This is Tamiya's first offering of the Mosquito and there are only two things you need to know about this kit. 1) You must get one, even if you're not a Mossie fan this kit is a definite must-have. 2) It's flawless, and I do mean flawless! I can think of nothing to say that can detract from it.
Construction started with the cockpit/bomb-bay/gun-bay section as all three of them are connected. All three sections are just loaded with detail and it took some time to assemble and paint. The gun-bay gives you the four machine guns and floor as well as the four associated ammo canisters. The rear bulkhead is actually the front bulkhead of the cockpit. The fuselage is molded in such as way that if you wish, you can open the access panels for the guns with minimal effort. The cockpit is very well detailed and complete. The pilots seat is a little gem with separate side supports with armrests molded on. The seatbelts are provided as decals. The instrument panel was a pleasure to paint and detail. You have to decide at this time which version you're going to build as the radar display and shroud are separate and have to be added if you're going to build the night-fighter version. Some pretty decent radio sets are provided with molded-on detail to fit on the back shelf of the cockpit and are very visible through the greenhouse-type canopy. Rudder pedals, control-stick, gear-lever, throttles, etc. are all provided as well as a pretty decent gun-sight. While the Mossie was a rather large aircraft for a fighter you realize after the cockpit is completed that there wasn't much in the way of wasted space. Moving on to the bomb-bay you're presented with another option choice, open or closed bomb-bay doors. I wanted mine open so I got down to painting and assembling this section and the finished result is well worth the effort. The roof of the bay has the main fuel tanks and straps molded on. The tanks are very well detailed and worth spending some time on. I know you can't see them when the model is displayed but they really add to the section. Next come the bomb racks and then the bombs. Also provided are the actuating arms for the doors. The rear bulkhead of the bomb-bay also has a fair amount of detail molded on. Next came the wing spars that sit on top of the bomb-bay roof . There are two spars and not only do they add some structural integrity but they ensure a perfect wing to fuselage fit. By the time all this is finished you're going to feel as if you've already assembled a kit in it's own right. I had the Verlinden cockpit detail set and had originally intended to use it but except for maybe the seatbelts I think the vast majority of us will be happy with the kit parts.
Now came one of my favorite parts of modeling, gluing the fuselage halves together. I always get a little rush doing this, I think it has something to do with watching a whole mess of little parts finally take shape. The gun/crew/bomb section, almost forty parts in all, fits into the fuselage like a glove, helped somewhat by the wing spars that protrude out the fuselage sides. The fuselage sides have even more cockpit detail molded onto them and also have ribs in order to align the various bulkheads to ensure everything fits as it should. After gluing in the tail wheel compartment, A26, I used Tenax to join the two halves and then gave the almost non-existent seam a light sanding and finally a polish with fine steel-wool.
The wings and engine nacelles were next. Again everything fit almost perfectly and almost no clean-up was required. Exhaust shrouds are provided and are used on two of the three marking options provided by Tamiya. You have to open up locating holes in the bottom of the wings, which ones depends on the stores you wish to hang. You have a choice between eight rockets or two 500lb. bombs. I thought the rack of rockets would look pretty cool, so that helped in making my decision. Two different wing tips are included. One with two lights and one with only one depending on which version you decide to go with. You also have two different propellers to choose from, again depending on which version you go with. The completed wings, sans props, were then attached to the fuselage and after letting the Tenax set for a few minutes, all the clean-up required was a quick scrub with the steel-wool. The tailplanes are in two halves and the fit was just as good as the wings. The bomb-bay doors are molded as one piece and if you've chosen to display them open, some minor surgery is required. The front section has the cannon ports molded into it and fits nicely into the completed fuselage. The rear section has to be cut apart and cleaned up, but this didn't present any problems. The cannon barrels fit snugly onto part G7 which in turn fit nicely into the forward fuselage. I drilled out the barrels on both the cannon and machine guns, using a new blade on the guns and a pin-vise on the cannons.
The undercarriage came next and is very well done, but took a bit of fiddling to get all the parts lined up. The completed legs look very accurate and a nice touch was the reservoir tank that fits near the top of the assembly. I substituted True-Detail wheels for the kit ones. However, the kit-supplied wheels are quite well done with pretty decent tread. It was just that I liked the slightly bulged look of the after-market set.
My canopy had a crack in it (OK, so the kit had one flaw) so I just took another from my other Mossie and replaced that later with a Squadron vacuformed one. Tamiya, bless them, give you decals for the interior canopy framing and these went on without a hitch after cleaning up and them dipping the canopy in Future floor wax. Tamiya also provide you with the crew-access door as well as giving you a ladder. The door has some pretty nice detail molded on the inside. I think the open door and ladder effect lends a nice touch to an already fine looking model. For those building the night-fighter version, antennae for the nose and underwing are provided.
Markings are provided for three aircraft, two FB. MkVI , one each from 487 and 143 RAF squadron, and one NF. Mk II from 157 RAF squadron. I had purchased Aeromaster sheet 48-427 Mosquito Raiders in order to do "Lady Luck" from 418 RCAF squadron but they were impossible to work with. I had used their decals before and they were wonderful and couldn't understand why these were so difficult. They simply would not snuggle down into the panel lines or over any kind of protrusion. In the end I simply stripped them off in disgust and went with the kit markings. I have since learned that Aeromaster had switched printers somewhere around sheet #400 and that many modelers had disappointing experiences with the newer sheets. Well-known modeler Tom Cleaver posted the process he uses on Hyperscale one day, but after reading it, I decided I'll stick to their earlier releases and other manufacturers.
I painted the model in the standard RAF day-fighter scheme of dark green upper camo and overall medium sea grey. I used Testor's ModelMaster enamels. Tamiya's other options are an overall grey FB. Mk. VI with yellow props with a grey stripe and an overall black FB. Mk. II. I highly recommend this kit to anyone willing to spend the bucks on it. You won't be disappointed.