Tamiya

1/48 DeHavilland Mosquito FB Mk.VI/NF Mk.II and British Light Utility Car 10HP

Kit Number: 89786

Reviewed by  Dave Koukol, IPMS# 46287

MSRP: $70.00 Website: www.tamiyausa.com Introduction Affectionately nicknamed The Wooden Wonder or Mossie by her crews, DeHavilland's DH.98 Mosquito was a remarkable fighter-bomber, photo reconnaissance platform, and night fighter during the Second World War. Constructed primarily of plywood and powered by a pair of Rolls Royce Merlin engines, the Mosquito was light, rugged, fast, and sported a relatively low radar cross section. Operating in the skies of Europe as a night fighter, the Mossie was extremely difficult to detect by Nazi radar, and her speed and arsenal of airborne firepower made easy prey of German aircraft approaching and departing their airfields. Mossies operating over the British Isles with top secret radar sets made easy pickings of Luftwaffe intruders. Tamiya recasts its 1998 offering of this legendary warrior with options and decals to construct any of six FB Mk. VI or NF Mk. II variants. Also included with the plane is a great little companion piece - a Light Utility Car, 10hp - and 3 standing figures. First Impressions As with any Tamiya kit, expectations for this one were pretty high. After being teased by the slick box art, with cameos of representive configuration and markings options on the side panels, I opened the box with great anticipation. I was immediately rewarded with a bevy of thin, crisply molded, gray, black, and clear sprues of parts; three sheets of decals and 5 sheets instructions and marking guides. Whoa…it was starting to look like serious work! Construction Mossie After the initial shock of the sheer volume of parts, markings, and instructions, I decided to wade in to the plane itself. I was tickled by the fact that Tamiya starts the modeler in the engine nacelles and wheel wells…not the cockpit (which doesn't hit the proverbial "radar screen" until Step 8). Landing gear and wheel well detail is nicely done. Main gear assemblies consist of 10 parts each, all perfectly molded with great fit, and are engineered to be removable for transportation of the kit. Moving inboard from the nacelles and wing assemblies, the modeler will find a well- appointed flight deck, nose gun bay, and bomb bay assembly. Options are included for either dry-brushing or decaling the instrument panel. Although instrument detail only consists of bezel rings and switches, it drybrushes nicely to give a convincing effect when viewed through the birdcage canopy. Pilot and radar operator seated figures are provided, but I chose not to use them, instead using the 3 standing figures provided with the utility car. Tamiya even includes a decal for the interior canopy framing - cool idea, but I realized it too late. The flight deck/bomb bay module also includes wing spars, which are valuable for quick, accurate, and persistent alignment and dihedral of the Mossie's sizable wings. The most tedious part of the entire build was masking the large birdcage canopy. Although Tamiya Tape is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modelers' World, it's still no substitute for a good mask set. I highly recommend that any modeler planning to build this kit pick up a set of Eduard's masks - I sure wish I had! As expected with Tamiya kits, detail and fit was exceptional. Only a little white putty and Mr. Surfacer 1000 were needed to fill and level fuselage, nacelle, and wing seams. A bit of extra attention was required for the blend lines of the wing trailing edges and engine nacelles. Utility Car Diminutive in size and part count compared the Mosquito, the little utility car screamed "build me" from the box. Wanting to broaden my horizons into modeling objects without wings, I eagerly dove into the utility car build once the Mossie was well under way. What a treat! The light gray styrene pieces all but fell together with a shake of the box. Options include canvas top with open or closed back flap and tailgate posable in either open or closed position. The only eyebrow-raising design feature was the engineering team's choice to mold the cargo/passenger bed in two pieces, leaving a seam running perpendicular to the floor board panels. A little Tamiya Liquid Cement (fast drying) worked into, along, and perpendicular to the seam - followed by a 600-grit sanding - dealt with the unwelcome seam in short order. Finishing/Decals Mossie Finishing the Mosquito accounted for nearly half of the overall build time of 30 hours, mainly in masking the hard demarcation lines for the camouflage and applying sludge washes. The aircraft was finished using Model Master Enamel RAF Dark Ocean Gray, Acryl RAF Dark Green, and Acryl Gloss Black. Model Master Acryl RAF Interior Green was used on the cockpit and bomb bay. Future was used to prep the surface to accept decals. Decals in the sample kit were sharp and in register, and responded fairly well to the Microscale System. Three applications of Micro Sol were needed to get some of the decals to conform fully to underlying detail. After sealing the decals with another shot of Future, an acrylic sludge wash was applied to accent panel line and fastener detail. Much to my surprise, after application of Model Master Acryl Flat to the upper surfaces, minor areas of silvering were noticed. Not sure if it was my technique or the decals, so "builders beware" to exercise extra attention to detail when inspecting your decals for silvering before applying top coats. Utility Car The utility car was painted with Tamiya Medium Blue and Khaki, and Future was used to provide a decal base. The handful of decals settled down well using the Microscale System, and were sealed with Future. An acrylic sludge wash made the fine details "pop," and Model Master Acryl Flat was used to knock down the sheen of the finish. Recommendation Tamiya's re-released Mosquito and their repackaged Light Utility Car make a great combination. Both kits are well-engineered and fall together nicely. Highly recommend this combo set for the advanced novice modeler and up. Thanks to Tamiya for providing the sample kit! Special acknowledgement to Mr. S. Rik Newman for teaching an aircraft schlub how to paint figures.