Revell’s brand new1:32 Fw 190 F-8
p01 Cover 049.indd 1
aircraft edition
BUTCHER BIRD
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HK Models Mosquito • Wingnut Wings Fokker D.VII • Tarangus SAAB Viggen • Hasegawa Ki-67 Hiryu • Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A full-size reference • and more…
military illustrated £6.50 - May’15 (issue 049)
27/03/2015 10:03
LMV Lince
model kit modèle réduit N°6504 scale échelle 1:35
Photo-etched fret included
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6112 Battle of Berlin Diorama Set
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6176 Stables - 20mm/1:72
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Waterloo 1815 “La Haye Sainte”
Two hundred years since Napoleon’s last battle
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Waterloo 1815 “La Haye Sainte”
1:72 Figures Boxes
76601 Display Type A 10 Box - 5 reference 76602 Display Type B 10 Box - 5 reference
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20mm/1:72
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French Imperial Guard Artillery 2 cannons + 16 crew
French British 95th rgt. Infantry “Green Jackets” 32 Figures 32 Figures
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Walls, gate and house
Waterloo 1815 “Le Haye Sainte” in MDF Laser cut
Contents
modeller military illustrated
ISSUE No.049 May 2015
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28
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NEWS
What’s happening in modelling and aviation
FOCKE-WULF FW 190 A-8 WALK AROUND Full-Sized Reference
12 PREVIEW
Eduard 1:48 SSW D.III
14 BIG BUTCHER BIRD
Revell 1:32 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 by Brett Green
28 WOODEN WONDERFUL!
HK Models’ 1:32 scale Mosquito B.Mk.IV by James Hatch
42 SWEDISH ARROW
Tarangus’ 1:48 scale SAAB JA37 Viggen by Kamil Feliks Sztarbala
54 GABRIEL’S WINGS
Gary Edmundson builds Wingnut Wings’ 1:32 Fokker D.VII
60 FLYING DRAGON
Hasegawa 1:72 Ki-67 Hiryu by Chris Wauchop
65 NEXT ISSUES
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What’s coming up in the next issues of Military Illustrated Modeller
66 TAILPIECE
Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.VIII Preview
60
54 Aircraft Edition
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News REVELL 1:72 SKYMASTER ON THE HORIZON
D
iedrich Wiegmann has built a test shot of Revell’s forthcoming 1:72 scale Douglas C-54 (DC-4) Skymaster. As the kit was built from early test shot sprues, some of the antennae and smaller parts were not available for this example. Dieter reports that this is a very high detailed kit, and that an impressive result awaits experienced modellers. No doubt modellers will be pleased to see this important type as a long-run injection moulded kit from Revell, with the only other 1:72 scale injection moulded offering being the limited run Mach 2 kit from some years ago. We’ll have more information about this exciting new release in the next Aircraft Edition of Military Illustrated Modeller magazine. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell •
NEW PORTABLE COMPRESSOR FROM IWATA
TWO BIG AEG G.IVs FROM WINGNUT WINGS
T
he Airbrush Company has announced the launch of the Iwata Freestyle Air Battery Powered Compressor, along with accessories. The compressor includes an AC power adapter with international plugs, making it perfect for domestic and international use/travel.
W
ingnut Wings has released two 1:32 scale versions of the German AEG G.IV bomber. Less famous than the Gotha G.IV (see Wingnut Wings model 32005), the 520hp AEG G.IV (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft Grossflugzeug 4) tactical and strategic bomber was nevertheless able to carry a heavier bomb load and was considered to be the easiest to fly of all the German First World War bombers. Early production AEG G.IV featured internal bomb racks on the port side of the gunner’s cockpit and painted day and hexagon night camouflage. Late production AEG G.IV featured internal bomb racks on either side of the rear gunner’s cockpit, rotating front and rear gun rings and dark ‘night’ printed lozenge camouflage fabric covering.
W
e have news of the latest 1:72 scale releases from Sword.
SW72087 F9F-8P Photo-Cougar 2 decals versions: 1. VFP-61, BuNo 144406,USS Kearsarge(CVA-33),1957 2. VFP-62,BuNo 144416,USS Saratoga,(CVA-60),1958 Re-issue of SW72062 and SW72072.(Harrirer T.Mk.4 and T2V-1 Seastar)
Both kits feature • 57cm wingspan • More than 400 high quality injection moulded plastic parts. • 2 highly detailed Daimler-Mercedes D.IVa engines which can be displayed exposed or fully enclosed in their nacelles. • 17 photo-etched metal detail parts. • Tail skid trolley for diorama display. • High quality Cartograf decals including 4 sheets of night lozenge and markings for 5 aircraft;
SW72088 Fairey Gannet AEW.3 2 decals versions 1. 849 Sq.FAA ,XL471/43R HMS Ark Royal 1978 2. 849 Sq.FAA ,XP224/263H,HMS Hermes 1968
Available online from Wingnut Wings website www.wingnutwings.com •
Re-issue of SW72030(P-80C over Korea) •
EMS 2015 4
SWORD NEW RELEASES
T
he EMS Model Show is being jointly hosted by the IPMS Hornchurch, South East Essex and Chelmesford and Essex MAFVA on Sunday, 26th. July 2015 between 10.00 am and 16.00pm-setting up from 08.00am. Admission; Adults £3.00, Child/OAP £1.50
The venue is Hannakins Farm Community Centre, Rosebay Ave.,Billericay, Essex, CM12 0SZ. For Club and Trader enquiries, please contact respectivelyJim Smith: 07787 381976,
[email protected] John Drummond: 01702 205494,
[email protected]
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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®
Precision metals for craft, hobby & industry
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Precision Metals, Abrasives, Decals and Scenic Displays For your nearest dealer contact us on:
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p05 ads 049.indd 5
Aircraft Edition
5
25/03/2015 16:24
FULL-SIZED REFERENCE: FOCKE-WULF FW 190 A-8 REPLICA
FOCKE-WULF FW 190 A-8 WALKAROUND
Flug Werk Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 replica at the Planes of Fame museum, Chino California.
The Editor takes a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with a Flug Werk-built replica Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California.
A
small German company, Flug + Werk GmbH, began work on building new Fw 190 A-8s in 1997. A run of 20 kits was produced. These planes are new reproduction builds from the ground up, using many original dies, plans, and other information from the war. The construction was sub-contracted to Aerostar SA of Bacău, Romania. Both companies have been involved in a number of warbird replica projects. Werknummer sequence continued from where the German war machine left off, with the new Fw 190 A-8s being labelled “Fw 190 A-8/N” (N for Nachbau: “replica”). Some of these new Fw 190s are known to be fitted with the original tail wheel
6
units from the Second World War; a small cache of tail gear having been discovered. The first flights were completed in November 2005. Ironically, since the BMW 801 engines are no longer available, a Chinese licensed Sovietdesigned engine was fitted. The Shvetsov ASh82FN 14-cylinder twin-row radial engine powered some of the Fw 190s opposition: the La-5 and La-7. The Shvestsov engine is of similar configuration and slightly smaller displacement (41.2 litres versus 41.8) to the original BMW powerplants. Flug Werk-built Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 “White 14” is currently located at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.
For the 2010 Reno Air Races this aircraft entered the unlimited competition in stock configuration, thus not likely to challenge the highly modified racers. It was constructed by “Flugzeugbau”, Werknummer 980 574, and its U.S. civil registration number is N190RF.* I had the opportunity to photograph this airframe in detail during a visit to the Planes of Fame museum in October 2011. • * text adapted from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_ Focke-Wulf_Fw_190s
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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Although built as a replica from the ground up, this is a faithful copy of the wartime Wurger in most respects.
The biggest difference between the replica and the real aircraft is the replacement of the BMW 008 powerplant with a Chinese copy of a Soviet engine - the Shvetsov ASh-82FN. Note the absence of the characteristic cooling fan behind the spinner.
The Fw 190 A/F/G series featured three moveable cooling flaps on each fuselage side aft of the exhausts.
The characteristic cheek bulge on the engine cowling.
A clearer view of the side exhausts may be seen on the starboard side.
Aircraft Edition
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FULL-SIZED REFERENCE: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 Replica
The dimpled undercarriage bay ceiling has been authentically reproduced.
The undercarriage bay features some modern components.
Port side undercarriage retraction strut.
The Soviet-designed engine produces a similar exhaust pattern to the original BMW 008. The original wheel would not have been fitted with Goodyear tyres! Note the tie-down point screwed in to the centre of the wheel.
This aircraft is fitted with the standard flat canopy.
The top section of the port side undercarriage cover.
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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The pilot’s head armour and support.
The instrument coaming may be seen behind the side of the windscreen.
The pilot’s head cushion.
The adjustable horizontal tail for trimming.
The rough fit of the rear of the gun cowl is obvious in this view.
Fuselage hand hold on the port side. Far left: An overall view of the mid fuselage.
Left: A rare view into the cavity left by the elevator mass balance when it is deflected.
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Aircraft Edition
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FULL-SIZED REFERENCE: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 Replica
The tail and empennage.
Note the unoccupied aerial anchor point at the very tip of the fin.
The pitot tube is located on the outside edge of the starboard wing.
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Note the subtle textures of the fabric and rib tapes.
The rudder’s Flettner tab.
The lifting point on the rear starboard fuselage side.
The deflected starboard side elevator.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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The tail wheel assembly.
Stowage and filler hatches on the starboard fuselage side.
Port-side wing tip navigation light.
Port side aileron and actuator. Note the pinked fabric edges.
No bulge on the wing root cannon access hatch.
Above: This is a very impressive replica of the Fw 190 A-8.
Left: VDM propeller blade.
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Aircraft Edition
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27/03/2015 10:18
KIT PREVIEW: EDUARD 1:48 SSW D.III PROFIPACK. • Kit No. 8256
SIEMENS-SCHUCKERT REDUX Eduard has released an allnew kit of the SSW D.III, which was their very first aircraft subject back in 1993. The Editor takes a look.
T
he Siemens-Schuckert D.III was a German single-seat, equal-span sesquiplane fighter, powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) SiemensHalske Sh.III bi-rotary engine. Idflieg placed an order for 20 aircraft in December 1917, followed by a second order of 30 aircraft in February 1918. Approximately 41 D.IIIs were delivered to frontline units between April and May 1918. Most aircraft were supplied to Jagdgeschwader II, whose pilots were enthusiastic about the new aircraft’s handling and rate of climb. After only seven to 10 hours of service, however, the Sh.III engines started showing serious problems with overheating and piston seizure. The problem was later traced to the Voltol mineral oil that was used to replace the now-scarce castor
Open vents at the bottom of the engine cowl – nice touch.
oil. Furthermore, the close-fitting engine cowling provided inadequate cooling to the engine. In late May 1918, Jagdgeschwader II replaced its D.IIIs with the older Fokker Dr.I. The remaining D.III aircraft were returned to the Siemens-Schuckert factory, where they were retrofitted with new Sh.IIIa engines, an enlarged rudder, and cutaway cowlings that provided improved airflow. Total production amounted to 80 aircraft. In July 1918, the D.III returned to active service as an interceptor with home defense squadrons. By this time, the D.III had been replaced in production by the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV .*
IN THE BOX
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the SiemensSchuckert D.III, as it was the first 1:48 scale biplane kit that I had ever built, and it was also the first Eduard kit that I worked on. In fact, it was Eduard’s very first plastic model, released back in 1993 Now, 22 years later, Eduard has produced a completely new-tool SSW D.III. With only 78 parts in grey plastic and a single photo-etched fret, this is a fairly simple kit by 21st century standards, and might be an appropriate project for a modeller new
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to biplanes. The fuselage features crisply recessed panel lines. An optional dorsal strake is provided. Each wing is moulded as a single full-span part with separate ailerons.The wings feature raised rib tape and stitching detail that is more prominent than Eduard’s usual fare, but I really like the open vents moulded to the front of the bottom wing. The struts are cleverly moulded to assist fit and structural strength. Eduard also supplies photoetched turnbuckles and four rigging diagrams in
The kit fuselage halves.
the instructions. Cockpit detail is good straight from the box, with colour photo-etched parts including an optional plywood-textured pre-painted, perforated seat back and photo-etched harness straps. The engine is very simple, being made up from just three parts, but will be largely hidden behind the close cowl.
MARKINGS
Five very colourful options are provided: • SSW D.III, Jasta 4, Ltn. Ernst Udet, Metz, October 3, 1918 • SSW D.III 1618/18, Jasta 85 (Kest 5), Ltn. Heinrich Dembowsky, Schaffenhausen, November 13, 1918 • SSW D.III, Jasta 15, Chery-les-Pouilly, July, 1918 • SSW D.III 1626/18, Kest 4b, Vzfw. Reimann, September, 1918 • SSW D.III 3025/18, Trier, December, 1918 to January 1919 The three decal sheets are in register and beautifully printed. One sheet includes national markings and unique markings, a second offers full-span lozenge markings
for the wings and tail planes, while the third has individual rib tape decal strips. I liked that the lozenge sheet included pre-cut markings for the wing struts, saving a potentially tricky task for the modeller. Although I am no expert of the colours or patterns of WWI lozenge fabric, questions have been asked about the lozenge decals in this kit. In particular, the upper surface lozenge decals are
Fabric strip detail is a bit heavy for my taste.
almost monochrome in appearance. Aftermarket replacements are available for those who are not happy with these.
CONCLUSION
Eduard’s 1:48 SSW D.III is a welcome retooling of this interesting German late WWI fighter. If you are happy with the level of detail offered by the kit engine and guns, you should have a fairly easy time with construction. Straight from the box, the kit seems well suited to the lessexperienced biplane modeller. If, however, you would like to add more detail, Eduard has thoughtfully provided this option via the BRASSIN engine and guns, as well as fabric harness straps. I’ll leave the question of the lozenge decals to the individual modeller, but after-market options are available for these too. Recommended. Thanks to Eduard for the sample www.eduard.cz Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens-Schuckert_D.III •
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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NEW in the ‘HOW TO BUILD...’ series NEW VERSION for 2015 HOW TO BUILD... TAMIYA 1:32 SPITFIRE Mk.IXc, Mk.VIII & Mk.XVIe
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25/03/2015 16:05
FEATURE ARTICLE: REVELL 1:32 • KIT NO. 04869 – FOCKE-WULF FW 190 F-8 “SCHLACHTER”
BIG BUTCHER BIRD
The Editor gets early access to Revell’s allnew 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8.
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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Revell’s attractive
T
he Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F series was the dedicated ground attack version of the versatile Wurger family. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 was based on the A-8 fighter, but with additional armour built into the airframe and provision for a wide range of additional stores on the wings and fuselage centreline. The extra armour was not externally visible, so the best visual cue to distinguish an F-8 from an A-8 is the absence of wing guns. Note, however, that the bulge above the wing gun position was sometimes still installed on the F-8. The cockpit was also similar to the fighter, but the F-8 was fitted with a rectangular panel below the instrument panel with bomb arming switches and associated equipment.
THE FOCKE-WULF FW 190 F-8 IN 1:32 SCALE
Hasegawa released its first 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 kit in the 1970s. The original boxing claimed that it could be built as an A-5/U3, A-7/ R3, A-8/R3 or a G-3. It probably best represented an A-8. The kit was good for its time, featuring petite raised panel lines and none of the gimmicky working parts sometimes seen on other large-scale kits of the same era. This kit was also re-boxed by Frog in the 1970s and by Revell in the early 2000s. Detail was basic, as you would expect, but this was the best 1:32 scale Wurger until Hasegawa trumped its own hand in 2003 with a brand new 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8. This was an excellent kit, with crisply recessed panel lines and a high degree of accuracy. Hasegawa followed up in 2004 with an equally good Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 and in 2005 with an F-8. The biggest shortcomings are that they are
box art.
hard to find and expensive when they do surface from time to time.
REVELL 1:32 KIT NO. 04869 – FOCKE-WULF FW 190 F-8
More than a decade since the last 1:32 scale Wurger release, Revell has now delivered an allnew Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8. I recently received a full set of test shot sprues. The kit comprises 201 parts in medium grey plastic and 12 parts in clear. Markings will be supplied for two aircraft, Black 2 and Black 6, both attached to St.SG.10 based in Czechoslovakia during 1945, although my sample did not include decals. Despite being labelled as an F-8, you could also build this as a G-8 long-distance ground attack version pretty much straight from the box. The kit features crisply engraved panel lines with some limited recessed rivet detail. Texture on control surfaces comprises very fine raised lines. I like this low-key approach. The cooling vents on the fuselage sides are moulded open. Cockpit detail is adequate for this scale, with simple raised bezels and blank dials on the instrument panel. A separate seat cushion is supplied, as are decal harness straps. However, some modellers will undoubtedly want to enhance the front office. Full engine detail is supplied, including push rods, manifolds, cooling fan and exhausts. Despite its completeness, the engine is broken down relatively simply with around 16 parts in total. Cowl guns with ammo feeds and chutes are provided too. The engine cowls and the cowl deck cover are all separate parts. There have been some comments about the
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
The bulge on the side of the engine cowling ranged from a sharp demarcation, to smooth. Check your references for your particular subject choice.
Both styles of canopy feature different parts for open and closed options.
Revell includes standard gun troughs and a part with fairings.
A stand is included that allows the kit to rotate and elevate.
The cockpit parts were attached to a small box with Blu-Tack and sprayed with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey.
The wheel well, firewall and wing spar parts awaiting assembly.
Don’t forget to drill out the holes in the bottom wing first! Here, the rear reinforcement plate is clamped while the glue dries.
carburettor bulges on the sides of the nose. To my eye, the shape looks okay. After a quick browse through reference photos, it would seem that there is quite some variation between individual aircraft. Some show a sharp demarcation between the bulge and the panel, while others show a softer, blended pressing. If your subject is blended, a swipe of putty at the base of the bulge should do the trick. Mercifully, the wing root cannon bay is moulded closed. The propeller represents the metal VDM 9-12067 A, which was commonly fitted to F-8s. The backs of my propeller blades suffer from a shallow sink mark, but this may not be the case on the production kit. The kit wheel bays will be glued to a stout wing
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spar incorporating the engine bay firewall, ensuring the correct dihedral. The characteristic dimples in the top of the wheel wells look good. The wing is moulded specifically as an F-8 without the outer gun positions and ejection chutes. However, there is a faintly raised rectangle around the lower wing gun panel, suggesting that there might be tooling provision for an alternative wing in the future. Maybe an A-8 on the way? All control surfaces, including flaps, are supplied as separate parts and may be easily repositioned to taste after removing the moulded-on locating tabs. Four versions of the clear sliding canopy are included. These are the early flat canopy (open and closed), and the final blown version (open and closed). The open version of each canopy is slightly pinched in at the lower front corners to accurately
represent the inward flexing of the real canopy when it slid back along its rails. Other options include different parts for raised or lowered undercarriage, pilot’s step, upper wing gun covers (not mentioned in the instructions but check your references as some F-8s were actually fitted with these fairings), ribbed or smooth tyres, blanked-off cowl gun cover (handy if you want to build a G-8), and a number of alternative gun barrels that are not applicable to this version. A wide selection of ordnance is included – one SC500 bomb, two SC250 bombs, four SC100 bombs, and three 300 litre drop tanks. The package is rounded out – literally – with a large stand and circular base. This may be built to allow the model to swivel and tilt – just what you need for those desktop dogfights!
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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The wing spar and firewall have been added.
The fuselage interior was sprayed with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey, then masked before the forward and aft fuselage interior areas were painted Gunze H70 RLM 02 Grey.
Alternative parts are supplied for retracted or extended undercarriage. Here are the components for the extended gear legs.
The extended tail wheel components.
All the painted wheel well and cockpit subassemblies were weathered with a mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, XF-64 Red brown, water and Future floor polish, applied with a medium-sized soft brush. In the absence of Revell decals (due to the early nature of the test shot), the instrument dials were sourced from a combination of Airscale and MDC decals.
The wheel wells, landing gear and tail wheel after their basic weathering wash.
I could not find the pilot’s seat in my box, so I used one from a Hasegawa 1:32 Fw 190 D-9 instead.
Instrument panel detail is a bit basic but you won’t see much under that deep coaming anyhow.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
Detail on the tail wheel and strut is really nice.
One of the painted fuselage interiors.
I used a sanding stick to apply even pressure across the full width of both wheel wells while the glue set.
The wheel wells look great straight from the box, but don’t forget to paint those grey rectangles!
The instrument coaming and panel assembly was then glued to the fuselage halves.
The cockpit tub, painted, weathered and flat coated.
The fuselage halves were joined, trapping the tail wheel assembly at the rear.
The shape of the overall airframe looks very good. I am sure that we will see a discussion about profiles and contours of specific details over the coming months.
GETTING STARTED
Construction commences with the front office; although I worked simultaneously on the cockpit, the fuselage interior and the wheel wells to avoid double handling during painting. I built the cockpit straight from the box this time, with the only additions being MDC and Airscale instrument dials (the test shot did not come with decals), and HGW harness straps. The harness was added at the very end of the assembly process. Although the real Focke-Wulf Fw 190 cockpit is quite sparse and uncluttered, next time I’d probably replace the slightly skinny-looking control column, and supplement detail on the instrument panel and
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port side console. I did have to look for a replacement pilot’s seat however, as I could not find mine on the sprues or in the box. I “borrowed” one (permanently) from a Hasegawa 1:32 scale Fw 190 D-9. The cockpit components and the fuselage half interiors were sprayed Tamiya XF-63 German Grey representing RLM 66 Black Grey. The wheel wells feature an integrated firewall and wing spar. In addition, there is another reinforcement plate for the full-span lower wing aft of the wheel bay. You’ll have to try hard to get the dihedral wrong on this one! The main and tail undercarriage parts were assembled, then all of these were sprayed with Gunze acrylic H70 RLM 02 Grey. The dark grey cockpit sections of the fuselage interior was masked off at this time, then the fore and aft fuselage interior was sprayed RLM 02 Grey as well.
The RLM 02 and RLM 66 sections were both weathered with a wash of black and brown acrylic paint, water and Future floor polish. This versatile mix dries dark on the pale RLM 02, but leaves a convincingly grubby residue in the crevices of the very dark RLM 66 areas.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
The fuselage halves were joined, trapping the tail wheel strut between them. Once set, the cockpit assembly was fed through the bottom of the fuselage and glued onto its locating mounts. In retrospect, I should have reinforced the long joins where the rear fuselage deck met the fuselage, as this felt a bit flimsy once the cockpit was in place. Next time I will super-glue a few strips of plastic underneath the joins to reduce the risk of push-through. The instrument coaming (including the instrument panel and gun sight) was also glued into place,
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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A view from the top after the cockpit was glued in place.
The cockpit tub was inserted through the bottom of the fuselage and glued along the long rear deck joins and the locating slots at the lower part of the fuselage.
Ailerons are separate parts supplied in upper and lower halves.
The fuselage was then glued to the full-span lower wing.
The upper wing halves in place. I really should buy my Tamiya tape wholesale!
The instructions direct us to attach the ailerons to the upper wing halves at this stage. Seems to work well.
Check out the join at the wing root – bellissimo!
Looks pretty good from below too.
Horizontal tail planes elements. Elevators are separate but tabs hold them in the neutral position. It would be a simple matter to reposition though.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
Tail surfaces ready for installation.
Tail surfaces fit perfectly. The airframe takes shape.
‘Revell’s budget price policy means that you’ll be able to afford to buy and build several of these 1:32 scale Fw 190 F-8 kits.’ The parts breakdown of the first row of the BMW 008 engine – simple but very well detailed.
The two rows of cylinders plus the other main engine components ready for assembly.
The exhausts are cleverly arranged in groups of four pipes.
The basic engine as viewed from the front…
The exhausts fit perfectly thanks to Revell’s clever parts breakdown and deep locating holes.
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…and the back.
Note the ten deep locating holes in the back of the engine and the hollowed-out ends of the exhaust pipes.
Gluing the spindly engine mounts in place will be much easier if you don’t fit the bulged side cowls first.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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The engine glued to the mounts. Engine detail looks pretty good straight from the box. Careful painting would make it even better.
A view from below. Note that the bottom set of exhaust pipes are lined up correctly with the trough.
The side exhausts are lined up perfectly too.
The six cowl panels ready to be installed.
Centre: The top cowl fits perfectly after this minor surgery.
Left: Next came the side cowls. Note that I hacked a little section out of the top of this side cowl when I was cleaning up the sprue attachment.
The raised locating strips on the inside of the top cowl part were ground off with my Dremel motor tool.
taped, and allowed to set before proceeding. Next, the full-span lower wing with its integrated wing spar and engine firewall was glued to the bottom of the fuselage. The ailerons were assembled and glued onto the upper wing halves at this stage. Next, the upper wing halves were glued to the bottom half of the wing. Fit was close to perfect, and a bead of Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement closed the tiny gap that was initially present at the starboard wing root. Tailplanes and the rudder were now assembled and added to the fuselage.
THE MIGHTY BMW 801
I’m not a big fan of exposed engines in model aeroplanes. Personally, I prefer to see the sleek lines of the fuselage uninterrupted by open cowls and jutting engine parts. Even so, Revell has done a nice job with this engine. It is made up from a relatively modest number of parts and looks good when built.
I am always a bit nervous when approaching engine assembly, especially radials, but this one did not spring any nasty surprises. The most fiddly bit of any radial engine can be the exhausts, but Revell has engineered these cleverly so that they fit precisely. This is just as well considering the close cowls and small tolerances. The engine fits onto three fairly delicate looking mounts. I decided to add the bulged side panels first, which turned out to be a bad idea. For those building this kit after me, make sure you follow the instructions and add the mounts before you glue the bulged side panels! As good as the engine looked, I still decided to close the cowls. I followed the instructions with only a couple of exceptions. First, I found that the top forward cowl fitted better when I grazed off the raised locating strips off the interior with my motor tool. I also added a locating tab to the front lower lip of the gun cowl. Once the cowls were in place, I just needed a
few spots of putty to address a couple of self-inflicted wounds where I had nicked plastic from the edges cowl parts.
PAINTING COMMENCES
The windscreen and rear canopy sections were masked with Tamiya tape. Cutting the masks for the clear vision canopy was no real chore. I started with straight narrow strips of tape then filled in the outlines with wider sections. The canopy was first sprayed Tamiya XF-63 German Grey – a pretty good match for RLM 66 Black Grey. The canopy parts were then put to one side as the model was painted. The entire model was sprayed with Tamiya White Primer straight from the can. When this was dry, the nose, ailerons, wing tips and rudder were sprayed with Tamiya’s TS-34 Camel Yellow, which had been decanted from the can and sprayed with my Testor Aztek airbrush. Next, the yellow theatre markings were masked
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
A small locating tab was glued to the gun cowl to assist alignment between this part and the top forward cowl.
All the top and side cowl parts in place – good fit with a minimum of fuss.
Tamiya tape was used to pull the top of the cowl ring back. This ensured that there was no gap between the top cowl parts.
Milliput two-part epoxy putty was used to repair my ham-fisted hole.
Sanded when set. Note that the barrels of the cowl machine guns are hollowed out straight from the box.
Far Left: The wheel wells were blanked off with tissue paper and the unused “closed gear” doors.
Left: The cockpit and decking was masked off with Tamiya tape, cut to size.
with Tamiya tape and the model was treated to an overall coat of Tamiya AS-5 Light Blue, once again straight from the can This certainly speeds the painting process! I used Mr Color lacquers for the upper surface greys. First, the wings and the fuselage spine were painted RLM 75 Grey Violet. A few prominent mottles were applied to the fin too. Next, I masked off the area surrounding the fuselage crosses and sprayed the inside using RLM 75 too. This was followed by the disruptive camouflage pattern of RLM 74 Grey Green. This darker colour was sprayed freehand using the marking diagrams and reference photos from EagleCals’ decal instructions as a guide. I worked on the mottling at this point, building up heavily thinned RLM 75 gradually on the fuselage sides, and constantly referring to the reference photo
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for the location of landmark mottles that would help define the pattern. RLM 74 Grey Green was then mottled over the top, and a third colour, Tamiya’s acrylic XF-27 Black Green, was sprayed in a heavy patch forward of each fuselage cross. The reference photos suggest that this was an earlier fuselage marking oversprayed with fresh paint An indistinct coat of Gunze H417 RLM Light Blue was sprayed onto grey mottled fin. Finally, the area surrounding the characteristic black rectangle on the fuselage aft of the exhausts was masked and sprayed with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black.
Decals and Details
Decals were applied over a gloss coat of Future Floor Polish. Markings were sourced from EagleCals Item No.
EC#91 – Fw 190 F-8s, Luftflotte 4, SG2 & SG10. All the markings performed flawlessly. Weathering comprised fine highlighting of panel lines with a thin mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Back and XF-64 Red Brown, followed by a wash of the same two colours mixed with water and Future floor polish. The heavy exhaust staining along the fuselage sides, and grubby lower rear fuselage, were also sprayed with the mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown. The flat coat was Alclad II Flat Clear Lacquer. The spinner and base plate were sprayed with Tamiya TS-14 Black, and the EagleCals white spiral was applied straight over the glossy lacquer finish. This eventually settled down after several generous applications of Solvaset. The spinner fan was painted RLM 70 Black Green using Tamiya XF-27.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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The long centreline rack was added at this stage. I needed to open up the locating holes significantly to allow this part to fit.
The simple canopy did not take long to mask using Tamiya tape and a new hobby blade.
The cowl opening was blocked with a rolled Post-it Note stuffed with tissue paper.
The canopy was sprayed with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey representing RLM 66, the interior colour.
The entire model was sprayed with two coats of Taniya Fine White Primer straight from the can.
The nose, wing tips, ailerons and rudder were all painted Tamiya TS-34 Camel Yellow. Once dry, the theatre markings were masked off with Tamiya tape.
The top of the fuselage and the upper wings were sprayed Mr Colour Lacquer No. 37 RLM 75 Grey Violet.
The fuselage and lower wings were then painted with Tamiya AS-5 Light Blue (Luftwaffe).
The cross on the real aircraft appeared to be filled with a mottled RLM 75 Grey Violet. This area was masked around in preparation for a rough grey fill.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
The disruptive colour is Mr Colour 36, RLM 74 Grey Green sprayed freehand.
The black area aft of the exhausts was masked with Tamiya tape.
‘I am always a bit nervous when approaching engine assembly, especially radials, but this one did not spring any nasty surprises.’
Time for the reveal! The masking tape is removed, exposing the striking yellow theatre markings.
Tamiya’s acrylic XF-27 Black Green, was sprayed in a heavy patch forward of each fuselage cross. Reference photos suggest that this was an earlier fuselage marking oversprayed with fresh paint.
The propeller blades were also sprayed with Tamiya XF-27 Black Green. When the paint was dry, the blades were masked off and the propeller hub sprayed silver. The pitch collars were weathered with Winsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint thinned with Ronson lighter fluid. This speeds the drying process, although it also reduces working time.
FINISHING TOUCHES
The various smaller assemblies were brought together for final assembly. There are actually fewer than the average dangly bits on this particular aircraft. The DF loop was not fitted (although the base was), and there is no Morane mast or outboard wing racks. The main undercarriage fits securely into its square locating holes. The mount sets the rake and splay very nicely. I was also pleased to find that the
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retraction struts fitted onto all three locating points without any major drama. I had painted the pull-down boarding ladder redwhite-red with an RLM 76 Light Blue footstep. This was secured with super glue inside the slot that I had cut earlier. The clear navigation lights were painted Tamiya clear red and clear green, then slid into the wing tips via their long clear locating pegs. The windscreen was a little narrow (or is the fuselage a bit too wide?), but I managed to spread it gently. The clear part was held into position with masking tape as the Revell Contacta glue set. This fixed the problem. The very last job was to glue the sliding section of the canopy in the open position, and attach an aerial wire using super glue. The standard flat canopy was fitted with a tensioner device, so the wire was always taught on these aircraft.
CONCLUSION
I am really impressed with this kit. Revell’s 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 features crisp, fine surface textures, a good level of detail, excellent fit and plenty of ordnance. Helpful options include blown and standard canopies, and I do like the different parts provided for the open and closed canopies. The engine is pretty good. Although I would have personally preferred a simpler front end with no engine option, the cowls can be glued shut without too much effort. Revell’s budget price policy means that you’ll be able to afford to buy and build several of these 1:32 scale Fw 190 F-8 kits. With all the interesting marking possibilities, that sounds like a good idea! •
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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EagleCals decals were applied over two glossy coats of Future floor polish. The decals behaved impeccably.
Alclad II Flat Clear leaves just a hint of sheen, and blends the paint and decals beautifully.
Weathering comprised fine highlighting of panel lines with a thin mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Back and XF-64 Red Brown, followed by a wash of the same two colours mixed with water and Future floor polish.
The propeller blades were sprayed with Tamiya XF-27 Black Green. When the paint was dry, the blades were masked off and the propeller hub sprayed silver, then weathered with an oil wash.
These are the initial version of this product that requires the modeller to cut the straps out themselves. The latest version includes die-cut micro textile straps.
HGW harness straps were fitted to the seat at this late stage.
Regardless of who cuts the straps, HGW harnesses look fantastic on any model.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
I made a new pitot tube from telescoping aluminium tubing.
The aerial wire is flexible E Z Line.
The spinner spiral is from EagleCals’ decal set. Although it didn’t look promising at first, the spiral decal eventually settled down under about a gallon of Solvaset.
The Wurger in profile. The rake and splay of the landing gear legs looks good.
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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MODELSPEC Revell 1:32 Kit No. 04869 – Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 “Schlachter” Decals Used: EagleCals Item No. EC#91 – Fw 190 F-8s, Luftflotte 4, SG2 & SG10 MDC Luftwaffe Instrument Dials Airscale Item No. AS32SCH - WWII Luftwaffe Cockpit Placard decal sheet Materials Used: Milliput White Two-Part Epoxy Putty Tamiya Surfacer EZ Line Tools and Modelling Products Used: The cannon and machine gun barrels were painted black and then rubbed with a 2B pencil for a metallic sheen
Tamiya Masking Tape (various widths) Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Revell Contacta Cement Selley’s Super Glue Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator) Tamiya Masking Tape Blu-Tack Irwin Clamps Paints and Finishing Products Used: Cockpit Interior Paints Tamiya Acrylics: X-18 Semi Gloss Black; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-66 German Grey. Vallejo Model Color Acrylics: 919 Foundation White; 70950 Black; 70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red Vallejo Panzer Aces Acrylics: 301 Light Rust; 337 Highlight Ger. (Black) Future Floor Polish Testor’s Model Master Clear Flat Lacquer Solvaset Decal Setting Solution
The heavy exhaust staining along the fuselage sides, and grubby lower rear fuselage, were also sprayed with the mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown.
Exterior Paints Tamiya Spray Cans: Fine White Primer; AS-5 Light Blue (Luftwaffe); TS-14 Black; TS-30 Silver Leaf; TS-34 Camel Yellow. Tamiya Acrylics: X-25 Clear Green; X-27 Clear Red; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-27 Black Green. Mr Colour Lacquers: 36 RLM 74 Grey Green; 37 RLM 75 Grey Violet; 117 RLM 76 Light Blue Gunze Acrylics: H70 RLM 02 Grey Winsor & Newton Raw Umber Oil Paint Future Floor Polish Alclad II Clear Lacquers: Flat and Matt Solvaset Decal Setting Solution Ronson Lighter Fluid Brand new kit; accurate overall; clever engineering / parts breakdown; crisply recessed panel line detail; poseable control surfaces; useful options (although some not mentioned in instructions) including alternative ordnance and faired-over cowl gun troughs. A few sink marks; some underdone cockpit detail RATING: 9.5 out of 10 Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HONG KONG MODELS 1:32 DH. MOSQUITO B MK.IV. • TBA
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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WOODEN WONDERFUL!
James Hatch builds an early test shot of the allnew HK Models 1:32 DH Mosquito B Mk.IV.
T
he Mosquito was probably one of the RAF’s most versatile aircraft designs, and indeed, an aircraft that we may never have had at all if it wasn’t for the perseverance of its designer, Geoffrey de Havilland. It was actually the simplicity of de Havilland’s design that could well have seen the project being stillborn. To meet Air Ministry requirements for a high-speed bomber, de Havilland proposed a new airframe, composed mainly of non-strategic materials, and powered by twin Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Unlike designs that were submitted by other manufacturers, de Havilland envisaged that his machine would be fast enough to be totally unarmed, and with a smooth, aerodynamic
exterior. For the Air Ministry, this perhaps seemed a little too much like a flight of fancy, and de Havilland was asked to simply act as a contractor for designs from other manufacturers. Undeterred, Geoffrey de Havilland took on the his design under a private venture arrangement, using a small design team led by Eric Bishop, and work began under strict secrecy at Salisbury Hall, Hertfordshire, in October 1939. The aircraft was to be designated ‘DH.98’. Even though de Havilland’s proposal was for an unarmed bomber, his team created a design, which would allow the installation of four, forward firing cannon that would sit in the forward belly of the aircraft, and fire through blast tubes. With the war now in full
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HONG KONG MODELS 1:32 DH. MOSQUITO B MK.IV. • TBA
swing, and changes in Air Ministry requirements that saw a general acceptance of the DH.98 for a reconnaissance role, a full sized mock-up was inspected by the Air Ministry in December 1939 only 2 months after the project began in secrecy. The foot was now firmly in the doors, and from this point, the Air Ministry made demands of the DH.98 which saw it being developed for a high speed bomber and also fighter role. The Mosquito, as it soon came to be known, was one of the mostversatile airframes in frontline service, with it eventually being used for roles such as night-fighter, long-range fighter, photo-recon, fast bomber, and maritime strike aircraft. No potted history of the Mosquito can be complete without a few words about its construction. The main airframe itself was composed of wood, with the fuselage being formed as halves over a concrete buck, using a sandwich of balsa in between birch layers. These rigid shells required no internal framework, and once fitted out, were glued together and strengthened by simple bulkheads. The wings were also all-wood, being constructed mainly from spruce and plywood. This highly successful design was also operated by the US, as well as Canada, Australia, China, France and New Zealand etc. and nearly 8000 had been built by the time production ceased in 1950.
HK’s modular cockpit approach can be clearly seen here. This whole assembly will eventually slide into the nose on moulded rails.
Below: A few ejector pin marks needed to be filled with Mr. White Putty. These may be specific to the test shot.
WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT?
HK Models really seem to be filling a void for modellers. They brought us a 1:32 B-25, B-17, Meteor, and also the Do 335. Who would ever have thought that we would see these in large scale? Up until now, the only injection moulded 1:32 Mosquito was the old Revell kit, which has coincidentally, just been re-released. It’s not a bad kit, by any score, but it’s certainly a little long in the tooth when it comes to modern standards. HK Models’ release is the first 1:32 Mosquito in around 30 years, and like Revell, this is also of the bomber variant. This particular build is from a 2nd generation test-shot, and is NOT necessarily indicative of what you will see in the final kit. A number of changes and further improvements have been made; some of these stemming from my findings after building the first test shot. There is a lot of plastic here too. In fact, there are over TWENTY sprues of grey styrene, and another FOUR in clear. If you saw the test shot at ScaleModelworld 2015 at Telford, or indeed the photos published on the Large Scale Modeller forum, you’ll see that this kit makes extensive use of slide-moulding throughout, with all control surfaces, tail-plane, forward and rear fuselage parts all being moulded as single pieces. I don’t think this has ever been seen before. What is certainly a first is the single piece wing, moulded with both upper and lower surfaces as one, yet still being hollow! The only seams to remove will be the faint moulding seams, and none of those pesky glued joints. Despite all of those parts being moulded as single pieces, we still have a high parts count. For example, even though an aileron is a single, hollow part, you still need to add the leading edge cap strip.
Above: I added the rack within the bomb aimer’s position, as well as the detail to the rear of the instrument panel. For this, I used ejector pin pips and lead wire. Above: I felt some of the cockpit detail could be added to and improved. Lead wire was used here, as were pieces of brass tubing from Albion Alloys.
LIVING IN A (WOODEN) BOX - THE COCKPIT As with many models, this one starts off in the driver’s office. This is a little different though, as the cockpit itself is made up of a separate module which, when complete, slides into the single piece nose section. Quite nifty. Please remember that what I may modify here, may well be included in the final release anyway. I took the opportunity at
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Left: All interior parts were given a solid coat of Humrol No.78 RAF Interior Green.
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Light and dark green variants were then used to add both highlights and lowlights to the various parts.
Vallejo paints, mixed with a little tap water, were used to paint the internal cockpit details.
Airscale instrument decals were punched from their sheet and applied to the cockpit interior.
this stage of removing the faint mould seams lines from both the nose section and rear fuselage parts, ready to begin any detailing I needed to do. Being a glass-nosed machine, I was a little concerned that the rear of the instrument panel would be too easily seen, and that this test shot has no moulded, reverse detail. My first task was to add those rear instrument bodies, using those little ejector pin pips that you snip from parts, cut to length and drilled to accommodate the lead wiring. Other changes I made in the forward area included adding thin plasticard strip to the edges of rudder pedal box to replicate the metal strips which secured the plywood panels, and also adding a tray to the top of this box, made from plasticard, and brass tubing from Albion Alloys.
A thin, blending coat of Humbrol No.78 was airbrushed over the internals, bringing together the modulating colours.
AK-Interactive’s Dark Brown Wash was applied to the interior, over the top of a gloss coat of Klear.
Before assembling the cockpit, instruments were given an application of Micro Crystal Clear, to simulate the glass lenses.
My test shot didn’t come with seatbelts, so I used a couple of appropriate HGW laser-cut sets.
A recess was also moulded into the forward floor, so this was filled with plasticard strip and allowed to slightly protrude from the floor level. This replicated a strip that I had seen in a couple of old photographs. The bombsight was also mounted on a small raised plinth. I think HK Models made a great job of the cockpit, but I still wanted to add a little more detail and a few improvements. Moulded detail was included for the throttle quadrant push rods, and this looked a little anaemic. This was shaved away using a #15 curved blade, and actual pushrods installed using 0.6mm brass tubing, bent using Xuron flat-jaw pliers. I crimped and rounded the connection point before attaching. Lead wire was also used to add the numerous wiring looms
you see. I attached these with CA, and later brushed Klear around them to ‘glue’ them to the plastic so that they were a little more robust during the painting phase. Wire was also added into the areas around the radio sets, and also extended into nose area, to supply the equipment in there. You’ll notice on any image of the Mosquito cockpit, a series of raised discs that are bonded to the walls. These are attached so that hardware can be screwed to them. Remember, the Mosquito had a wooden structure, so these hard points were vital if you wanted the equipment to stay-put. HK have replicated these superbly, but I did cheat too. A number of small ejector pin recesses were filled with punched discs, to replicate the moulded ones. Well, it was easier than trying to fill them!
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HONG KONG MODELS 1:32 DH. MOSQUITO B MK.IV. • TBA
Main cockpit parts, prior to assembly.
I had to leave a number of parts unglued until later, so that I could ensure the tall seat-backs wouldn’t interfere with assembly.
All that remained to do with the single-piece nose was to remove the faint moulding seam.
A similar seam ran along the length of the rear fuselage. A couple of tickles with a sanding stick removed it forever.
A quick test fit of the forward and rear fuselage sections showed a typically perfect fit.
Two detailed Merlin engines are supplied with this kit, but I would only uncover one of them for this build.
Plenty of detail is still to be had, buried deep in the recesses of the wheel wells. Here you can see the main nacelle components.
A solid coat of Humbrol No.78 was airbrushed over the internal wheel bay areas.
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Modulated colours were used to add some depth to the wheel bay interiors.
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The Mosquito undercarriage might look relatively complicated, but they assembled easily. They are also semi-articulated.
Tamiya weathering pastels were used to add some final highlights to the nacelle interior components.
A mock-up of the nacelle proved that no nasty surprises would later manifest themselves.
Both undercarriage units were plugged onto their bulkheads, and then all internals were given a coat of Gunze H20 Flat Clear.
PAINT POT
Being ever so organised (not), I hadn’t realised I’d run out of my usual brand of Gunze for the RAF interior green, so I opted to use Humbrol #78 enamel. All interior parts, including those in the bomb bay, were given a coat of interior green, followed by a barrier layer of Klear, in case the following step causing any problem with layering different paint types. Once the Klear was cured (overnight), I applied my highlight and lowlight colours using Gunze RLM71 Black Green and Tamiya XF-71 IJN Cockpit Green. Typically, this is called ‘modulation’, but I don’t like arty-farty words that describe simple techniques. The darker colour was applied around the edges and corners/ recesses of the various parts, whilst the IJN Cockpit
Mr Metal Color Aluminium is great stuff. A single coat was enough to create a realistic doped-aluminium appearance.
Nacelle assembly was straightforward. The detail is also amazing. After initial painting, AK-Interactive’s Dust Effects was applied, and then this was later blended with a flat brush, dampened with enamel thinners.
Green was used for the open expanses. Feeling brave, I decided to spray a mist coat of interior green enamel over this, to blend everything together and create some interesting visuals. Thankfully, no paint reaction was experienced. As soon as I was confident the enamel was cured, I re-sealed with Klear. Vallejo paints are great for brush detailing. Just dilute with a little tap water, and frequently flush your brush. All interior detail was now painted, mostly with Vallejo, and a little Gunze Mr Metal Colour was also used. The instrument panel was airbrushed in Tamiya Semi Gloss Black. A brushing of Klear was applied before it was time to decal. As always, decals were courtesy of Airscale, and I made good use of
their RAF instruments and Allied placard set. For the instrument panel itself, I referenced the 1:24 Mosquito Airscale set I had, and used the appropriate instruments on my 1:32 panel. Life was made easier by punching the individual instruments out, using my RP Toolz Punch & Die sets. This eliminates carrier film. Decals applied, everything was now sealed again with Klear, before a pin wash of AK-Interactive Dark Brown Wash was applied. Excess was removed using a cotton bud, and then Gunze Clear Matt H20 was used to suitable dull the finish. To enliven the instruments, I applied a touch of Micro Crystal Clear to them, which dries to simulate the glass lens. I still felt that the cockpit was a little too monotone for me, so I used Tamiya
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Wheel hubs were given the Mr Metal Colour Aluminium treatment, to match the gear assemblies.
Humbrol No.78 was airbrushed around the internal perimeter of the wing-borne bomb bay.
The same interior green, and Humbrol Rust No.113 were used to paint the fuselage belly fuel cells. Detailing was with Vallejo paints, and Airscale placards completed the effect.
Dark Brown wash was applied to the fuel cell, picking out the various strap and filler pipe attachment detail.
After opening up the rear of the wing, the fuel cell could then be slid into the wing centre section, and glued into place.
The only minor inconvenience with a single part wing is the need to measure and drill the fuel tank locations manually. As I said, a very minor inconvenience.
Another nice feature of this kit are the single piece, split flaps. These will be locked in place when the nacelles are fitted.
Weathering Pastels to add lighting effects to the interior. Seatbelts were added using two sets of HGW Sutton belts, assembled and fitted with CA.
MERLIN AND THE MAGICAL NACELLES
By the very nature of the Mosquito design, you will need to fit the undercarriage to the nacelles before painting. I know modellers like to usually leave these off until the main scheme is applied, but this is simply impossible with this build. Each undercarriage assembly contains almost 30 parts, and my initial impression of this was one of horror. I really had no need to worry though as not only was assembly very easy, but the parts fitted together perfectly. There are quite a lot of struts and tubes making these up, and once removed from the sprues, they were cleaned up with my Albion Alloys Flex-i-File. I find this tool pretty much indispensable these days. You do need to carefully study the manual when assembling the undercarriage units, as they are specific to each individual nacelle. One quirk that I wasn’t too happy with was the necessity to build these units with the wheels in
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Nacelle installation was totally trouble-free, and adds total rigidity to the wing assembly.
situ. The weighted wheels were also fitted onto a semi-circular shaft, meaning that once fitted they can’t rotate. To allow me to remove these once the struts were assembled, I slightly shortened the axles, which then let me remove the wheel after prising the struts gently apart. The assembled undercarriage units are partially articulated too, and move smoothly, meaning installation should be simple. Once complete, I needed to replicate the dull aluminium paint effect that was used. For this, I airbrushed Mr Metal Color Aluminium over each unit. This is a one-coat solution, and you don’t thin it either. Painting took a few minutes, then once cured for a few hours, they were sealed with Klear. This allowed me to apply AK-Interactive Dark Brown wash, and also the Engine Oil wash from the same range. At the same time, I painted the oil tanks in each wheel bay. For the interior of each nacelle, I used RAF Interior Green, followed by modulated tones of Gunze RLM70 Black Green for the corners and recess lowlights, and Tamiya IJN Cockpit Green
for open area highlights. Everything was then brought together by applying a few thin coats of RAF Interior is Green. The result is quite effective, and certainly provides good volume to the inner areas. One thing I like about Mr Metal Colour is the ability to brush paint it, and I did so with the fixed undercarriage struts within each nacelle. Time to seal everything with Klear, before a pin wash with AK’s Dark Brown again. Over the last few years, I’ve sort of drifted off into my own style which has been a mix of tried and tested methods, and my failure to successfully implement others. In a rather convoluted fashion, I have started to paint some details AFTER the washes have been applied. Take a look at the plumbing and wiring detail in the nacelle, and you’ll see what I mean. Detail has been painted using a fine brush, and a combination of Mr Metal Color and Vallejo paint. This leaves the paint bright, and provides a contrast between the detail and the accompanying shadow. It’s a little like a mash up of the Spanish Method, and a regular way of doing things. I’m not overly a fan
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An open panel was left off on the port engine, allowing a view of the completed Merlin.
It might only be a tail wheel, but HK’s typical level of detail even creeps into this area. Assembly was thankfully easy.
‘You can’t help but be amazed at the engineering that must’ve been employed in making a full-span, single piece wing like this.’
Here you can get an idea of the size of the Mosquito when you compare the stabiliser against a 6 inch steel rule.
You really won’t see this side of the tail wheel bay, but nevertheless, the detail is there!
Finally, the forward bomb bay bulkhead is fitted, completing the inner cockpit area.
Inserts fit within the rear of the stabiliser, sealing up this hollow, slide-moulded part.
The cockpit assembly is slid only partially into the nose section…..
Certainly no fears to be had here. The cockpit fits perfectly within the nose. I expected no less from HK.
…..and then the seat section is installed.
The rear bomb bay section is built from three parts, all fitting together precisely.
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Starting to look like a Mosquito, as the forward and rear fuselage sections are finally glued together with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. With the rear bomb bay parts painted, they are finally installed within the rear fuselage section. You won’t have to contend with the bulkhead bomb door braces in the final kit, as these will be separate parts.
As HK hadn’t finalised the fit of the access panel, I padded this out with a little plasticard shim.
Whoops! I should have painted this area before gluing the rear fuselage into place. Never mind, it’s still accessible enough. Bomb bay painting is now complete.
As with the other flying surfaces, the vertical fin and rudder are moulded as single, hollow parts. Cap strips are added to each before final assembly.
Far Left: The stabiliser section literally clipped into the fuselage, and the external fairing dropped into place. Tamiya cement made that permanent.
Left: Just like the real thing: the fuselage is lowered over the wing section and glued into place.
of the Spanish school of modelling, but there are some tricks that I use in my own way, and I find them quite pleasing to the eye. Once all paintwork was matted down with Gunze H20 Flat Clear, I applied a little Light Yellow pastel to them with a soft brush, using Tamiya Weathering sets. Assembly of the nacelle were quite straightforward, but you need to make sure the internals all link together. I fitted the unpainted engine to the starboard nacelle, leaving me to paint and install the port engine later. Seams were minimal, and I removed these with MDC sanding sponges.
THE LONE MAGICIAN
I really was torn about how to display the engine(s) on the Mosquito. I still wanted to show something, but at the same time, I didn’t want to spoil the gorgeous lines of this iconic aircraft. Having opened a single engine panel on my recent Arado Ar 234 (Military Illustrated Modeller # 47), I decided to adopt the same route here, and leave open the single outboard, port side cowl. This will give just a glimpse of what is within. The Merlin engine on this had been criticised a little since the first images were released, but apart from the
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rocker covers looking a little square in section, I actually think the engine is just fine. Assembly time is quite short due to the very good parts fit, and once assembled, I left off the engine bearers. These were painted in RAF Interior Green, and the engine itself in Tamiya Semi Gloss Black. Ignition lines and other details were painted with a 5-0 brush using Vallejo and Mr Metal Color paint. I also applied a little AK-Interactive Dust Effects too, creating a very slightly grimy/dusty appearance, but nothing too stark. The engine was then airbrushed with matt varnish and an extremely subtle dry-brushing applied, bringing out some of the detail that the black paint had swallowed up.
WING, NOT WINGS
You can’t help but be amazed at the engineering that must’ve been employed in making a full-span, single piece wing like this. The advancements in this hobby never cease to amaze me. I think HK really is a name to watch closely. In reality, you can’t describe this part of the project as building the wing. I would actually say that you already have the wing, and all you are doing is fitting it out. As a note, if you visited the HK Models stand at Telford 2014, and saw the sprues, then it was
probably this very wing you handled. The first thing you need to do here is to remove the faint mould seams from the leading edge, and trim the small sprue gate joints (no actual sprue included) at the areas on the radiator section of the leading edge. Wingtips are separate, and two sets are included. As I didn’t have the scheme sheet, and opted to build my own choice, I added the parts with two tip lights, as this looked to be in use for the Mossie version I was building. The trailing edge of the wing is hollow, and before you can add the inserts, you need to fatten up the centre section by adding the fuel tank block. At this point, the box itself was airbrushed in RAF Interior Green, and when dry, masked off so that I could spray the fuel tanks in Humbrol Matt Rust No.113. Vallejo paint was used to detail the fuel cell interconnecting pipes, and some Airscale decal placards were used to represent those shown in my numerous Mosquito reference books. With everything in place, a coat of Klear was used to seal everything in, before adding some AK-Interactive Dark Brown wash to the various detail areas. After the excess was removed, I used Gunze Clear Matt to flatten the shiny finish. This was also applied to the exterior underside of the
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Standing on its own two feet, or close enough. We finally have a beautiful Mosquito on the workbench.
This kit allows both 5 and 6 stub exhausts to be constructed. For this machine, I would use the 5 stub version.
After an initial coat of Alclad Aluminium, the base of each manifold was sprayed with Magnesium, and the outlet in Hotmetal Sepia.
I love the canopy on this kit. An internal framework is clad in crystal Gunze Dark Iron was airbrushed onto the wing leading edge clear canopy panels that click into place. radiators. This was buffed to a sheen with a cotton bod, and the inaccessible areas remained dark.
Once the bomb bay sidewalls were added, the basic Mosquito construction was complete.
As I had no PE, I made a couple of filter meshes from Eduard’s PE mesh sheets, precisely cut with Xuron’s excellent PE shears.
wing centre section, after also receiving a coat of RAF Interior Green. The fuel cell was now installed to the inside of the wing centre section, and a bead of Tamiya Extra Thin used to secure it. Now, I could add the trailing edge inserts to the wing. Although this is an unusual method of construction, it really is straightforward, and everything fits just the way it should. The wing now has its correct profile and shape. I quite like the split landing flaps on this model, as they are moulded as one part, inclusive of the connector. Like the ailerons, you still need to add the leading edge cap to these hollow, slide-moulded parts. Before we can fit these, the various small hardware parts for the aileron hinges are attached. With all in place, I airbrushed RAF Interior Green along the trailing edge inserts, just in case anything would be seen later in the build. As the wing is a single piece, there is no getting away from the careful measurements you will need to apply for drilling the locating holes
for the external fuel tanks. These are done as per instruction, rounding down to the nearest 0.5mm. Test fitting shows the tanks to locate perfectly. These would be fitted after painting, making it easier for me to mask the upper/lower wing scheme demarcation and invasion stripes. With the wingtips added, the wing is essentially complete. The last task to perform here is the addition of the completed nacelles. These fit into place extremely well, with just an occasional bit of manipulation needed to make this a virtually puttyfree zone. Before these can actually be added, you need to make sure that you sit the flap unit into position, as the nacelle makes this section captive. I was worried about everything lining up, but I really shouldn’t, as the fit was perfect. Adding the ailerons proved that I had a slight warp in one of them, but as these would be set at a neutral angle, I clicked them into place and then glued them permanently. My intention was to have the port engine
Four hours of masking later, the canopy was initially airbrushed in RAF Interior Green.
displayed, and the starboard closed up. I could now fit the port engine into the nacelle, ensuring the lower engine bearer mount locked into the vertical undercarriage strut. I’m not sure if the kit will be supplied with photo-etch, but I noted that the small cowl intakes needed a small mesh screen adding to them, so mine was made using some mesh PE sheet, recently released by Eduard. These were carefully cut to size and shape with Xuron PE cutters, then attached with a dab of CA gel, then a brushing of Klear. Before the fuselage and wing would be connected, I needed to fit the main gear wheels. I felt that the bare strut itself could become damaged if these weren’t in situ, despite their apparent strength. Firstly, I had to add a little of the tread that seemed to be missing. This was done with a new scalpel blade, and a brushing of Tamiya cement. The wheels were then airbrushed in Tamiya Rubber Black and a sealing coat of Klear. AK-Interactive Dust Effects were applied within the tread and
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HONG KONG MODELS 1:32 DH. MOSQUITO B MK.IV. • TBA
when dry, surface excess removed with a cotton bud, dampened with a little enamel thinners. I then also airbrushed a very dilute application of Tamiya Dark Earth around the perimeter, and onto the outer circumference of each wide. After masking off, the hubs were airbrushed with Mr Metal Color Aluminium and then Klear, and a Dark Brown wash applied to the detail. Finally, the wheels were attached to their undercarriage units.
MORE MOULDING INGENUITY – THE TAIL-PLANE
This section is as impressive a feat of engineering as the fuselage. The full-span stabiliser is moulded as a single, hollow piece. Into the trailing edge of this fits two concave strip inserts. The elevator is also moulded as a single, hollow part, onto which the forward leading edge strips fit. Before this can be added, I need to build the tail wheel section. In typical HKM style, this area is also loaded with detail, including a small bulkhead, tubular internals walls, detailed wheel retraction shroud, and of course a sturdy, detailed strut with anti-shimmy tail wheel. A combination of flat black and aluminium were used to paint the tail wheel/strut detail, followed by a coat of Klear and a wash of both AK-Interactive Dust Effects and Dark Brown. I also applied a little AK-Interactive ‘Engine Oil’ that gave a subtle oily appearance to the strut. The wheel bay interior was painted in RAF Interior Green, coated in Klear, and then a Dark Brown wash applied later. With that complete, the tail wheel strut could be locked into place.
A pre-shade of heavily diluted black paint was airbrushed the various panel lines and access ports.
Blue-Tack worms were tacked onto the upper surface before the dark green camouflage paint was applied.
ROCK THIS FUSELAGE!
This model is designed to build pretty much as the real thing did, where the fuselage was lowered over the wing section, and then the lower fuselage walls installed to create the bomb bay wall sides. Before this, however, I needed to complete the installation of the cockpit into the forward nose section. As I had already glued the navigator’s seat backrest to the cockpit, I had to do this in a slightly more convoluted way that still allowed the cockpit tub to slide into the nose. Having pushed the tub about three-quarters of the way into the nose, I installed the section with the navigator’s seat, up into the bottom of the cockpit, and them I fitted the lower bulkhead that forms the forward bomb bay wall. Before I pushed everything forward, and into situ, the pilot’s seat was fitted. The result: a very busy cockpit that must surely satisfy most modeller’s lust for detail. After adding the dinghy stowage hatch to the upper fuselage, and the access hatch to the rear fuselage, I built the rear bomb bay bulkhead/ wall, installed it, and both halves were finally brought together. The fit was perfect, with no ‘play’ between them that could cause uncertainty. Again, as per the real machine, the tail-plane unit was now brought into position and installed. Tamiya thin cement made quick work of setting it permanently, followed by the small fairing which blends it into the fuselage. The assembly of the vertical fin and rudder, and final assembly to the fuselage, now completed this part, and very quickly, this was looking like a Mosquito.
Yet more masking was required for those massive white panels that create the invasion stripe sections. White was Tamiya XF-2.
The main scheme is finally applied. Stripes sure make a Mossie look the business!
‘What a great kit! Extremely intuitive to build, and I would most certainly build another.’
A WOODEN FLAT-PACK – MAIN ASSEMBLY
One last thing to do before joining the wing to the fuselage, was to add the upper rear cockpit deck area, with the radio set detail. On the production kit, this will actually glue to the upper wing centre section, lining up perfectly with the allocated holes.
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Thanks to Mal at Miracle Masks, my lack of decals was no issue. Superbly researched and wonderfully produced.
First of all, a roundel mask is carefully placed and the area around it further masked off. The red section is then weeded out.
Using WEM Enamels, the red portion is now airbrushed and left to dry.
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Both propellers were airbrushed in Alclad Aluminium and then finished with AK-Interactive Worn Effects.
After replacing the red section, the outer blue area is removed and discarded. Roundel Blue is then airbrushed.
Gunze Flat Black was airbrushed onto the propellers and after 20 minutes, a stiff brush, dipped in warm water, was used to flake paint from the leading edge of each blade.
The final result! More work than a decal, but infinitely better.
AK-Interactive’s Winter Streaking Grime was dotted around the forward edge of the wings and them blended into the paintwork with a flat brush, dampened in white spirit.
So far, so good. I’m pretty pleased with things so far.
‘Go to hell Adolf x x x x’. Well, every self-respecting barrel of high explosives should carry a personal message to der Führer!
Bomb bay doors and undercarriage doors are now fitted. These were entirely trouble-free and didn’t even need glue as they clicked into place. I still added glue though!
As this was a test shot, I opted to glue it into the rear, upper fuselage. As I had already painted this area during the cockpit stage, all I needed to do here was to add a length of lead wiring to the set, and bend this down into the cockpit area once the two main assemblies were joined. Joining the fuselage front and rear sections was a joy. They connect along a natural line that was the stiffening strip. So, no joints to remove again. Completing (almost) the familiar profile of the Mosquito, I added the vertical fin and trailing edge insert, again connecting along a fairing. Once dry, the hinge was added and finally the rudder fitted. I don’t think I’ve experienced a model which is as tactile as this, and non-fussy. As this machine was going to carry the portly cookie bomb, the bulged fairings were added to the forward and rear belly areas. At this point, I realised I hadn’t painted the forward bomb bay section, in the main nose area. It would have been easier before connecting the fuselage sections, but hey! This area was also painted in RAF Interior Green and then sealed with Klear before a wash was applied. Detail painting was again done with Mr Metal Color and Vallejo paints. Joining the wing and fuselage was a cinch. It is simply a case of slotting the wing into the fuselage and then running a bead of thin cement along the external wing root joint. I did find that I
needed to slightly manipulate the forward leading edge (radiator intake area) so that it matched the profile on the forward fuselage. That was still easy enough, and may just have been because this is a test shot. With main joints, it’s always advisable to leave them to fully cure, and mine was left overnight. The next day, I added the lower fuselage/bomb bay walls, including the petrol cooler assembly, after giving them a coat of RAF Interior Green, followed by a wash, varnish matting, and a little Tamiya weathering pastel.
BOMBER NEEDS A BOMB (OR A COOKIE)
Mmmm, cookie! Yes, this machine carried just the one bomb, but what a bomb this was! It was also known as a ‘Blockbuster’ due its supposed ability to level a full block/street of houses. The actual machine I was building was one that carried out the raid against the Gestapo HQ in Copenhagen, so I wanted this to look a little special. Two identical sprues are included for the cookie, and you must take one of the halves and drill through the pre-determined hole positions before then gluing the connecting pins into place. With the cookie then built up and the seams removed, it was time to paint. I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab, and purposely left the paint looking a little patchy. Using a lightened version, I mottled the area around where
the rear section fitted to the main body, and then sealed with Klear. After masking the front end, two colour identification stripes were added using Flat Red and Green, over a base of flat white. Fuse detail was painted in silver, and using a fine brush, I hand painted ‘O.K.’ on the front, to denote the bomb was ready for installation, and also a hand painted message which were seen in photos of the time. Mine read ‘GO TO HELL ADOLF XXXX’! After sealing and a wash added, I applied a little lighter colour to the casing using a sponge, and then finished the bomb with Tamiya Weathering Pastels.
THOSE FINAL DETAILS
There’s currently a gaping hole at the underside, inboard wing root, but this is finished off by assembling the radiator and fitting it to the external wing panel, complete with the flap, which I offset by a few degrees. The inner skin, and the wing interior area are airbrushed with RAF Interior Green, and the radiator is airbrushed in Gunze Dark Iron, and then buffed with a cotton bud. The radiator and wing panels are now attached. A great looking crew door will be posed open on my model, and this is assembled, without glass, and airbrushed with RAF Interior Green. An Airscale placard is fitted to this, finally the glass, which is then masked off externally, in readiness
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HONG KONG MODELS 1:32 DH. MOSQUITO B MK.IV. • TBA
The completed model.
The crisp codes with the yellow outlines are quite striking.
That four hours of masking was well worthwhile!
Nice straight invasion stripes. Where the Cookie lives.
for the painting stage. I will fit the door during the last stages of assembly, when the overall paint scheme is complete. At this stage, I also assembled the wing fuel tanks and painted the propellers in Alclad Aluminium. When dry, I airbrushed AK-Interactive Chipping Effects over these and then a coat of Tamiya Flat Black. Using a coarse brush and a little warm water, I rubbed away at the black paint, along the leading edges and exposed the metal. I did this subtly though. With a very dilute light-grey, I applied a few strokes across the blades, in the direction of airflow.
STATE OF THE ART GREENHOUSE
I’m pleased to say we’ve come a long way since the awful canopy in the old 1:32 Revell Mosquito. This one is quite unique in design, incorporating an internal framework, and a multipart glazed exterior that mostly just clicks into place. There were a couple of small corners on the test shot frame that needed a quick trim with a sharp blade to clean up, but that was as much as it needed. As with other internal areas, this was painted with RAF Interior Green, and given an AK Dark Brown pin wash. I also added some small chips to this using a pale yellow/green paint. Unlike the cockpit, this was built from metal, so I wanted it to exhibit a small amount of wear and tear. It’s such a shame that the nature of the Mosquito canopy restricts the view of the cockpit, but nonetheless, the clear parts are just that; crystal clear. I now remove a little paint from the exterior of the internal cage, and attach the forward and rear canopy parts with the smallest amount of Tamiya Extra Thin cement. Be careful here as you may accidentally have the cement wick along an internal frame line that isn’t masked by the canopy framing. This happened to me, but
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Note the different sheen of the slightly glossy spinners.
luckily I had an extra set of clear parts. The canopy is now adorned with the internal flare pistol and the assembly fitted to the model. Once dry, I fit the upper canopy panel and the bulged side windows that were applicable to this machine. HK does provide parts to cater to three separate variations of canopy.
THE RESURRECTION OF DZ637
I hate masking canopies. Having an Eduard set always helps, but with a test shot, then you’re on your own Thankfully, it was an easy task, but some care needed to be exercised around the bulged panels. As the shapes were pretty simply, I used thin strips of masking tape to outline the panels, and filled in with scrap tape. It still took around 4 hours to mask this, and I needed to use my RP Toolz punch & die set to produce the small circular windows and their frames. A quick coat of RAF Interior Green was then airbrushed over the framing. Other orifices were filled/masked with both tape and/or soft grey foam from Eduard resin packages. It seems odd not to have to spend an eternity adding the various pre-shaded panel lines that we are used to seeing on an all-metal aircraft. The only pre-shade applied here is focused around the engine cowl areas and ports etc., and for this I use Gunze Flat Black. I start by airbrushing Gunze Medium Sea Grey onto the undersides, allowing the limited amount of pre-shade to peer through, but getting this look as soft as possible. With there being a distinct lack of panel lines due to the Mosquito’s wooden surface, I wanted to break up the solidity of the grey. To do this, I scrawled some slightly darker and lighter base colour around the under-surfaces, concentrating darkness in areas of shade etc. Once the paint had gassed out, I applied masked off the lower surfaces. I marked out
the camouflage scheme with a soft pencil, and then applied Gunze Ocean Grey. Using a little white paint, the base colour was lightened by a few % and I then randomly scrawled over the surface, creating an almost mottle appearance, but very subtle. Once assured it was fully cured, I then applied some very fine (2mm to 3mm) worms of Blue-Tack putty to mark the camouflage demarcation. Dark Green was then airbrushed onto the surfaces, vertically over the Blue-Tack, so as to achieve a slightly feathered edge. As soon as this was dry, I again added a little white and produced that same subtle mottle effect. It was the reveal time, and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with how this turned out. I certainly wasn’t aiming for solidity with my paint application. This bird carried invasion stripes, and although one friend tried his hardest to get me to freehand these so that they looked like some of the rough ones seen in photo, my OCD prevented me from using anything else other than regular, straight tape edges for this purpose. I now masked the model and airbrushed the selected areas in white before later measuring and masking for the black stripes. The 24 inch stripes on the Mosquito, work out at 2cm in 1:32 scale. I used Tamiya Flat White XF2 and Tamiya Flat Black XF1 for this job.
MARVELLOUS MAL’S MIRACLE MASKS
I’m pretty new to the world of masks, but as with my 1:32 Bf 110 E (Rudolf Hess), I had to overcome the problem of having no decals for the main markings. Having chosen my scheme early on, Miracle Masks came to the rescue and cut me a complete set, including the serials and codes. Before application though, I airbrushed a couple of gloss coats of Klear over the model. Each mask was carefully marked and positioned with the tiniest of pencil marks and then buffed down with a cotton
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bud. Pencil marks were added to some masks to strategically ensure that separate elements were placed (using the carrier film) back into the correct place on the model. What was required here was time, patience and the need to apply thin coats of paint to build up the colour, but not to cause any ridges between them. For the RAF codes and roundels etc. I used White Ensign Enamels, lent to me by my good friend Ben Summerfield who bailed me out at short notice when my Gunze paints proved not to be solid enough to cover the underlying colours. Cheers Ben! One of the reasons I chose this aircraft, besides it having taken part in the raid on Copenhagen’s Gestapo HQ, was the unusual code application. These were painted in red, and had a yellow edging. Along with the D-Day stripes, I think it makes this aircraft look pretty spectacular. Once all markings were in place, I used micromesh to rub any ridges down, and then I sealed everything with Klear, and added some stencils from an HGW sheet that I had. This was by no means a perfect solution, but it was certainly the best option in the absence of kit decals. Thankfully, Mal at Miracle Masks, also supplied the red, hashed stencil which sits on top of the wing, over the radiator intake. Cutting those fine letters must’ve been a labour of love, and it certainly was when applying and weeding out the lettering!
RELATIVELY CALM WEATHER(ING)
This stage was actually begun by adding the preshading and the mottle distemper to the camouflage paintwork. The next step was airbrush a heavily diluted Tamiya Smoke around various creases, corners and the occasional hatch, panel line etc. I also used some heavily thinned Tamiya Flat Earth in conjunction with this, working more around underside detail. Keeping this subtle is vital. A wash of AK Interactive Dark Brown was applied around the various detail areas, including the tapes that run along the upper wing surfaces. Removal of any excess on the wings is drawn back with the pattern of airflow, helping to very slightly tint the paintwork.
I also added a few touch of AK Streaking Grime to the forward edges of the wings and upper areas of the fuselage, and blended this into the paintwork. Small dots of Streaking Grime were also applied to the fuselage and tail etc, and then blended into the paintwork with a soft flat brush, dampened with a little white spirit. I also used a small piece of sponge and added the camouflage colours to the leading edge of the wing, as they would show through the invasion stripe application. All that now needed to be done was to build the underwing tanks and paint them in the same underside colour. These were simply plugged into the holes that I had drilled earlier in construction, and the bomb bay and undercarriage doors could now be painted and fitted. Internally, these were painted in RAF Interior Green, and modulated as was done on the other interior areas. Externally, they were painted with underside grey. The five stub exhaust assemblies were airbrushed with Alclad Aluminium, and then darkened along their bases using Alclad Magnesium. I then used Alclad Hot Metal Sepia to tint the end of the stubs. After fitting the exhausts, exhaust streaks were applied by airbrushing a heavily diluted Tamiya Flat Earth in a fan manner, tilting the airbrush away from the model as the streaking tapered away. This creates a softer, wider trail at the far end, whilst being more solid and narrow at source. Gunze Soot was then also applied in the same manner, but allowing the brown to show at the edges of the smoke trail. A little white Tamiya Weathering Pastel was applied around the manifolds, and also in small quantities around the edge of the smoke trails.
CONCLUSION
What a great kit! Extremely intuitive to build, and I would most certainly build another. Thanks to Arrow Wolf for the HGW seatbelts and paint. Thank you to Mal Mayfield of Miracle Masks for the fantastic mask sets for this scheme, and of course to Neil Yan at HK Models for shipping the test shot out to me. •
MODELSPEC Hong Kong Models 1:32 DH. Mosquito B Mk.IV. Kit No. TBA Accessories and tools used: HGW Sutton seatbelts Evergreen plasticard sheet Lead wire Airscale instrument and placard decals Miracle Masks masking set Albion Alloys brass slide tube Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Tesa masking tape Xuron plastic sprue cutters Iwata HP-CH airbrush Swann Morton scalpel (No.11 and No.15 blades) Paints and Finishing Products Used: Humbrol Enamel No.78 Cockpit Green, Matt Rust No.113 Gunze RLM70 Black Green, Soot, Mr Metal Color Aluminium, Brass Tamiya IJN Cockpit Green, Flat Earth, Mr Paint Dark Green, Ocean Grey, Medium Sea Grey, RAF Marking Blue/Red/Yellow, White, Black Vallejo Red, Yellow, Black, Neutral Grey, Sky Grey, Leather AK-Interactive Dark Brown Wash, Dust Effects, Streaking Grime, Winter Streaking Grime, Oil Stains, Klear floor polish References: AJ Press - Monografie Lotnicze 101 - DH Mosquito Vol.1 Aston Publication - The de Havilland Mosquito. An Illustrated History Crowood Press - de Havilland Mosquito Osprey - Combat Aircraft 09 - Mosquito Fighter & Fighter-Bomber Units Amazing slide moulded fuselage, single piece wing, single piece control surfaces, intuitive engineering, high quality mouldings, excellent surface detail, options to build as standard bomber or cookie machine, choice of propeller type, three canopy options. Nothing noted. Model is also test shot, and I know is still subject to a few changes. RATING: 9.5 out of 10
***As I write this, the final test shot moulds are being subjected to some very fine laser etching, creating possibly some of the most subtle extra surface detail yet seen in our hobby***
HK’s 1:32 scale Kosquito is a very impressive model.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
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SWEDISH ARROW
Kamil Feliks Sztarbala builds, corrects and upgrades the new 1:48 scale SAAB JA 37 Viggen from Swedish company Tarangus.
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t is no secret that the Swedish company, Tarangus, don’t manufacture their products on their own. Their kit design and production are actually carried out by subcontractors from the Czech Republic, as was the case with the sorely missed Classic Airframes. The latest Tarangus release, a 1:48 scale JA 37 Viggen, was developed in cooperation with MPM Production/Special Hobby, and the latter company holds the rights to kit other variants of this aircraft in the near future. What does this mean for us? In brief, the new Viggen is a modern, short-run kit. Despite the fact that it was digitally designed, it is still affected by some limitations that are common for this type of model.
IN THE BOX
Opening the box, we find eight sprues made of mid-grey plastic, one clear sprue, a decal sheet, a black and white A5-size assembly guide and a large sleeve with a painting and decaling guide. The latter is nicely printed in colour, but unfortunately it doesn’t contain any information about the colours required for painting the model. Although basic colour notification is included in the instructions, Tarangus didn’t care about providing us with reference to paints from any of the popular manufacturers, or at least the FS numbers. At first glance, the parts count seems to be quite high, although upon closer inspection this turns out to be an illusion. For example, the only external store supplied with the kit is the ventral fuel tank.
However, I must admit that the moulding quality is good. The number of ejector pin marks is very limited, whilst flash and sink marks are non-existent The clear parts are thin and crystal clear. The spell is broken by the quality of some detail. For example, the seat or other cockpit parts don’t match their equivalents from many modern 1:72 scale kits. The lack of any seat belts is the least of the issues concerning this area. The exhaust nozzle is moulded as a single piece. On the one hand, this causes some significant simplification, but on the other hand, as most of this section will be hidden within the fuselage, I assess its quality as acceptable. Small landing gear parts look reasonable but the simplification of some other elements is quite astonishing. The distinctive petals of the thrust reverser are a good example of this. These do not only poorly represent the real thing, but also their level of detail reminds one of the old Airfix kits. Bearing in mind that this is a short-run kit, the fact that some parts are slide-moulded is surprising but the surface detail is unfortunately rather typical for limited-run models. The exterior surfaces are coarse and require polishing. Some panel line rescribing will also be necessary, as a number of them are very shallow and faintly defined. Thankfully, most of the panel lines are both sharp and distinct, although the detail of the main airframe parts isn’t sophisticated, to say the least. The decal sheet is a strong point of this kit. It includes a comprehensive set of stencils and individual markings for three aircraft, with two variations of tail markings provided for one of them. We can choose between three different schemes: a bare metal finish, a two-tone grey low-vis scheme, and a five colour splinter pattern. The decals themselves are thin and in register; even the smallest stencils are clear and readable. All in all, even though the Tarangus kit outclasses any previously available 1:48 scale Viggen models, I can’t call it a good product. Many parts and details of this kit are indecently oversimplified. Things can be improved by using the photo-etched sets offered by Tarangus’ sister company, Maestro Models, but honestly, I don’t like the idea of releasing an incomplete kit, which requires either a lot of scratch building, or having to obtain detail sets from its sister manufacturer, in order that the model may be finished on a level that is a standard for many other companies. In this regard, perhaps we should be thankful that Tarangus at least supplied the kit with a decal sheet. As gentlemen don’t talk about money, I will purposely skip this particular detail of both this kit and any accompanying detail set pricing. •
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
ASSEMBLY The poorly detailed seat is a typical example of what we will have to deal with during construction of this kit.
The Viggen’s seat belts were quite a complicated design. I scratch built them using styrene strip of 0.25mm thickness, and pieces of aluminium foil.
As the rear wall of the kit cockpit was totally smooth, I detailed it with various lengths of styrene rod.
First I puttied the seam between the two halves.
The front wheel bay detail would perhaps be adequate for a 1:144 scale kit, so I had to improve this area with lengths of styrene rod and lead wire of various diameters.
In accordance with the instructions, I assembled the air intake trunking. Before I could close the forward fuselage section, I had to paint the cockpit. I started by spraying a priming coat of Mr. Color C8 Silver.
Next, I applied a base coat of Mr. Color C40 German Gray. The final colour of the cockpit was obtained by airbrushing a few transparent layers of heavily diluted Mr. Color C307 ‘FS36320 Gray’.
Details were brush painted with Vallejo Model Color acrylics…
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Below: I then fixed the finished cockpit within the upper forward fuselage section…
The final touch was to add some small scratches and paint chips. I purposely damaged the paint layer on the floor and exposed edges of the cockpit by carefully scratching them with tweezers, in order to reveal the silver undercoat. …and brought out by applying AK-Interactive AK070 Brown Blue Wash for Panzer Grey Vehicles’.
…whilst the front wheel well and air intake trunking were glued to the lower forward fuselage section. I thought that this would make joining both forward fuselage halves easier.
Before I began to fill and sand the joints, I emphasized the panel lines and access plate definition using a sewing needle and Trumpeter’s scriber.
Although the fit of the latter was far from being perfect, it was actually the only area of this model that caused significant problems.
Afterwards, I smoothed the joint areas with metal files and polishing sponges.
The easiest way to deal with the slightly larger gap that was present on one of the air intakes, was to fill it with a piece of styrene and plenty of C.A. adhesive.
Once I’d finished sanding and polishing this entire area, I fixed the panel lines again. To smooth their edges and dissolve the remaining plastic dust, I ‘painted’ them with a little Tamiya Extra Thin glue.
The latter was also perfect for smoothing the joints of the air intake parts.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
Slightly changing the assembly sequence suggested by the manufacturer, I started construction of the jet exhaust. Its overall fit turned out not to be perfect.
Firstly, I had to remove the ejector pin marks from the thrust reverser petal parts. Unfortunately, as this distinctive feature of the Viggen was wrongly depicted in the kit, the only solution was to install the petals in an open position.
Some rivet detail was added with an RB Productions Rivet-R tool.
Dry-fitting of the rear fuselage revealed that only a little sanding was necessary to complete this section.
The rear part of the nozzle also required some adjustment. I filled the small gaps with pieces of styrene sheet and cyano and subsequently created the missing panel lines using Trumpeter’s scriber, and a length of Scotch tape as a guide.
As fitting the exhaust within the fuselage would seriously limit the access to the nozzle, I had to paint the latter before this process. I primed it with Mr.Hobby H76 Burnt Iron, and then airbrushed with an uneven layer of Mr.Color C8 Silver.
Next, I restored the surface detail which was lost during sanding process. In fact, this would be required even if the details weren’t damaged, simply because of their lack of sharpness and distinctness in the first place.
‘The latest Tarangus release, a 1:48 scale JA 37 Viggen, was developed in cooperation with MPM Production/ Special Hobby.’
I applied AK075 ‘Wash for NATO Vehicles’ to emphasize the details.
Left: This allowed me to glue the nozzle within the rear fuselage section.
In accordance with the instructions, I now had to assemble the wing. My first step was to attach the covers for the main landing gear bays. Although most of the museum examples of the Viggen have these covers in a fully lowered position, in airworthy aircraft the covers were closed once the landing gear had been pulled down. Therefore, I didn’t have to reproduce most of the quite complicated detail within the wheel bays, which was completely overlooked by the kit’s designer. Instead, I just removed the cover hinges…
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…and then fitted the covers into the apertures in the lower half of the wing. For this, I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.
The areas of the main landing gear bays that would be visible in the finished kit, had to be upgraded using lengths of lead wire of various thicknesses. Right: The wings and fuselage went together easily. As the wings were quite thin, I squeezed them together with a number of clamps until the cement had fully cured.
The easiest way to solve this issue was to add some styrene strips, glued with cyano. The latter also worked as a putty.
The trailing edges turned out to be quite thick and uneven.
Once I’d given them the correct taper of the trailing edge, I had to fix the panel lines damaged from the sanding process.
The same problem affected the rudder and the upper part of the fin. In this case, I also started to fix this by gluing a thin styrene strip to the trailing edge.
Next, I shaped the edge by scraping off the excess plastic with a hobby knife, and smoothing this area with polishing sponges of different grits.
Before I attached the air vents, I thinned down their walls with metal files.
To prevent the kit from being a tail-sitter, I glued a few lead weights inside the nose.
The pitot tubes supplied with the kit were terrible, so I decided to replace them with turned metal products from the Polish company, MASTER.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
Only the angle of attack probe was permanently fixed to the forward fuselage.
As it was more convenient to leave them separate for the painting stage, I had to ensure they would fit the model well. Therefore, I attached a length of Griffon Model brass tube to the leading edge of the fin, which would work as a socket for the replacement pitot tube. Missing tail detail was reproduced on the basis of reference photos. Finally, I had to assemble the landing gear. The detail of the front gear leg detail was as ‘rich’ as that of its bay, so I had to refine it with some styrene pieces.
The main landing gear legs were slightly better in their reproduction. I drilled out their torsion links…
… and then added the wiring, made from lengths of tin wire.
The assembled landing gear could now be mounted within the bays.
The kit was ready for the painting stage.
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PAINTING Since the effects of ageing and weathering are more visible on a bright background, I chose to finish the kit in the two-tone grey camouflage scheme. As usual, I began by priming the kit with Mr.Color C8 Silver.
As the painting scheme consisted of two quite similar shades of grey, I could pre-shade all kit’s surfaces in the same way. My first step was to darken the panel lines and chosen detail demarcation areas with heavily diluted Mr. Color C40 German Gray.
Next, I emphasized the flight control surfaces with Mr.Color C72 Intermediate Blue, and added some subtle streaks with Mr.Hobby H331 Dark Sea Gray. The latter were mostly applied in accordance with the direction of the airflow. For this purpose, I used heavily diluted paints again.
I then sprayed a transparent layer of Mr. Color C308 ‘FS36375 Gray’ over the undersides. With Mr. Color C316 ‘FS17875 White’, I accentuated the edges of various access plates. Some meandering lines and small patches of the same colour were airbrushed over the lower surfaces, in order to obtain the effect of discolouration.
This was toned down with a transparent coat of Mr. Color C315 ‘FS16440 Gray’, which worked as a filter.
The colour demarcation was masked off with pieces of Tamiya tape and rolls of plasticine. Afterwards, I sprayed a transparent layer of Mr. Color C337 ‘FS35237 Grayish Blue’ over the upper surfaces.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
As with the undersides, I added both variety and richness to the dull surface colour by airbrushing irregular lines and patches of Mr.Color C315 ‘FS16440 Gray’.
The resulting discolouration was toned down with a transparent layer of the base colour.
Next, I masked off the adjacent areas with Tamiya tape and painted the landing gear bays with Mr.Color C311 ‘FS36622 Gray’.
Details were brush painted with Vallejo acrylics. I then sealed the paintwork with Mr.Top Coat Semi-gloss varnish.
Although the decals supplied with the kit reacted quite well with Microscale decal solutions, they didn’t fully conform to the surface detail. I therefore had to carefully cut the decals along the panel lines with a sharp scalpel.
This was sealed with a layer of matte varnish.
Far Left: To emphasize the surface detail on the underside, I used Ammo MIG-1601 ‘PLW Medium Grey’. I applied a little enamel with a brush…
Left: …and removed the excess with cotton buds and paper towels, before it had fully dried.
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MODELSPEC Tarangus 1:48 JA 37 Viggen. For the darker upper surfaces, I used Ammo MIG1602 ‘PLW Deep Grey’.
Kit No. 4803
Accessories: SAAB 37 Viggen - Pitot tubes & Angle Of Attack probe – Master AM-48-074 Tools and Modelling Products Used:
However, the demarcation of flight control surfaces and other movable parts of the airframe was accentuated with AK-Interactive AK045 ‘Dark Brown Wash for Green Vehicles’.
WEATHERING At the beginning of this stage, I added the dark discolouration along the access plate edges. I dampened the surface with white spirit, and distributed Ammo MIG-1003 ‘Interiors Wash’ over selected areas.
Next, I mixed AK-Interactive AK082 ‘Engine Grime’ and white spirit in a ratio of 1:1, and poured this into my airbrush cup. I then set the micro air control valve on my airbrush to a minimal air pressure, and sprayed a misted application of the mixture over chosen panel lines and access plate demarcation. I also added some subtle streaks behind the actuators in the wings.
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement C.A. glue Styrene strips and rod Tin and lead wire Griffon Model brass tubing Trumpeter Scribing Tool RB Productions Rivet-R Tamiya Masking Tape Plasticine Paints and Finishing Products Used: Paints: Mr.Color and Hobby Color series from Mr.Hobby Vallejo Mr.Hobby Clear Varnishes Microscale decal solutions Tamiya Weathering Master D Set Talens White Spirit AK-Interactive weathering products: AK045 Dark Brown Wash for Green Vehicles AK070 Brown Blue Wash for Panzer Grey AK075 Wash for NATO vehicles AK082 Engine Grime AK2031 Landing Gear Dust Ammo MiG weathering products: A.MIG-1003 Interiors Wash A.MIG-1408 Fresh Engine Oil A.MIG-1601 PLW Medium Grey A.MIG-1602 PLW Deep Grey It’s a Viggen! Good quality decal sheet. Poor level of detail; missing elements; coarse plastic; no painting notes or paint colour callouts. RATING: 5 out of 10 Tarangus kits are available online from model retailers worldwide www.tarangus.se
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FEATURE ARTICLE: TARANGUS 1:48 JA 37 VIGGEN. • Kit No. 4803
AK-Interactive AK075 ‘Wash for NATO Vehicles’ and Ammo MIG-1408 ‘Fresh Engine Oil’, mixed at different ratios, were applied in the same way.
‘Thankfully, most of the panel lines are both sharp and distinct, although the detail of the main airframe parts isn’t sophisticated, to say the least.’
More enamels were airbrushed over the undersides, and distrubuted over the surface with a long-bristled brush, dampened with white spirit, in order to create more intense staining and streaking effects.
The visible section of exhaust nozzle was given a burnt appearance using the reliable ‘Weathering Master Set D’, from Tamiya.
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To replicate the dirt on the wheels and landing gear legs, I sprayed them with a mist of AK-Interactive AK2031 ‘Landing Gear Dust’, and blended this with a wet brush.
The final step was to attach the turned metal pitot tubes.
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It’s a tough build, but after a lot of extra work the result is impressive!
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WINGNUT WINGS 1:32 FOKKER D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
GABRIEL’S WINGS
Gary Edmundson builds and details Wingnut Wings’ gorgeous 1:32 scale Fokker D.VII.
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ingnut Wings has released several models of the Fokker D.VII, the main differences between them being the cowling and engine variances based on manufacturer and early vs. later production. Kit no. 32011 features the earlier Fokker built type, with markings for five various aircraft. I’ve always wanted to build the aircraft of Willi Gabriel, who served with Jasta 11. He was a bit of a rogue pilot with a reputation of disobeying orders, notably the ones of the last commander of the Richtofen Jasta, Hermann Goering. Gabriel’s D.VII was well photographed, and my model was built to represent how it appeared early on without the gaudy stripes on the fuselage and less red paint on the struts and landing gear.
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ENGINE
Wingnut Wings’ 180Hp Daimler-Mercedes DIIIa engine had spark plug and ignition wire detail added using stretched styrene sprue and thin copper wire respectively. The crankcase was sprayed with Tamiya’s XF-16 Flat Aluminum, and the cylinders were painted XF-1 Flat Black. Any small parts that were called out for brass colour were painted with Testor’s Gold enamel, then later weathered with washes of dark brown oil paints. Small holes were drilled where the ignition wires entered the magnetos, and thin copper wire was glued in to represent this. Restoration photos show some fairly elaborate colours on the insulation of these wires, but I was guessing a more subdued look would be more
appropriate and painted mine dark grey. After a coat of Future acrylic gloss, I laid on a couple of heavy oil paint washes to make the engine look grubby and also to enhance the delicate detail of the parts. There are a couple of decals provided for the attached information plates,, making the miniature engine very authentic looking indeed.
FUSELAGE INTERIOR
The only parts requiring a woodgrain finish were the instrument panel and the small cockpit floor. These were airbrushed a light sandy tan using Tamiya’s XF-79 Deck Brown, and then gloss coated with Future floor acrylic. A mixture of raw umber and burnt sienna oil paints diluted with
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Decals for the instrument panel are grouped on large film sections to help handle tiny legend plates
The magnetos were drilled out to accept fine copper wire ignition wires
The completed engine assembly was given washes of raw umber and black oil paints to define the detail and give it a used look.
Ammunition containers were airbrushed with Tamiya’s XF-16 Flat Aluminium, and the fuel tank was painted black and dry-brushed with gold enamel
The seat was painted dark brown and dry-brushed with lighter shades to bring out the detail.
The completed cockpit/engine assembly ready for installation in the fuselage.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
After cementing the fuselage halves together and sanding the top joint, the base for the streaked camouflage was airbrushed on using olive green patches over a buff base.
Olive Green and Raw Umber oil paint were mixed and streaked onto the glazed surface of the fuselage, emulating the pattern seen in period photos of these early Fokker DVII aircraft.
‘During the course of building the model, I was enjoying the experience so much I ordered another DVII.’
After lightening up the base colour for the top wing, Aviattic’s 5-colour lozenge decals printed especially for the Wingnut Wings Fokker DVII were applied.
mineral spirit was brushed onto the glossy surface providing a brownish streaked effect resembling wood-grain. This was then airbrushed with Future floor acrylic to protect the surface and prepare the instrument panel for the decals. The kit provides decals for the panel in connected “groups” which make it easier to position the smaller instrument labels which are quite tiny. The tubular frame for the cockpit was airbrushed RLM grey using Tamiya’s XF-22. Strangely enough, this light greyish-green colour has been called out as “Dark Grey” in other Wingnut Wings kits. The seat belts - as with all other photo-etched parts - were annealed with a flame, and then primed with a spray-can of Tamiya’s lacquer based grey. The belts seem a bit thin and springy, but are nicely detailed with the fastening ends and retaining chain. They were painted using Vallejo acrylics, toning down their Off White with a touch of English Uniform brown. Painting the individual parts of the cockpit interior was done with Vallejo acrylics which don’t adhere well to bare plastic, so these parts were also primed with the Tamiya lacquer primer.
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Using a buff coloured base instead of white allowed the underside decals to appear more “brown glazed”, which is an option in the colour scheme.
I installed the internal cables and frame rigging using EZ-Line, securing the lengths for rudder and elevators at the rear of the cockpit, and feeding the two aileron control lines out each side, securing them temporarily with a piece of tape. There were also a few lines of rigging to add to the cockpit frame, again using the EZ Line stretchy thread. The interior of the fuselage halves was painted XF-55 Buff, and mottled with a bit of thinned burnt umber oil paint. The components of the front fuselage fitted into the tubular support frame like a glove, with the small pins engaging their respective holes with precision. When placed in the fuselage halves it made the sides bulge outward slightly, therefore making it difficult to align the upper cockpit combing. I used large clamps to squeeze it together to help with this.
Aviattic Lozenge Decals
The lozenge decals supplied with the kit were replaced with an after-market brand. Aviattic from the UK offers a selection of wellresearched lozenge decals in four or five-colour
configurations, including upper, lower and interior surface colours. They offer a specific set for the Fokker DVII wings in five-colour faded pattern, which I used for this model. The decals are translucent in nature and need to be applied over a light colour glossy surface. I painted the wings of the model a mixture of XF-2 White and XF-57 Buff, but later had to lighten this colour as the background was a bit too dark when I saw how the lozenge colours looked after the first “test” one was laid down. The rib areas were given a pre-shade spray of a darker version of the base colour. After airbrushing a glossy coat of Future on the surface, I applied the various sections of the decal film. The painstaking process of applying decal sections to all of the upper and lower sides of the flying surfaces was carried out, using a small amount of Microsol to help. The good thing about the pre-cut wing sections of these decals is that the rib-tapes are already part of the decal, eliminating the agonizingly long process of adding those separately. Any excess decal was folded over and carefully formed in place with Microsol solution.
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Tamiya masking tape was used in abundance to complete the colourful tail markings.
Machined brass cooling jackets by Master were used for the twin Spandau machine guns.
Fuselage and Wings
Once the fuselage halves had been joined and the seams sanded smooth, I painted on a base of Tamiya XF-57 Buff to start the process of emulating the “streaked” camouflage of the fabric used to cover the early Fokker DVII’s (also seen on the Fokker Dr.1 aircraft). I felt that the decals provided by Wingnut Wings for this didn’t come up to expectations when comparing how this camouflage looked in period photos. For the darker background patches, XF- 58 Olive Green was airbrushed on. After gloss coating this base colour, a mixture of Winsor & Newton series 1 Raw Umber 554 and Olive Green 447 were diluted with a small amount of mineral spirit and dragged over the surface with a stiff bristled paintbrush. To help handle the work, the lower wing section was temporarily put in place. Care was taken to ensure even, straight lines, correct angle of the streaks on the upper surface of the fuselage, and that no finger prints or other smudges spoiled the work. Photo-etched jackets for the two machine guns were included in this release, but I replaced the twin
The exhaust pipes were painted dark grey and weathered with silver enamel and pastel chalks.
Thinned dark brown oil paint was used to “antique” the look of cockpit gauges and other details.
Spandau machine guns with machined brass jackets and muzzles from the Polish company Master. The engine cowling parts were painted using a mix of XF-7 Flat Red and XF-1 Black, using just enough black to subdue the brightness of the red. Although the full use of the cowling parts hid the work on the engine, I always have the pictures to look back on. Lining up the muzzles of the guns with the flashguard rails was a bit tricky, with the rails mounted to a delicate photo-etched part attached to the top of the engine. Gabriel’s aircraft had orange and blue lines painted on the tail surfaces, and later he had further orange lines painted onto the fuselage. I chose to depict the earlier scheme, which also had less of the red paint on the struts and undercarriage. Although the instructions claim that the outer wing struts were red, I interpret the photos of the aircraft differently, and chose to paint mine with Tamiya’s XF-22 greyish green. The decals for the orange stripes are quite a vivid, rich tone. Choosing to paint my own, I mixed XF-3 Yellow with some XF-7 and airbrushed the tail section, then masked the lines to spray on the blue afterward.
Tamiya’s X-14 Bright Blue was toned down with a bit of XF-57 buff, and after the masking was removed, the colourful result was protected with a spray of Future acrylic gloss.
Rigging – Or Lack Thereof!
One of the more attractive elements of a Fokker DVII model is the lack of wire rigging in the wings as compared to other aircraft types of this period. The wings and tail were straightforward assemblies, and I imparted a slight dip in the elevators and offset to the rudder for interest. The rear of the fuselage was open, so control wires for the tail section could be conveniently added before covering with the horizontal stabilizer. The aileron control cables exited each side of the cockpit wall and had a turnbuckle attached at some point just before entering the wing. I had patiently dealt with these EZ-Line threads throughout the course of construction, and when it came time to attach them to the upper wing with a small photoetched turnbuckle, promptly pulled the line out from where it threaded through the control stick inside the cockpit. A simple drop of glue would have held
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII. • Kit No. 32011
To aid assembly, the tail and landing gear assemblies were left until the end. Access inside the rear fuselage allowed for the rudder and elevator control cable rigging to be strung through from the sides.
The kit decals were applied with Microsol decal solution, and were sealed with Future acrylic gloss afterward.
‘One of the more attractive elements of a Fokker DVII model is the lack of wire rigging in the wings.’
A heavily diluted mix of black/brown acrylic was airbrushed on the model to suggest accumulation of dirt and grime, especially on the tail areas.
Silver enamel was toned down with raw umber oil paint and painted onto high access areas to show chipped paint and wear.
it in place. Totally defeated – I ended up gluing the lines into the exit hole in the fuselage, and just put them through a copper loop in the upper wing, with no turnbuckle. The landing gear assembly was added as one of the final steps in construction, and the two lines of rigging went much more easily using etched metal turnbuckles from RB Productions, and EZ-Line threaded through homemade copper loops.
Weathering
Areas of cowlings, access panels, wheel covers and struts were treated to a wash of thinned oil paint using black and burnt umber. This enhanced the detail and also toned down the brightness of the finish. Chipped paint was added to cowling and fuselage details by painting small marks of silver enamel mixed with a touch of raw umber oil paint.
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The exhaust stack was painted dark grey and drybrushed with a metallic enamel mixture. Dry chalk pastel dust using a mix of orange, brown and black were brushed onto this to give a charred, stained look. The tires were painted dark grey and dirtied up by drybrushing on Humbrol Dark Earth enamel #29. To take down the highly glossy appearance of the model’s finish, a light coat of Vallejo Matt Medium 70.540 was airbrushed on various areas. This was thinned with tap water to a consistency of skim milk. Since the surface of these aircraft had a notable sheen, the matt coat was applied just enough to have a satin finish.
Adding a Figure for Display
To help display the model, I used a resin figure from Model Cellar Productions. The pilot figure from WWI German Two Seater Pilot & Observer MC32017 set
The underside of the fuselage and undercarriage fairing was painted light blue using Tamiya’s XF-2 White and XF-18 Medium Blue in a 10:1 mix.
was sculpted by Mike Good, and certainly was well detailed and highly realistic. The head was painted with oil colours, and the flight suit was airbrushed flat black and dark brown as a base. Vallejo acrylics were drybrushed on to the dark base, and a thinned coat of the same acrylic was applied over this to blend the shadows and colours.
Conclusion
I had eagerly looked forward to an opportunity to paint the Fokker streaked fabric using an oil painting technique. This project gave me that chance, and I’m happy with the way it turned out. As far as WWI biplanes go, this was a relatively easy build since there was little cable rigging involved. During the course of building the model, I was enjoying the experience so much I ordered another DVII, this time the OAW built version. •
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MODELSPEC Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII.
Kit No. 32011
Accessories Used: EZ Line Rigging Line Fine Charcoal RB Productions etched brass turnbuckles RB-P32023 Master AM-32-023 brass gun barrels, muzzles & jackets for Spandau LMG 08/15 Model Cellar Productions WWI German Pilot MC32014 Aviattic five colour lozenge decal (faded) for upper and lower surfaces for Fokker D.VII 32035 Tools and Materials Used: Choosing to deviate from the suggested colour guide, I interpreted wartime photos of this aircraft to have the outer wing struts painted in grey-green as opposed to red.
Tamiya Extra Fine Cement, Tamiya Basic Putty, Tamiya Grey Surface Primer spray can Loctite 404 instant adhesive Harder & Steenbeck Infinity CRplus Airbrush 10mm, 18mm, 40mm Tamiya Masking Tape 0.5mm brass rod Detailing Solder Micro drill set Paints and Finishing Products Used: Tamiya Acrylic paints as listed in the paint callouts. Winsor & Newton Oil Paint Series 1 554 Raw Umber, 331 Ivory Black, 074 Burnt Sienna, 447 Olive Green Vallejo Acrylic paints as listed in the paint callouts Testors enamel Silver, Gold, Copper Future floor acrylic (Johnson’s Pledge) Solvaset & Microsol Decal setting solutions Lacquer thinner Mineral Spirit thinner References:
The fabric texture of the Aviattic lozenge decals is evident in this close-up.
A resin pilot figure from Model Cellar was painted using acrylics for the flight suit and oils for the face and hands.
Wingnut Wings website, (www.wingnutwings.com) Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1 Part 1 Osprey Publishing, by Norman Franks and Greg VanWyngarden Von Richthofen’s Flying Circus, Albatros Productions Ltd, by Greg VanWyngarden Fokker D.VII Anthologies 1, 2 & 3, various authors, Albatros Publications Ltd. Availability: Wingnut Wings’ website www.wingnutwings.com
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HASEGAWA 1:72 MITSUBISHI KI-67 HIRYU ‘FLYING DRAGON’. • Kit No. CP19
FLYING DRAGON
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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Chris Wauchop adds Eduard photo-etched and scratch built detail to Hasegawa’s 1:72 scale Peggy.
I
n December 1939, the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company was commissioned to design a new heavy bomber to be based around the Ha-104 engine and to replace the IJA’s Type 97 Sally bomber. It was specified that this new design must improve on the performance of the earlier aircraft in all aspects. In December 1942 the first prototype was completed with all the Army’s requirements easily surpassed and a few extra improvements added. These included dive-bombing, low altitude operating capabilities and good protection for the fuel tanks. The aircraft also proved to be highly manoeuvrable, and it had a very respectable top speed of 537 km/h. Full production began in August 1944 but because of a long list of suggested additional equipment by the Army, it was not until October ’44 that the Ki-67 (codenamed ‘Peggy’ by the Allies) was first used in combat. These first combat missions were flown by the 7th and 98th Sentais, and by the IJN’s 762 Kokutai as torpedo bombers during the battle off the coast of Taiwan. Due to the devastating American air raids and a disastrous earthquake in December 1944, production was severely disrupted and no more than 698 Ki-67s were produced. During the last months of the war several Peggys were consigned to the kamikaze role.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction of Hasegawa’s kit was pretty straightforward with the only problem being that the diameter of the glazed nose was about 0.75mm larger than the fuselage. This slight misalignment only appeared at the top and bottom of the join and was rectified by gluing a strip of 0.5mm thick plastic card across the top of the fuselage nose and sanding it to shape. When the clear nose was glued in place there was still a very minor step at the bottom join but this was barely noticeable and could be lived with. This was a commission job and my client had provided the Eduard photo-etched detail set to be included in the build. I had forgotten how small and fiddly 1:72 photo etch was, but this set was basically all interior detail and the big glazed nose really needed it.
I did add a few scratch-built details and changes, which include the internal framework for the tail gunner’s position, struts on the open canopy hatches, hydraulic lines on the main undercarriage, all radar mast dipoles were replaced with 0.3mm brass wire and all machine gun muzzles were very carefully hollowed out using the tip of a new scalpel blade. The kit instructions specify that if the torpedo is to be installed the bomb bay doors are not to be used. After closer examination of all my photographic references I think that on most Ki-67s the bomb bay doors were installed closed, with each door having been cut down by half leaving a gap down the middle wide enough to accommodate the torpedo mounting brackets but not wide enough to compromise the aerodynamic integrity of the aircraft. That’s my theory anyway!
PAINTING
Ki-67s were painted in several colour variations depending upon which branch of the armed forces they were serving. The three colour photographs that I have seen show that the upper surfaces ranged from a light brown to an olive green to a dark IJN green. Because the colour balance in these pics is more than likely not absolutely accurate, I chose to paint my Hiryu brownish green (or is it greenish brown?) to match the kit’s beautiful Koike Shigeo box art. This colour was achieved by mixing about 40% Gunze Sangyo H81 Khaki plus 40% Gunze Sangyo H421 RLM81 Brown Violet and 20% Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown. Under surfaces were painted basic Japanese Navy grey and for this I used Gunze Sangyo H61 IJN Grey. Before either of these colours were applied the wings’ leading edge I.D. panels were sprayed yellow and masked off. The interior colour is a 50/50 mix of GunzeSangyo H58 Interior Green and H70 RLM Grey 02. I have a great contemporary colour shot of a G4M ‘Betty’ cockpit in its ‘original’ paint and I think this mix is a pretty good match for Mitsubishi interior green. Undercarriage legs, wheel hubs, engine cooling fans and the torpedo were all sprayed silver with Tamiya AS-12 Bare-Metal Silver straight from the aerosol can. These items were then weathered by over spraying with various
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: HASEGAWA 1:72 MITSUBISHI KI-67 HIRYU ‘FLYING DRAGON’. • Kit No. CP19
Cockpit interior painted and weathered.
The cockpit interior with Eduard photo-etched detail.
‘I think that on most Ki-67s the bomb bay doors were installed closed, with each door having been cut down by half leaving a gap down the middle.’ The instrument panel may be seen here. I used the kit decal for this.
This shot shows the area of the nose that needed to be beefed up slightly by the addition of a piece of thin, white plastic card.
Rear fuselage photo-etched detail in place and primed.
The photo-etched replacement floor for the interior of the glazed nose. This is only a small part of the detailed Eduard set intended for this area. Very fiddly, but I think very necessary for the overall look of the model.
Far Left: Plastic radar masts with their replacement dipoles cut from 0.3mm brass wire.
Left: This close-up of the tail gunner’s position shows the internal framework I added using .020 plastic rod from Evergreen.
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Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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MODELSPEC Hasegawa 1:72 Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryu ‘Flying Dragon’. Kit No. CP19 Materials Used: Eduard P/E Set 72 321 Ki-67 Hiryu/ Peggy 0.3mm brass wire H70 RLM Grey 02 H81 Khaki H421 RLM81 Brown Violet The internal framework may also be seen through the glazed nose.
Fine rivet detail added to the engine nacelles.
Tamiya Acrylics: XF-1 Flat Black XF-3 Yellow XF-57 Buff XF-59 Desert Yellow X-18 Semi Gloss Black AS-12 Bare Metal Silver References:
The timber torpedo tail guard has been carefully painted in a woodgrain finish.
The mid-fuselage featuring side blisters and the turret.
‘Ki-67s were painted in several colour variations depending upon which branch of the armed forces they were serving.’ Note that the bomb bay doors are shut with a section cut away along the whole length of the middle.
Undercarriage legs, wheel hubs, engine cooling fans and the torpedo were all sprayed silver with Tamiya AS-12 Bare-Metal Silver straight from the aerosol can.
ijaafphotos.com mission4today.com flicker.com/photos photobucket.com/images High level of detail; generally good fit; excellent surface textures. Poor fit of nose glazing; some more interior detail would be helpful. RATING: 8 out of 10 Hasegawa kits are available from Hannants www.hannants.co.uk and hobby retailers worldwide and online.
shades of black, brown and a mixture of both. The undercarriage legs and wheel hubs also received a very selective wash of Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss Black. The propeller blades were first sprayed yellow then carefully masked with thin strips of Tamiya masking tape and they, and the prop hubs were painted red brown using Tamiya XF-64. Once the paint was dry the tape was removed from both the props and the wing leading edges revealing the yellow markings.
WEATHERING
I chose to paint my Hiryu brownish green to match the kit’s beautiful Koike Shigeo box art.
With my Testor Aztek airbrush adjusted to its finest setting, all the weathering on this model was achieved by carefully spraying a very thin mix of Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Flat Black along panel lines including canopy frames, in and around any raised or angled panel detail and joins as well as very subtly along any paint demarcation lines. All this must be done very carefully with the paint mixed so thin that it is transparent, but can be built up to a solid dirty black where necessary. The lean exhaust stains as per reference photos were done using this method with the centre of each stain receiving a careful overspray of Tamiya XF-57 Buff. The break-away fins on the torpedo, after having a wood grain scribed on with the point of a scalpel blade, were painted XF-59 Desert Yellow and then shaded with the thin black/ brown mix. •
Aircraft Edition
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FLY’S BIG BLITZ – PART TWO
The Editor builds Kinetic’s new 1:48 scale Mirage IIIE as an RAAF IIIO, and offers some handy walk around reference.
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Tailpiece
LUCKY EIGHT
Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.VIII. Kit No. 8284 The Editor is impressed with the latest addition to Eduard’s superlative 1:48 scale Spitfire family.
T
he search for the ideal 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII / IX / XVI seemed something akin to the quest for the Holy Grail. Every time modellers got a whiff, that potentially perfect Spitfire rapidly receded into the mist. Eduard, however, came to the rescue in April 2013 with a magnificent kit of the late version Spitfire Mk.IX. This kit had it all - a high level of detail, excellent fit, lots of useful options and it was very accurate. Eduard followed up with a Royal Edition boxing that included parts for early version Mk.IXc, late version Mk.IXc and Mk.IXe as well as additional resin detail parts, extra photo-etched frets and bonus items.
Surface detail is subtle and crisp.
Eduard has now added a 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII, with this initial offering in its ProfiPACK series. The ProfiPACK series offers an affordable price for one complete kit plus photo-etched parts and die-cut masks.
Decals are superbly printed by Cartograf.
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Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII comprises 207 parts in grey coloured plastic, 17 parts in clear, colour photo-etched fret, self-adhesive die-cut masking sheet and markings for six aircraft. Compared to the earlier Mk.IX releases, this kit features an all-new wing and fuselage. No jigsaw inserts and hard-to-fill joins here! The new fuselage has the tail wheel opening and well moulded in place. It is also important to note that the wing is not the same as Eduard’s previous Mk.IX wings. This all-new wing accurately depicts the short ailerons, the filler ports and the leading-edge wet wing panel lines that were specific to the Mk.VIII. This is really nice attention to detail by Eduard.
The new wing is specific to the Mk.VIII. Note the new panel lines for the leading edge wing fuel tanks.
The late-style narrow gun bulges are moulded direct to the top wing halves, and the appropriate shell ejector ports are similarly moulded in place on the bottom of the wings. HF pointed wing tips are also supplied for the first time. The remaining plastic sprues are the same as the Mk.IX kits, so you’ll have some bonus early Spitfire IX parts for the spares box. In common with the earlier Eduard Spitfire releases, panel lines are very crisp, fine and even. Lines of rivets are present, but they are incredibly subtle. These are amongst the best surface detail I’ve seen on any model. Eduard combines plastic and colour photoetched parts in their ProfiPACK series, delivering a very high level of detail straight from the box. The cockpit benefits most from the photo-etch with a nice multi-layered instrument panel, coloured harness straps and scale-thickness pilot’s armour. Eduard has not attempted to colour the armour
Detail is enhanced with colour photo-etched parts.
plate, which I think is a good call considering the amount of interpretation that might be applicable to British Interior Grey Green! The 17 clear parts aren’t all used, but they do include different parts for open and closed canopies. The wheel wells and undercarriage parts are really well detailed. The wheel well openings are slightly oval in shape. This seems to correspond with the shape shown in the plans in Robert Bracken’s book, “Spitfire - The Canadians” (Volume One). The exhausts are the fishtail type. They are supplied in one piece for each side and the stacks are hollowed out at the end. New markings are supplied for six varied aircraft: Everything is in register on the Cartograf-printed sheet and colours look good. A second decal sheet supplies stencil markings.
CONCLUSION
Eduard’s Mk.IX kits were the best Spitfires in 1:48 scale upon their release, and they still are today. This new Spitfire Mk.VIII is equally good. It would have been easy to ignore some of the subtler differences between the Mk.IX and Mk.VIII, but Eduard has gone the whole nine yards with their brand new fuselage and wings depicting the unique attributes of this later variant. Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfires all boast a high degree of accuracy, superb surface textures, excellent detail and modeller-friendly parts breakdown. The option of a bunch of photo-etched and BRASSIN accessories, including an engine, specific Mk.VIII cockpit, fabric harness straps and “super” straps, will keep the super-detailers out there happy too. These Spitfires showcase Eduard at the very top of their game. I’m sure we all look forward to seeing this same superlative standard extend into their forthcoming releases. Highly Recommended. Thanks to Eduard for the sample www.eduard.cz •
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2015
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