De Havilland Mosquito

[sequoiaranger]

I'm going to do an "Ultimate Mosquito" one of these days. I am intrigued by the "torpedo-bomber" aspect of the "Highball" bouncing bomb, and am going to incorporate that into my "what-if" carrier-capable Sea Mosquito. I am going to take a good 1/72 Mossie kit, add "Spiteful" engines with five-bladed props, hinge the wings, bulge the bombbay, and put in the twin-Highball aftermarket resin set I acquired twenty years ago. I had thought of a low-profile rear-facing gun turret (also mocked-up by DeHavilland) but have rejected it. I really like the look of the "bomber" version with v-shaped windshield, but most likely such a low-level "torpedo-bomber" would have the "fighter" windscreen for better visibility directly out in front. Since this plane would be aiming off to one side or another of a moving ship, maybe the angled windscreen would be better after all.  I also really like the glass nose better than the solid bulge, but I would presume that a radar set would be better for night attacks. Dunno. It's still in the planning stage.

[sequoiaranger]

Hey Gooberlib! I just saw your 4-engined mossie drawing and wanted to tell you I have "already built one". The backstory is that Gloster of Canada was making Mossie fuselages to some sabotaged plans that made the finished product three times the size! Not wanting to "waste" production, the fuselages were mated to Lancaster wings, and some defensive armament incorporated into the oversized fuselage. It's the "Gloster Goatsucker" (Goatsucker is a whip-poor-will bird in Britspeak). I love the fitting look of four Merlins. Whaddya think?

[kitnut617]

I would have used the Vickers Winsor wings  wicked build though, and yes more pics please.

[gooberliberation]

Very very cool

It has a very B-17esque vibe to it.

[sequoiaranger]

The model is 1/72. I used a 1/48 Monogram Mossie kit (had never noticed the slightly slab-sided fuselage of the "incorrect" Monogram model until last week when it was pointed out by a Mossie modeler) for the fuselage, tail, and landing gear. A nice new-Airfix Lanc in 1/72 provided the wings, cockpit detail, and "Dambuster" bomb--this time for use flying from Singapore against Japanese battleships (hence "Danger Down Under" for the ordnance and the Aussie crew). The top turret is from a Monogram Snap-tite Marauder (VERY nice, by the way, and the only early-model B-26 around), the side gun positions came from some B-25.

Here is the same angle look but from farther away--the only other pic I have of it. I have won several awards in local model contests with it. Despite the designated scale of 1/72, I always have to put my stuff in "miscellaneous" because they are not "real" aircraft.

Craig Burke

[K5054NZ]

I WANT ONE!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll have a use for my Airfix Lancaster after all.....

Please, we demand more pics! Many, many more! What kit did you use for the Mossie fuse - Revell 1:32 or one of the 1:48s?

The idea of a Griffon-powered Super Mosquito is a really cool idea too, I can imagine five-blade props would make the lady look like a real mean b**ch! Please let us know if you go ahead with the build...I wouldn't mind doing one in 1:72....

EDIT Didn't see your post above...sorry 

[sequoiaranger]

Somewhere above I heard mention the DH 88 Comet as a possible source of "what-if" somewhat like a Whirlwind. "Mossie" and "Radish" were talking about it in replies #36-37.  Well...........yes, I have done one!

I took the Frog DH 88 kit (Better than the Airfix one!) and used up THREE Frog S6B kits (bunged one of them up) for the engine cowlings, used Whirwind nacelles/landing gear, interior, and nose (without the protruding guns--but the holes for them for four .303's), and an Ar-96 canopy. I cut down the V-12's to V-8's, as if the Merlin V-12 had been down-sized (components the same, roughly) to a 700HP engine for possible commercial use or military trainers.

Portugal acquired one of the real DH-88's, so I made this twin-engined, long-ranged light fighter in Portuguese markings for escorting "neutral" flights from spy-infested Lisbon to the UK. As you might know, in 1943 the British actor Leslie Howard was killed aboard a KLM airliner by a German Ju-88 intercepting it over the Bay of Biscay on its way from Lisbon to Britain. There is a story (apparently just an unsubstantiated rumor but a GOOD story) that the Germans believed Churchill was on the plane. In my backstory, through counter-intelligence Churchill finds out about the upcoming shoot-down and takes an earlier plane, but the DH 88 "Cometa" fighter escorts the planned flight anyway, underscoring the possible importance of the flight to German agents. The DH-88 shoots down one of the intercepting Ju-88s (notice the same numbers!), but only after the airliner is afire and doomed, and the Cometa itself has taken hits and is smoking. The Cometa pilot feels responsible for Churchill's death (no one told him about the switch, to keep the illusion) so finds a German coastal patrol ship and deliberately crashes into it to atone. The Belgian-style "Comet" insignia is there,  and sure enough, a surviving German sailor described the incident as a "brown comet", trailing smoke, hurtling toward his ship.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

[K5054NZ]

 

That is awesome! Hats off! Ok, it seems my idea of the DHGB may have to be brought forward to allow these ideas to remain at the forefront....methinks November may be too far away!

Superb sir! Can't get enough of these DH whiffs! Any more Mossies you've done?

[sotoolslinger]

Pretty soon we're gonna have to rename this the SequoiaRanger site. I'm freakin jealous.

[sequoiaranger]

>Superb sir! Can't get enough of these DH whiffs! Any more Mossies you've done?<

No more Mossies...YET. Somewhere above I trolled my ideas for a super Highball Mossie. As far as DeHavilland stuff goes, I had also thought of a DH 86 Dragon Rapide with four engines and an open top gun position as a light bomber for "colonial" work (engines from DH Heron--might have just made a "Heron" bomber). Won't happen. I have too many projects and WAAAAY too many unbuilt models (1500+).

Couldn't help but notice the NZ tag--I went fairly near you this February, driving a campervan from Tongariro NP to Palmerston North on my way to Wellington. We were at Okahune and were trying to get to Wellington as fast as possible to catch a late Cook Ferry (didn't make it).

[Jeffry Fontaine]

The model is 1/72. I used a 1/48 Monogram Mossie kit (had never noticed the slightly slab-sided fuselage of the "incorrect" Monogram model until last week when it was pointed out by a Mossie modeler) for the fuselage, tail, and landing gear. A nice new-Airfix Lanc in 1/72 provided the wings, cockpit detail, and "Dambuster" bomb--this time for use flying from Singapore against Japanese battleships (hence "Danger Down Under" for the ordnance and the Aussie crew).

Craig,

Using the Lancaster wings on the Mosquito fuselage was an ideal solution to the engine problem but you do loose those signature wing mounted radiator inlets with the Lancaster wing and engines.  It does strike a B-17-like stance with your last image.  The Super Mosquito is definitely much sleeker in appearance. 

A couple of construction questions for you:

*How much of a difference in size was there between the original Mosquito landing gear and that of the Lancaster? 
*Did the Lancaster wing mate up exactly with the original wing outline on the Mosquito?

[sequoiaranger]

>*How much of a difference in size was there between the original Mosquito landing gear and that of the Lancaster?
*Did the Lancaster wing mate up exactly with the original wing outline on the Mosquito?<

I did this model in the late '80's, so I don't remember fine details except what I wrote down in my construction notes. I did use the 1/48 Mossie landing gear, but altered in a now-unknown way. I think they were very close in size. Probably the Mossie gear was a little too long (for the larger propellers to clear). As far as the wings went, I think I recall the Lanc wings fitting into the recesses of the Mossie fuselage pretty well, but the 1/48 Mossie wing was thicker, so I had to fill in the space.

Oh, and looking at my notes, I didn't use the Airfix Lanc at all; I used the Matchbox Lanc for the wings and engines, and the Revell "Dambuster" Lanc for the ordnance.

"Losing" the wing-root radiators was not an option, according to the backstory---there were Lanc wings available to mate to the oversized Mossie fuselages, so they were used as-was.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

according to the backstory---there were Lanc wings available to mate to the oversized Mossie fuselages, so they were used as-was.

I recently acquired a trashed 1/32nd scale Mosquito for the purpose of a scale-o-rama into a 1/48th scale Super Sized Mosquito with four engines.  The obstacle I currently see is how to best adapt four 1/48th scale engine nacelles to the larger wing.  The quick solution might be to go with just the engines and ignore the entire radiator portions as that would make it a lot easier to adapt but then the question of engine cooling comes up for the realism of it all and then it is back to looking at how to best adapt the radiators as well as the engine nacelles to the wing.

[Mossie]

Somewhere above I heard mention the DH 88 Comet as a possible source of "what-if" somewhat like a Whirlwind. "Mossie" and "Radish" were talking about it in replies #36-37.  Well...........yes, I have done one!

So that's what it'd look like!  Like it!

Yeah, mentioned it in Zac's 'Ah, De Havilland' GB thread, great to see it in plastic.  If it gets the go-ahead I guess you'll be building a brace of models eh???

[sequoiaranger]

according to the backstory---there were Lanc wings available to mate to the oversized Mossie fuselages, so they were used as-was.

I recently acquired a trashed 1/32nd scale Mosquito for the purpose of a scale-o-rama into a 1/48th scale Super Sized Mosquito with four engines.  The obstacle I currently see is how to best adapt four 1/48th scale engine nacelles to the larger wing.  The quick solution might be to go with just the engines and ignore the entire radiator portions as that would make it a lot easier to adapt but then the question of engine cooling comes up for the realism of it all and then it is back to looking at how to best adapt the radiators as well as the engine nacelles to the wing.

I see a problem of scale here, in wing thickness. I used true 1/72-scale wings with the 1/48 Mossie fuselage because the 1/48-scale wings would be too thick, relatively.  The fuselage is just a "box", but the wing's airfoil has proper ratios that I think get out of whack, especially if you are going to have a fast bomber--thick wings have more lift at slow speeds, but too much air resistance at high speeds--look at the early-war French bombers for some non-inspiration. If I were you I would look at other large 1/48 wings with the similar straight leading edge and severe taper of the trailing edge (if you want to keep the Mossie look). As far as radiators go, I like the planview 4-motor somewhere else here [gooberliberation #38] that had the leading-edge radiators for each engine.  Or, you could consider using a 1/72 B-49 flying wing for a swept-wing Mossie!! I have an old vac-form B-49 that would have good wings, or even the injected-mold version.