Orlik 1:33 De Havilland Mosquito FB VI

[Erik Zwaan]

Hello everyone,
This is the first time I start a building thread, so it will be an adventure on its own. The other adventure is of course building the model of this remarkable aircraft. I have always liked the Mosquito, with its tall stabilizer and bullet shaped nose it looks a bit like a shark and the very forward position of the wings gives it somewhat of a clumsy appearance. A good reason to write this thread is to obligate myself to finish this one, hopefully before the year ends…
This type of aircraft was flown by wing commander Guy Gibson, after his successful raid on the German Ruhr dams in May 1943, and it was in this type of aircraft that Gibson was shot down over Holland in September 1944, and unfortunately he and his navigator perished in the crash. They were buried in the West-Brabant town of Steenbergen, near the crash site, and today still rest there. Recently it was revealed that his plane was mistakenly shot down by friendly fire, as the Lancaster gunner took the Mosquito for a Ju-87.
Since long the flying club of which I am a member has adopted Gibson’s Dambuster squadron and each year on May 4th, which is our national war remembrance day, a few aircraft of the club pay a low pass tribute to this talented pilot who only made it to the age of 26. A tribute to a hero, and in general a tribute to all the young lives lost during the liberation of my country in 1944/45.
So much for history and reflections. Back to the model. You don’t need to understand Polish to understand how to build it. Google Translate can be useful but sometimes gives very funny translations, which are even more puzzling.
The instruction drawings are clear but it’s not a beginner’s model. The print is a bit disappointing, at close range it looks like an impressionistic painting and the latest Orlik models are of much better quality (at least compared to the Hawker Hurricane Mk II, which also shows very realistic weathering, but this will be a future project).
All subparts of part 1 should be glued on 1mm thick cardboard and make up the inner structure of the cockpit. Well, not all parts, except for 1d, which I found out later. The First Mistake…., but it was not such a big deal. Everything fits well and it’s good for progress on just a single evening.
Hope you enjoy it and till next time.
Erik

[nighthawk78]

I will enjoy watching this thread.
NH78

[Erik Zwaan]

Thanks NH78!

[Longbow]

Looking good so far

[MacSongLi]

I will be following your thread Erik. Did you purchase a clear canopy for this as well?

Gary

[Erik Zwaan]

Hi there, back again with a small update. Continued with the lining of the cockpit floor and instrument panel. Thanks for your interest up so far and I hope you will continue to enjoy this.

Gary, as far as I know there is no canopy for this model. A template for the canopy is included in the kit and hopefully that will do the job. There are interesting techniques though for "frying canopies". Please refer to Ostoja's latest glider threads. It will definetely take some practise and time but the result should be great. I have not tried it yet myself as the process seems rather elaborate, especially making the mould. Hats off to the masters that possess those skills, I'm not so sure I'm one of them...

See you next time,
Erik

[jagolden01]

Nice progress. Looking good.

JoeG

[romanmodels]

good work so far

[YOAVHOZMI]

it looks a very good start, can't wait to see more.

YOAV

[OSTOJA]

Hi Erik.

Beautifull aircraft and here you have beautifull model: Forum Modelarskie - modelarstwo :: Zobacz temat - [G] DH Mosquito FB. VI - Orlik

Good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your recovery work:

According to the American:



and according to the Polish (keep thumbs):