Matchbox PK-116 Mk IX/NF30. The "Poor man's" Mosquito in 1/72

[wappynutter]

Looking good Andy will dabbing white tack on the areas not shift the residue? If not you get some very fine grit sandpaper and just give it a rub other than that I can't think at the mo.

Hey Nige, thanks for the reply bud, Sorry I only just noticed it and yeah think i sorted the marks..
I tried to use thinner to remove with a wet q-tip etc... but it didn't help so I just made up a real thinned mix of the grey ( about 70/30 mix ) and using a soft flat brush carefully applied a coat cutting around the green camo pattern as close as i dare...
It worked.... well enough to lose most of the residue marks....









See no residue shine!... Yay!...

..... and I never got to do my Friday morning spray session this week as the Wife's shopping trip was way early meaning she was back before lunch.
So... Well I made a display base instead to place the (When finished) build on..
Nothing fancy just a dried out rough grass patch to park the Mossie on...
Using a couple of hardboard circles, some garden soil, white glue and scatter, I built this base..
I sealed the smaller disk with neat PVA so i could slap some mud mix on... Build pics Guys...





















Two coats of dark stain then a gloss varnish around the edge of the larger disk...







Stained the edge of the smaller one...





Once dry I test fit the two circles. They are not glued as of yet but will be once I am fully satisfied with them.











.... and that's my update for this week guys..
Not much Mossie related as such but apart from the black camo, gloss coat, decals, seal decals, wash and weather and finalise the little bits she's done..
Doesn't sound like much but i need the time to mask then spray so i don't end up with a residue problem again.
Until the next update take care guys, Happy Modelling..

[Nige201980]

Glad you sorted it Andy. Great work on the turf mate

[wappynutter]

Glad you sorted it Andy. Great work on the turf mate

Thanks Nige, much appreciated mate...
Best get my finger out, 4 weeks to go..
Take care bud..

[Twokidsnosleep]

Completing the model with an appropriate base will really give the model a finished touch
Really like the shadow line the double disks give.
You did a fantastic job on the turf, wondering what you used for grass???


I have used microwaved wood shavings/sawdust white glue mixture painted with acrylic green to get the grass look.
That way you can filter different sized wood chips for different effects

[wappynutter]

Completing the model with an appropriate base will really give the model a finished touch
Really like the shadow line the double disks give.
You did a fantastic job on the turf, wondering what you used for grass???


I have used microwaved wood shavings/sawdust white glue mixture painted with acrylic green to get the grass look.
That way you can filter different sized wood chips for different effects

Hey Scott, thanks again for dropping by mate.
I have seen the guy out in Oz create the woodshavings/sawdust scatter to great effect...
My mix is a little less exotic...
I take this..



Rough pasture scenic scatter.

Some of this...



2mm Autumn mix static grass.

and a little pinch of good old...



Household mixed herbs..

The finish can be pretty rough so I use my tweezers to remove the big chunks before fixing..
Talking of which, I fixed the base disks together today..





Then tried a simple layout just to give an idea for you guys....











What do you think??
That's it for now guys... More soon.
Stay safe and well, Happy Modelling..

[Coen]

Clever boy
There really is nothing safe is there Andy? Haha. All can be sacrificed on th alter of the build.

Stay out of my garage.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Now I am glad I asked about the base
The addition of your grass fiber stuff is what makes it look much better than my clunky sawdust.



So I will add the fibres the next time

[wappynutter]

Clever boy
There really is nothing safe is there Andy? Haha. All can be sacrificed on th alter of the build.

Stay out of my garage.

LOL..... Understood..... The garage is a No No..... hahaha....

Thanks for the ego boosting comments as always Mike, Greatly appreciated..
I am sadly still only a Padawan.... my bench time is so little that as you others grow and improve in leaps and bounds, I have barely learnt how to work the Airbrush..
The brother in law is a better modeller than I now... he has loads of bench time.... and gets on the hangouts too!.. Lucky sod...
I will finish this build though... I promised i would..
Take care mate, when i get to Nova Scotia I'll let you know!... Lock all your doors now!.. lol...

Now I am glad I asked about the base
The addition of your grass fiber stuff is what makes it look much better than my clunky sawdust.



So I will add the fibres the next time

Excellent Scott...
Looking forward to seeing you add some different materials around a certain swamp soon...
You done demolishing your house yet??
Hoping the real world is going good for you mate, i remember you saying the hobby time was limited while home improvements etc.. were happening or something to that effect..
Take care dude...

Talking of hobby time...
I'm hoping on grabbing an hour with the airbrush tomorrow.. Fingers crossed...
Look, i even grabbed some masking time today..













Wish me luck on a visit from the painting Fairy tomorrow..
Until i got some paint on and something worth showing I'll stop spamming my thread with hit and miss progress..
Take care Guys... Happy Modelling..

[wappynutter]

The black paint is down.....
Just needs an overspray clean up/ touch up then gloss and decals time...
Happy Days!....
More soon guys..

[wappynutter]

Well..... the painting fairy has been and done not one.. but two visits since the last update.
She needs only to come back one more time to finish this build off.. Yay!!..

Last post saw her all masked up ready. Here is what happened when "Painting Friday" came around...

This is gonna be a long... boring picture filled post guys.. Sorry...













So Black is down.... I chose to not go the various grey/black route as many do to avoid a flat black finish.. I only get so long at the spraying time..
Instead i will try and add tonal variation with washes and oils... we'll see how that goes.. LOL...

Unmasking to see just how bad the spray is...















So.. a little seepage under the tapes but nothing too drastic.. Cleaned up/touched up then added a couple of coats of Johnsons Klear to seal.
Never used Klear before in this manner so will see how the decalling goes..





Started painting up all the little bits and bobs i have yet to attach to the Mossie...















... and we best paint up a co-pilot/navigator/bomb commander for the mossie pilot to keep him company up there...











He just needs a dark wash and flat coating to finish... I want him to be just a detail on the finished display so wont create no show stopping figure here... Not that i even could, in 1/72..... lol..

So this is the plane i want to represent... ML913 flying out of Marham in 1943.



Last time we seen the decals they looked like this...



This was at the beginning of the project...... real poor.. Nearly 40 years old... in a bad way....

Well. I removed the #stuck to the decals# tracing/protective paper and sat them in the sunshine in a window ever since..

Here they are ready.... still in a bad way but i am gonna use them and see how it goes...







Klear has dried nice but i am still unhappy as i think it is still a little rough for a gloss finish. May just be my airbrushing skills.. or lack of that gives a rough finish.. lol..















Glossed ready for washing too!...







Getting ready....



I did notice that they are slightly out of register, the red print has a 3d effect with a white edge.. Hmmm... still using them..



Well the roundels are on at least...



register is just out here..



Fine on this one...



But... Whoa.... PITA decals.... covered in dried glue residue and difficult to get to stay where they need to be..
Micro set and Micro sol to the rescue..



















These final decals were the worse.. Starboard side was the worst as it had to conform to the moulded rail piece on the side..











..and i got them pretty square....











After working these like mad you can see the damage on the letter B as it conforms to the raised rail missing the red colour and a scratch back to the grey primer in the black paint..



A quick touch up with some paint... followed by a coat of Klear to blend in and all is well again...







So while i was waiting for it all to dry, i built a ladder for the access hatch. A little over scale but it will do i think..















Finally, this morning i decided to clear coat with my usual Auto clear lacquer spray and leave to dry before attempting some weathering..
Anybody have an idea of what colours i can use to wash this night bomber in to pick out the details??







So that's your lot for this post.. Sorry its a long winded, progress filled post, but i am trying to wrap this up before the deadline... 1st November is coming round fast fella's..
Until the final update..... keep Modelling.. keep having fun, stay safe and well Guys..

[Twokidsnosleep]

I love it, marvellous job....who says you are a one trick pony Star Wars only nut
Will use that sunshine trick on some Lotus F1 decals, good to see it works
For really nasty thick decals or ones that just won't sit down and conform, I have used a drop of Tamiya X20 thinner on top. The decal goes all wrinkly and you freak out a bit, but then settles down into the panel lines and around details as the thinner evaporates. Works well.
Nice job mate!!!

[ManCupboardModels]

Just read through the entire thread Andy mate, and WHOA!!! Awesome stuff mate!! The scratch building is simply fantastic for this scale bud, totally blew me away Was a pleasure to read through and see this little bird come to life. I salute you Sir!!

[Nige201980]

She is looking great mate really cracking job. As for colours top just a normal wash for the panel lines and other weathering. On the black use a light colour like Ultimate concrete or similar and greys/whites for other weathering.

[wappynutter]

I love it, marvellous job....who says you are a one trick pony Star Wars only nut
Will use that sunshine trick on some Lotus F1 decals, good to see it works
For really nasty thick decals or ones that just won't sit down and conform, I have used a drop of Tamiya X20 thinner on top. The decal goes all wrinkly and you freak out a bit, but then settles down into the panel lines and around details as the thinner evaporates. Works well.
Nice job mate!!!

Ha... Thanks Scott... Still not quite sure on this winged thingy building but will give it a go....
Wow...X20 to settle the decals!..
I'm betting you was on edge the whole time with that technique...
Thanks again mate..

Just read through the entire thread Andy mate, and WHOA!!! Awesome stuff mate!! The scratch building is simply fantastic for this scale bud, totally blew me away Was a pleasure to read through and see this little bird come to life. I salute you Sir!!

Thanks Karl, greatly appreciated mate. I'm no expert at these aero-things but keep plodding on with it.
Glad you enjoyed reading the whole thread, i enjoy flicking back and checking it all still looks right.. lol.. Sometimes i even amaze myself with what and how i do things.. especially when they work!.. lol..
Hope your keeping well mate, all the best..

She is looking great mate really cracking job. As for colours top just a normal wash for the panel lines and other weathering. On the black use a light colour like Ultimate concrete or similar and greys/whites for other weathering.

Cheers Nige, thats exactly what i was thinking.... Gonna mix up a slightly darker grey with the Concrete and dark dirt and go from there i think...
Thanks again mate..


.. and while i am here, i decided to build up the rubbish landing gear and get a better gloss coat on before i weather...

Uncovered the landing gear to check on any damage and paint seepage..









Well, just a little touch up...



Added hinges to the landing bay doors...



My old ladder was way too big and bulky so i broke it up and cut up some real thin styrene bits... Even painted it up Aluminium.












Rebuilding begins...



















Lol.... The entire landing gear is a pile of garbage really but i have done what i can with it.. Next is re-gluing the mudguards back on...
Need to create a support jig to hold them while i CA glue them..

Coffee stirrer time... trimmed and propped in there..









Finally, once all touching up and glue was dry i took the build out into the bright 12C Autumn sunshine and gave a good gloss coat top and bottom...









Well... that turned into a longer post than expected. Sorry guys...
Anyway, you are all up to date with the build... Gonna get some washes etc.. on then flat coat it on "Painting Friday" all being well..
Take care guys... Until the next post.. Happy Modelling...

[Nige201980]

She is looking great mate you did a great job on the landing gear mate they look great mate.

[wappynutter]

She is looking great mate you did a great job on the landing gear mate they look great mate.

Thanks Nige, for a near 40 year old kit i should be grateful it was even all still in the box..
Unfortunately I nearly killed the entire build with the weathering, and even now I ain't really happy with the thing..
I'm a unskilled buffoon... Aero-things are a law unto themselves weathering wise....
Thanks again bud...


So here... for you guys is the final update of the build. I will share some final reveals next week once i have assembled the display and taken some pictures.

#Lots of final update pictures incoming Guys...Sorry#
So... weathering.... I officially suck at weathering wingy things...

Using the Ultimate product first i totally go overkill and spend hours recovering, leaving just enough to look the part..







Top too..... Possibly a bad idea...





It took an age to get it back to just a light "in the recesses" coating.... Then i blasted a wash of oils... Again a BAD idea...
The white spirit in the oil wash wouldn't just wipe off the heavy gloss i applied. I'm thinking the Oils stained into the solvent based Auto lacquer.
Had to wash with neat White spirit and use a cloth etc.. to wipe off the access in the directional method and add oil streaks as i washed...





Ultimate just enough in the recesses...









Added a thin off white oil wash and streaked it a little...















Cleaned back just a little more...





My co-pilot got his wash and flat coat...





and i didn't forget the door..





Flat coat applied...























About time i took off the tapes to see what damage is done under them...









Can see a pilot doing last minute flight checks....


Tapes are off....













Look.... he is in there...









So i also decided to add some dirt spray to the tyres and mudguards on the landing gear..









Attached the hatch in position...



















Not too bad for a completely scratch built addition i don't think....
Gonna also add the Antenna wire from the mast to the tail.... Real thin copper wire..











So just gotta trim the excess, touch up on a couple of spots, glue to the base, add the co-pilot and ladder and get some finished photo's.
As always, thanks for taking a look guys.. Sorry i didn't do better but i tried my best with what i had to hand.
Maybe with a little more practice i will get it right....
Until then.... Look out for the final reveal, wish me luck with the Star Wars build, and look after yourselves...
All the best... Happy Modelling...

[Twokidsnosleep]

Killer build and weathering
What are those belly wires.......did I miss something there????

[Nige201980]

Andy she looks stunning bud the weathering is spot on mate remember these girls would fly in all weathers and would have been flying at low level 100ft or there abouts plus when attacking a target they would have been line astern at about 15/20 second intervals so would be flying through the previous bombs smoke and quite a lot of Ak-ak would have been fire at them if the were attacking Rhine airfield the best defended airfield in Germany. So if anything it could be more dirty or damaged. You have done a brilliant job on and older kit she looks brilliant mate.

[wappynutter]

Killer build and weathering
What are those belly wires.......did I miss something there????

Hey Scott.... Belly wires??.... Ahh.. ... These..



Its only a bung to stop paint going in the cockpit.. I attached a wire in case i struggled to free it..



Hope all is well at the demolition site.. I guess you'll be spending Christmas in rented or a motel or caravan on site?
Keep safe and well bud, thanks again for the positive regular comments, greatly appreciated.
All the best..

Andy she looks stunning bud the weathering is spot on mate remember these girls would fly in all weathers and would have been flying at low level 100ft or there abouts plus when attacking a target they would have been line astern at about 15/20 second intervals so would be flying through the previous bombs smoke and quite a lot of Ak-ak would have been fire at them if the were attacking Rhine airfield the best defended airfield in Germany. So if anything it could be more dirty or damaged. You have done a brilliant job on and older kit she looks brilliant mate.

Thanks Nige for such positive comments bud, really appreciate the ego boost with this old kit.
I sometime forget that she is a small, old tech kit from way back. Adding the cockpit and extras like the hatch and ladder as per you guys bigger more detailed builds. A display of sorts may be this kits saving glory.... lol...
Thanks again mate, i'll get some final reveals up before the deadline, keep your eye open for them.
All the best...


Here we are, final touch ups and a lone Co-Pilot going where??... lol..











Thanks again guys for following along..
More soon..