Tamiya's Masterpiece - Their 1/32 scale Mosquito

[stona]

Great start Barry.

I've been eyeing one of these up for a while, but an upcoming tour means I haven't taken the plunge. I will definitely be following yours and may take that plunge when I finish in the autumn. It'll probably cost more than 200 quid by then!

Cheers

Steve

 

[BarryW]

A few more progress shots:

Interior green sprayed


Machine gun assemblies completed ready to fit.


Some detail added in the cockpit area.


I.P. Under way. Tamiya have the best method of doing this I have ever seen.

p.e. panel fronts painted black glued to transparency. The decals are reverse printed and are applied to the back of the ip so the dials can be viewed from the front. I have just painted the p.e. and glued it to the transparencies. The decals will be done later.

 

[prichrd1]

Barry,
Looking good so far, looks like a very detailed kit.
What do you hold the parts to the "lollipop" sticks with?

Paul.

 

[BarryW]

I use some double sided tape though sometimes white tac Paul.

 

[Archetype]

Watching with interest.
1/32 is beyond my storage capabilities, but have always fancied a spitfire at this scale. Hope for some tips!

 

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Barry,

I'm not a wing thingy builder, but the Mossie was/is one of my favorite planes when I was growing up. Maybe it had to do with the film "633 Squadron", I don't know. I'll be following your build if i may and enjoying the hell out of it. I just wish I had €185,00 to get my own kit. Have fun Sir!!!

Prost
Allen

 

[BarryW]

Thanks everyone.

Progress is quite rapid thanks to the minimal part clean-up and the fact that this kit is just so compelling... As my missus was away I was able to just keep returning to it on Sunday... She is back now so progress will slow down a bit.... Anyway tonight I will start some detail painting on the interior and I have a couple more progress shots.

I joined the front of the fuselage to the rear and this really underlines the thoughtful engineering of this kit.


You can see the large location pins to make sure that parts is perfectly located with a lot of 'join area'. Some thin cement applied to the join on the inside and when you turn the parts over...

You cannot even tell that it was two parts in the first place!

Next up some lights and before location the fittings into the fuselage I use my chrome pens on the reflectors.

The photo does not show this very well, but the chrome pens really do give a great shiny chrome look. I will next use transparent paint, of the correct shades, on the inside of the transparencies then with Gator Glue fix them into the light fittings. The Montex mask set includes a full set of masks for transparencies including these lights which is handy as the supplied Tamiya ones need cutting out, not the easiest of tasks.

Detail painting tonight. More pics tomorrow.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Ooh Barry , this is utterly drool-inducing!
Like others the cost is scary for me, but there is always the argument of buying it while I am still in work, ready for retirement.
I'm talking myself into it......
And how on earth do you keep such a tidy bench???
watching avidly
Neil

 

[BarryW]

Hi Neil.

For me it is about value not cost and it is about the 'build experience'. I would rate this kit as far better value than the old Revell Mossie that is a third of the cost. You can really take your time and enjoy the build and in a £/hour it is far cheaper than the same cost of say a premier league football match.

I would prefer to build a smaller number of high quality kits than a larger number of cheap kits. These Tamiyas may seem expensive when you just look at the price, but that really is only part of the story. I have seen people who think nothing about spending out on a.m. parts for cheap kits and end up spending more than they would on a more expensive kit for which little or no a.m. is needed.....

But then there are people who enjoy the challenge of carving, filling and sanding an otherwise poor kit into shape, not for me, all to their own I suppose.

 

[papa 695]

Very nice work Barry, and I agree with what you say.

 

[Jakko]

in a £/hour it is far cheaper than the same cost of say a premier league football match.

IMHO that’s the best way of looking at it, if the money may be a problem for you. Years ago, I used to play World of Warcraft, and people would sometimes say to me, “€13 a month to play a game is very expensive!” Is it? Go to the pictures, you can’t even see two movies for that kind money, yet if you play an hour a day you’re looking less than 50 cents an hour for the game, and I found it more enjoyable than most movies anyway. Same with modelling, I’d say.

I would prefer to build a smaller number of high quality kits than a larger number of cheap kits. These Tamiyas may seem expensive when you just look at the price, but that really is only part of the story.

The other side, of course, is that if you buy an expensive “shake-the-box” kit like this, it will go together in a lot less time than a cheap one that that takes a lot more work to bring up to the same standard, meaning this Tamiya kit will be more expensive per unit of {time|effort|enjoyment} you put in or get from it

But then there are people who enjoy the challenge of carving, filling and sanding an otherwise poor kit into shape, not for me, all to their own I suppose.

That’s probably the best part about this hobby: you can put in as much or as little effort as you want or feel capable of, and nobody can say you’re doing it wrong. (Well, not legitimately, anyway — won’t stop some people from trying )

 

[BarryW]

Some more progress:

I sprayed the seat leather areas and a couple of other places Black Green as per the colour call-out. Green leather I believe. I used RLM70 for this and I will need to think carefully about how I will weather it to make it look realistic.


Some more interior subs done


Another shot to show the well thought out engineering, this part will go exactly where it is supposed to go, no argument...


Just recieved delivery of these steel seatbelts, much more practical than the fabric type.... Just in good time tii as, hopefully, by the wekend I will be ready to install them.

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

Just recieved delivery of these steel seatbelts, much more practical than the fabric type.... Just in good time tii as, hopefully, by the wekend I will be ready to install them.

Good luck with eduard pe, having been spoiled recently by italeri's own PE , plus Griffon's , i will not be buying any more from eduard.
Only good eduard set i bought was the LCM3 structural support framework ( 35 746 ) , the inverted v shapes for the tread on the cargo area , its a thicker , higher quality pe.

 

[BarryW]

Good luck with eduard pe, having been spoiled recently by italeri's own PE , plus Griffon's , i will not be buying any more from eduard.
Only good eduard set i bought was the LCM3 structural support framework ( 35 746 ) , the inverted v shapes for the tread on the cargo area , its a thicker , higher quality pe.

The ‘Steel’ type of seatbelts work well and are not a problem. The older type were very problematical. I know what you mean about Eduard pe I am not a fan of pe as such myself.

 

[Dave W]

I get fed up with people moaning about the cost of these kits. I’ve built one and it’s like the Rolls Royce of Model kits. The best of the best. Every part fits perfectly. The details are superb. Yes it’s expensive. But like everything else in life you get what you pay for. If you want an Austin Allegro, get the Revell Mossie instead!. in fairness to the Revell kit it’s a product of the 70’s. I got one for Christmas when I was 12 or 13 and absolutely loved it.

 

[Vaughan]

Great work so far Barry. Looks a dream to build. I've never built a Tamiya kit before, will have to save up some cash.

 

[Jakko]

I've never built a Tamiya kit before

Um … what?

 

[BarryW]

Great work so far Barry. Looks a dream to build. I've never built a Tamiya kit before, will have to save up some cash.

That surprises me Vaughan. You could do a great job with one of these.

All of the Tamiya 1/32 WW2 warbirds are masterpieces and every time they have released one they seem to set the bar even higher.

Cheaper than this Mossie is their Corsair the release prior to the Mossie... almost as great a kit...

Vought F4U-1A Corsair Review by Brett Green (Tamiya 1/32)

www.hyperscale.com

 

[Vaughan]

Thanks Barry, where's the best place to buy these kits(cheapest I mean? Certain ones I thought you had to order from Japan?)

 

[Vaughan]

OK just looked at your link, Hannants is just down the road from me.