1/72 Airfix Mosquito
This build is of an initial boxing of the old 1972 Airfix Mosquito that I picked up on a sale table. There's a far better 2021 new tool Airfix but this is my first Mossie so thought I'd start with an easy one. I decided to finish it as night pathfinder B.XVI of 109 Sqn in 1944, which I decided was my favorite subject of the airplane.
The Subject
ML957 / HS-D was a B.XVI Mosquito assigned to 109 Squadron in 1944. A development of the B.IX, the XVI was unarmed, and optimized for high altitude operations, as well as a truly insane bomb load for the plane that started out only able to carry 1,000 of bombs. The standard XVI could carry 3,000 lbs, but almost all had additional modifications to allow it to carry the 4,000 lb "Cookie" blockbuster bomb.
HS-D operated as a night pathfinder for RAF bombing raids, marking targets with flares and incendiaries. It was damaged during a raid on Essen on April 8, 1944, and while it made it back to crash land at RAF Bradwell Bay, leaving the two Canadian air crew safe, the aircraft was a write-off.
The Kit
A 1972 Airfix kit is about what you would expect - primitive and lacking in detail - more of a toy than a modern scale model. Because the kit decals were useless after so long I got an aftermarket Blackbird Models 722026 decals after I decided on the subject. Picking a subject was actually difficult because the Mosquito saw service in so many roles, there wasn't a single best choice. But I didn't like the daytime camo schemes.
The kit had all the parts except for one set of engine exhausts. I lost one of the characteristic X-braces for the landing gear so I scratched one up from rod and sheet plastic. I also had to replace the main gear axles - for some reason they were missing from the parts.
The Build
Unfortunately, during the two-day build I discovered a few things. First, the kit was for the II, VII and XVIII. XVI was less than XVIII so I thought I was safe, right? And Internet photo of other aircraft of 109 Sqn showed a solid nose, so I thought I could build HS/D from the 1972 kit. Wrong.
As luck would have it, HS/D of 109 Sqn is one of the two options for the 2021 Airfix new mold. So while the online instructions for the new kit provided a useful fact check for my painting, it also made clear that the 1972 kit couldn't accurately stand in for the HS/D. The engine configuration was not right - which is a minor point - but HS/D had a glass nose.
So - realizing that it would be idiotic to fixate on accuracy or quality on an old kit when an infinitely better version is sitting on my local hobby shop shelves (I saw one Wednesday) I just approximated the glass with paint and finished the model up as a two-day build that was my introduction to the Mossie.
As with my recent Fairey Battle, I'm using these old Airfix RAF kits as an opportunity to do handheld airbrush camouflage schemes just for experience with my new airbrush. If I get the new-tool kit I will certainly mask the panels.
As I have said many times, the part I enjoy the most about scale modeling isn't the actual modeling - it's researching a topic, selecting a subject, and accurizing a kit to that subject. When I start planning this build I knew nothing about the Mosquito. I still don't know much, but I know enough to appreciate the plane a little better. And I might now have enough of an interest to replace my HS/D with the new-tool one. It looks very complicated - in fact very similar to the Airfix B-25 I recently built. But I might want to go down that road and get a better representation of such an interesting subject.
Beautiful looking Mosquito, Michael @mcsmith1964
I agree on the research part, during my recent Mosquito build, I learned a lot about tihs aircraft and its pilot, Guy Gibson.
Guy Gibson was a Mosquito pilot too?
@mcsmith1964, yes he was. After his Dambuster operation. Unfortunately he crashed in this aircraft in Steenbergen, the Netherlands. Together with his navigator they are buried there.
John when you say this aircraft you mean this type of aircraft ( Mosquito) and not this exact aircraft, right ?
Do you happen to have exact details of Gibsons last aircraft ? Subtype Mossie + Code + serial number
Very nice!
Excellent result from the elderly Airfix kit, Michael!
Excellent article as well!
good looking build - old kits still are a lot of fun to put together - usually not as full of "fiddley" stuff and over-engineering!
I agree - for some kits I prefer the old versions just to get it built and learn about the plane. I might eventually build the new-tool version, but I already have most of what I want - a decent build on the shelf.
Nice work on this, Michael. The new tool Mk. XVI kits build up beautifully. I did the PR version last year and plan to do the pathfinder B.XVI soon.