Monogram 1/48th Mosquito

Hi Pete, you having a warm new year? LoL. if you check out the airfix website there's a pic of a US mozzie in blue with a red tail www.airfix.com . i havn't built this kit either so i'll keep an eye on this thread. hope this helps. Greg

No ref photos on me , but I think if I remember correctly, one interesting scheme was a all blue recon? The book Flying Colors I think does profiles on the mosquito and one was this one. May have had two tone blues. One light underside and slightly darker top side. Please don't swear me to any of this, but I just remember seeing a blue scheme for one.

Ah yes, I do remember seeing the blue scheme, thanks guy's. I wanted something out of the ordinary. Now I just need to know if the kit's worth building or keeping as it is (& I know we've had the 'kit collector' discussion on here before!) I meant for a while until I get some aftermarket bits together, if I need them, that is. Though do I prefer to scratch build, I model on a budget, my family comes first.
Pete

Believe it or don't, the Monogram Mossie isn't that bad a kit, especially for the time. The fit is 'eh' in certain areas, particularly the engine nacelles. And if you wanna build a different variant that requires some cutting and splicing of alternate parts then you might have a bit of trouble, depending on your experience.

No, it's not Tamiya or Hasegawa. But it's decent; and a reminder of the good 'ole days when there was no resin brass or other fixins 'fer'yer plastic model kit and when we actually had to work to make most kits look decent when finished. Ah, the good 'ole days; when you HAD to buy more than one tube of Squadron Green during the course of a year!

We've become spoiled as modelers in the last 15 years or so...


Fade to Black...

QUOTE: Originally posted by blackwolfscd But it's decent; and a reminder of the good 'ole days when there was no resin brass or other fixins 'fer'yer plastic model kit and when we actually had to work to make most kits look decent when finished. Ah, the good 'ole days; when you HAD to buy more than one tube of Squadron Green during the course of a year! We've become spoiled as modelers in the last 15 years or so... Fade to Black...

I agree!!
I had a friend back in the mid to late '60s who had every variant of a number of Nazi aircraft, that he could find reference to. We both owned a 10 volume set of smallish black books by William Greene. I wish I could find a set of these books today!! They covered ALL nations. First 4 volumes were fighters. 5 & 6 were flying boats and float planes. Volumes 7 through 10 were bombers. Apparently the series was not completed as he was still on German bombers at the end of volume 10.
Anyway, as I was saying. He had all these variants and a very few kits to choose from. He would grab a chunk of balsa and start whittling until everything was just right. I could only wish to be as good as he was.

Randie

QUOTE: Originally posted by blackwolfscd if you wanna build a different variant that requires some cutting and splicing of alternate parts then you might have a bit of trouble, depending on your experience.

I built one way back in the day when I was like 12 or so. I didnt want a bomber version but the solid nosed version with all the cannon. That meant cutting and splicing. I did pretty good on it and that was way back then. In other words you should have no problem at all if you decide to cut a bit.

I have built this kit and had a few fit problems with it. One problem was the nose would no go on right and would leave a major gap and the other was that the glass would not fit at all. Needless to say i gave up on the kit and waiting for my Tamiya version to come in. You might not run into the problems i have but most likely you will since my friend try to build the same kit and gave up on it also.

Pete,

Happy New Year! I built this very kit about ten years ago and still have it on display. It was the very first kit I ever airbrushed using GOOD equipment! Anywho, it was a good kit that didn't give me any headaches. I even just now took a look at the canopy to check the fit and it looked good. Maybe the kit that Falcon039 had was a fluke but my canopy fit just fine. It could have also been that I was just having a good day that day. ha-ha-ha! You shouldn't have any major seams. I say have fun and enjoy the kit!

Eric

I built the Monogram 1/48 Mosquito way back in 1978. It was a very decent kit. The box art was just a the finishing photograph of the bird, therefore I don't know if mine is same as yours or had some modification. Anyway, it had a decent cockpit with two pilots figures, bomb bay with bombs and optional drop tanks and rockets. The bird had minor fitting problems. Putty is needed especially if you want to build the fighter/bomber version in which you need to cut the nose off and replace it with the guns/cannon nose. But still, it is a good kit, especially for $20. i think you got a good deal.

Gentlemen, thank you very much indeed for your input's, I now look forward to building my Mossie.
Blackwolf, I agree, I do think we're spoilt, I remember carving balsa, then applying talc & varnish to seal it! In fact the old Airfix magazine article I used the other week to convert a Westland Scout into a Wasp said to do just that! I must be a glutton for punishment, I've just started (by request) to hack up the Revell Gannet, I remember being disappointed by it when I built the Frog edition, oh so many years ago!
Chopperfan, I still have some of those William Greene books at home in the UK.
Pete

Hi Pete, i know i'm being a bit cheeky here but if possable please could you e-mail me a copy of that scout to wasp article?. i had heard that there was an article in a mag somewhere that covered this one but didn't know who did it. (had a scout waiting for me to have a go at it for ages) many thanks. Greg

Great old kit with multiple versions in one box. I built many of them in high school in the 70s. Wanna cry? It retailed for $1.50US back then, and my local hobby shop sold it for $1.30. Ah, those were the days.

Sure, Tamiya's kit is way more accurate and has engraved panel lines, but there aren't that MANY panel lines on a Mossy, so what the heck.

I agree with John P, I too built this ole kit a few times and hadn't had really fit problems, but the filler for the nose was used and I liked the multipul versions and you could detail this kit just like the Tamiya's and there are aftermarket kits for this kit too but it'll take a little more time over price, and I think it'll be more fun to boot too

I just saw that kit in Walgreens' for 14.99. Yes, it was the Monogram kit and had a 'souviner patch' in the box.

Here's the link to the USAF Museum's USAAF Recce Mosquito.
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap18.htm