HK Models 1/32 scale D. H. Mosquito

[BarryW]

I have some progress. The cockpit is complete and it slid into the nose quite smoothly. The fit is spot on and it is important not to force it, if there is resistance then slide it out and reposition it.  The engineering really is outstanding.  











i have also been working on the tail and agin the fit is perfect. 





I have been cleaning up the frame and transparencies for the cockpit windows. I am impressed by the test fits. 





 I will paint the frame then fit the transparencies, mask them ready to take paint. 


A few shots of the nose all done  











There is a spot of tidying up to do on the nose and a spot more detailing.  

[papa 695]

Very nice work so far Barry 

[Guest]

the cockpit framing looks to be a little more involved task, but this is looking great so far


John

[BarryW]

I might get a chance to do a bit more Friday evening but its unlikely and even if i do then I wont have a chance to post.  Off to Keswick in the Lake District for a week, good pub food and real ales while the missus does some walking...


So, sorry no updates for a while....

[BarryW]

Well I am back from holiday but not had a lot of time on the bench.  I should be able to post some progress pictures by Friday and hopefully will have the cockpit and tail assemblies finished.


I have to say that the fit is simply superb, as good as Tamiyas best, with very tight tolerances, something you need to be careful about.


I have been cleaning off some of the overspray you can see on the pics with ipa so you will see it looking somewhat neater!!


This is one of the most enjoyable builds I have done....  I thoroughly recommend this kit and, personally, I am looking foreward to building more HK Models kits.  They B25 maybe is due course and I might even indulge in that 1/32 Lancaster.....  if the missus agrees to me drilling a hole in the wall to fit a display bracket!

[stona]

It seems that many of these less mainstream manufacturers are really upping their games. Your positive comments on the 'Mossie' could also apply to my current Tempest from Special Hobby....at least so far.


This can only be a good thing for those of us who like large scale planes. There has never been so much available and of such good quality, and they say the hobby is dying


I'm looking forward to more progress, it does look like a very nice Mosquito, and who doesn't love the old 'wooden wonder'?


Cheers


Steve

[Guest]

It seems that many of these less mainstream manufacturers are really upping their games. Your positive comments on the 'Mossie' could also apply to my current Tempest from Special Hobby....at least so far.


This can only be a good thing for those of us who like large scale planes. There has never been so much available and of such good quality, and they say the hobby is dying


I'm looking forward to more progress, it does look like a very nice Mosquito, and who doesn't love the old 'wooden wonder'?


Cheers


Steve

Dying? Certainly amongst younger modellers, but I have seen a massive spike in adult modellers. This seems to be a hobby for adults, than younger people nowadays. 

[BarryW]

I have to agree that its not dying at all, it has simply morphed from something children did for fun to an adult hobby.  The great thing is that those taking it up have some cash in their pockets and therefore it is sparking a golden age of real quality kits and materials.  Its wrong as well, I think, to just think of the hobby as the 1960's and 70's young builders returning to it.  You see on-line many, many people in their 20's and 30's involved.  In our global economy and with the ease with which we can source kits and materials from all over the world the size of the market is huge.  Airfix in the 60's, the heyay when all us youngsters bought and built kits, could never have seen a market as big as we have now.   I never thought there could be a 1/32 Lancaster or B17 - who knows one day maybe even a 1/32 Sunderland.  I would not put that past HKM!


One thing  Steve, I would not call HKM 'less mainstream', though they do specialise in larger 1/32 scale aircraft (but have plans for 1/48 as well...)  Their kits are certainly not 'short run' like Special Hobby but are much closer in design and engineering to the Tamiyas and Trumpeters while being superior to Airfix and Revell.

[stona]

Dying? Certainly amongst younger modellers, but I have seen a massive spike in adult modellers. This seems to be a hobby for adults, than younger people nowadays. 

When these kits cost £50+ it's not difficult to see why younger people don't even consider the hobby, also they have better things to do with their time (as far as they're concerned  ).


When I first started a 1/72 Airfix kit was just about in the range of a week's pocket money, I might have had to blag a bob of my grandad to be sure.


The range of kits available now, particularly larger scales, is the best it's ever been.


Cheers


Steve

[stona]

Barry, the molding of the Special Hobby Tempest is at least as good as any of the mass production kits from Trumpeter, Tamiya, Hasegawa or anyone else. It doesn't look or feel like an old fashioned limited run kit. Even the parts on the sprues are numbered! In terms of production numbers I'd be surprised if HK produce anywhere near the numbers of the aforementioned, but it obviously doesn't mean that the plastic is not of a comparable quality. It has to be down to modern design, cutting and molding techniques and technology. Some of the other specialist kit producers should be wary of this competition.


The Fly Hurricane kit was a very nice kit and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a really good looking Hurricane, but, and it is a big but, it had nothing like the amount of plastic in the box as the Special Hobby Tempest, internal detail was significantly less, and yet the prices are comparable.


You could argue the same for the resin kits from Iconicair, but that would be grossly unfair. Iconicair is more or less a one man band offering a few rare and exotic subjects in resin and for that you pay a price. I understand that this won't be for everyone, just making a resin kit will scare many, but for me the price is worth paying.


I would compare the Special Hobby kit to one of the Eduard 'Profi Packs' in which you get all the bells and whistles included, nice resin, PE and in the case of the Tempest even a harness from HGW.


We seem to have hijacked your thread somewhat, sorry for that.


Cheers


Steve

[BarryW]

No probs Steve, its an interesting discussion.  Interesting what you said about the Tempest.  I have been very unimpressed by previous Special Hobby kits I have had that had all the issues you found with the Fly Hurricane.  Are you suggesting the Tempest does not have the same kind of issues?   If thats the case I might give one a try.

[stona]

Better wait until I attempt to put some of the big bits together!


Certainly at first look it seems very well engineered. I've tried a few things as a dry fit, like upper and lower wings, and everything seemed to line up perfectly. There are a few typical issues, in the cockpit there are one or two parts with miniscule attachments, I'm hoping they#ll stay attached!


Cheers


Steve

[BarryW]

I managed to get a bit of unexpected bench time last night so a few progress shots.


I have been putting together the canopy.  Fit is perfect, picture below shows the first two panels in place on the inner framework.  I will be gluing the canopy to the fuselage before fitting the last three panels.





Here Is a dry fit of the canopy to the fuselage





i have also been working on the tail wheel assembly. Here it is drying, I will have some weathering to do on this next.  





There needs to be a spot of filler on the tail/fuse join.  Thats it for now.

[BarryW]

Just getting short periods at the bench so just a little more progress.


The canopy is fitted and glued in with Gator Glue.  Fortunately Gator glue dries clear so where the glue is showing white, it will look a lot better when it has fully dried and cured off.





Tonight I will mask it up, along with other tranparencies with Eduard paint masks.  The fit was perfect.


I will soon need to fit the forward to rear fuselage and I am concerned at the strength of the bond we will have.  A small location pin broke off when test fitting, it was very small and vulnerable.  I have therefore glued some thin plastic card into place which will help the fitting of the two halves together while giving a much stronger bond.





Tonight I will do some washes and dry brushing on the tail wheel area, apply masks and if time glue the fuse parts together.

[rickoshea52]

When these kits cost £50+ it's not difficult to see why younger people don't even consider the hobby, also they have better things to do with their time (as far as they're concerned  

I'm not sure the price of kits puts younger people off the hobby, there are plenty of cheap entry level models around, a position in the market that I think Airfix occupies. Maybe kids do have better things to do with their time but as an example, how much does a games console cost and each new game that is released to go with it. 


One of the reasons might be that today's society wants it and they want it now, building plastic models or even dabbling in model railways is a hobby that produces results over a longer period of time, maybe we have become too impatient - I know I am!


Back to Barry's build though, very interesting to follow.