close: Model Air 71.095: 6 drop and MIG – 201 Light Gray Green: 4 drops. I mix and thin counting drops and keep all the paint reference written down on the kit instructions.
I calibrate my iMac's monitor once a week with the X-Rite Colormunki system and model under a series of Ott daylight lamps. I'll be close with the interior color and that's good enough for me.
Taking my time and working slowly. While it doesn't look like I've made much progress, I've progressed through step #5; as there are 105 steps in the instruction manual!
The harnesses still need some work but look the part.
Next up:
Underfloor details and the start of the IP.
Thanks for checking in
Enjoy
Peter

Spud,
I've got the same master set for my 1/48 scale build. the 4 .303 Browning machine guns do indeed have muzzle flash suppressors on them. The 4 20mm Hispano canons have a straight barrel with no muzzle flash no suppressors.

It's easy to miss the suppressors as they're quite small in 1/48 scale.

Joel

JA
Glad you will be checking the goings on. as we have discussed, it's a long journey and I wish you were able the do the same markings as me.
Bro

Thanks JA ... got the name wrong as usual.
Bro

Pete,
A most impressive start to your front office.

As for your mix of RAF Interior Green, it looks good to me. I'm using Model Master enamel RAF Interior Green, and it might be a shade lighter.

I do see a difference on my own screen from a picture of the instrument bulkhead I painted, to the actual part on my workbench. Like gov't work, close is good enough.

Nice job with the leather cushions and back rests. Both sets of the Sutton harnesses really do look good.

I do have one question. There are two yellow circles, one below and one above the Navigator's seat. There is no reference to them in the 1/48 scale instructions. I've seen them on Bundie's build, and one other build as well. Do you know what their intended purpose was? Are they decals, or did you paint them on?

Joel

JA
Close is good enough and the interior color will surely darken once the front office is sealed inside the fuselage.
From what I read, the "yellow circles on the metal plates was to denote armor, because it shows up only in cockpits of British planes". Tamiya decals of course, applied with Mr Setter and Softer. The decals I've used so far on the Mossie seem to be thinner and of much better quality then in all the other 32nd scale Tamiya kits I've built.
Bro

Peter,
I see that I'm going to run out of ways to say "wow!" quite early in this build. Your pin wash highlights the recessed detail so crisply and cleanly that I found my mouth hanging open.

Gaz

JA
Hopefully they will be there if not, stat punching out a bunch. I'll bring my instructions to the diner tomorrow so you can see how many are needed
Bro

Gaz
Very much appreciate. I'm knee deep in the front offcie this weekend and Papa Tamiya surely went all out on the Mossie and I can easily see myself building another Tamiya Mossie, as if they follow their normal release schedule, another version will be out before the leaves begin to fall. I have a habit of bouncing back and forth between MIG Panel Line Wash and Oils for the pin washes, just depends on ho lazy I am. Guess it's pretty obvious, I really shy away from an overall black or dark gray wash.
Thanks for checking in
Peter

Superb work, as always, Peter.

If anything, I think that your detail work and eye for realistic painting gets better and better with every model you build. I'm sure that this Mosquito is going to be awesome.

John

Hi Peter

It's looking gorgeous so far! I seriously, seriously, want to get Tamiya's Mossie one day.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Me too. It makes the 1/48 Mossie show it's advanced age.

BTW, I've decided to up my scale for props to 1/32 after my current build, as old age, and failing eyesight are just secondary factors. the main reasons are clearly seen in Pete's amazing work. Will be putting up most of my very small stash sooner then later for sale.

Joel

Hi John
Geez, I fell right off the chair when I saw your post, as my last email was only late yesterday. So glad you're on board and looking forward to your awesome work when you and Jan are feeling better. Always appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Peter

Rowan
Thank you for the very kind words and comments on the start of the Mossie - just a joy to build. I always wanted to build at least one of papa Tamiya kits OOB and this was the perfect opportunity, knowing my goal is the Box Stock categories at the 2017 MosquitoCon Contest.
Absolutely buy a Tamiya Mosquito and the journey will surely be one of, if not the best modeling experience you can have,
Peter

JA
It only took 40 plus years to convince you of the awesome powers of 32nd scale.
Bro

Update7/30/16: The front office and Brownings: Steps 1-12 are now completed and 93 to go.
Tamiya's engineering and attention to detail is simply amazing and with each new 32nd scale kit, they keep raising the bar. This is my first time actually building one of their large scale kits OOB, without an AM upgrade sets. The Mossie is contest bound; Box Stock and except for decals, you have to build what's in the box, no extras, changes or alterations - a lot harder then I thought.
I've finally reached the point of assembling the front office and it;s ready to be glued in place in the forward nose section. The amount of parts and details is extraordinary, fit is precise. I've gone the route of masking and air brushing over hand painting where ever possible for the best finish I could obtain. It's taken a lot longer to complete this portion of the build then normal, as I've re-done assemblies, stripping paint and trying to correct my mistakes as they pop up numerous times.
The ammo chutes for the Brownings are a good case in point. Right from the start, I decided to leave open the machine gun bays, bomb bay and hatches so the kit details could be seen. All went well until I started working on the ammo shoots; a nine piece assembly with a nasty glue seam smack in the middle of each chute. I lost track of the hours I devoted to filling the seams with Bondo, sanding and then repeating numerous times until I was happy - not perfect but it's the best I could do - time to move on.
Since AM parts and extra details can't be added, parts can't be modified, detail painting and pin washes would be the weapons of choice to try and add an extra dimension, highlighting the details.
Thanks for checking in
Next up:
Finish the nose cone
Start the main fuselage assemblies.

The IP - a zillion parts, loads of unpainted PE and many nights of painting and fussing.

Pete,
Impressive to say the least. The difference between my Tamiya 1/48 1996 Mossie and your Tamiya 1/32 2015 Mossie is cutting edge to a dull edge at best.

The cockpit is a kit in itself. The level of detail is beyond anything I've seen so far. Your detail painting certainly has tweaked it to the next level.

As for the seam on the Ammo feed belts, they're visible, but not that noticeable. So just leave them as is. If you didn't mention it, I wouldn't have even seen it.

Your detailing painting and weathering on the .303 Brownings is what will capture their attention. Certainly an excellent job.

Joel

JA
Thanks for the pep talk! I think I spent more time on the ammo shoots then any other part so far. There is a world of difference between how Tamiya did the chutes and Eduard's chutes and I am wondering if there were actually various types of ammo chutes used. I have actually seen a few photos of their kit ammo chutes with a seam line in the middle and I'm wondering if there were actually a upper and lower part. If so, I'll be able to scribe a very thin parting line in. Still researching a bit more.
Yup, It is amazing how Papa Tamiya has raised the bar over the decades. I remember their first 1/32 F-14 Tomcat, the IP and side consoles were decals!
Bro

Pete,
Aren't there any photos of the chutes in those books? I'll check to see what I have in my photos.
Joel