"Highball" Sea Mossie

[sequoiaranger]

Usually Monogram has nice, accurate detail. Not so the vents for the Twin Mustang engine cowling (under the exhausts). In this photo the "vent holes" are actually raised like "rivets", and notice that they are in a "random" pattern instead of in neat rows. Wuzzup with THAT??



I had to file/sand down the atrocious "vent rivets". Here is the way they are supposed to look, courtesy of an aftermarket PE set:



I also have put on the dive brakes (same PE set, for the A-36 Apache version of the Mustang) and a first coat of top paint.  *PROGRESS* at last!

[Pablo1965]

This is going well, I like it 

[sequoiaranger]

I have my top camo on (and the underside), but need to clean up the edges. The colors don't seem very "true" on my pooter pic, but the light blue-gray is the typical "Non-specular Blue-Gray" of 1942 USN overlain with the darker blue-gray that came with the tri-color camo (forget its official name---my bottle of self-mixed paint is labeled merely "topside blue"). I used a British-style pattern, in keeping with an American liaison ship serving with the British Mediterranean fleet. Sorta keeps US colors, but in a British pattern. The underside is the light grey of 1942, more in keeping with British style rather than the "white" of a true American tri-color scheme. The "Vee" tail will have a mix of colors---the main color will be the intermediate blue-gray, with "intrusions" along the edges of the top color on top, and the bottom color on the bottom.



The national insignia will be the star-and-bar with red outline, most likely a single one on the left wing, but I had thought of a smaller one on each wing (again, in keeping with British custom---I have seen a couple of "one-off" American schemes with red-outline stars on each wing). Under the cockpit will be the mission markers and a propeller warning, so the giraffe motif will go on the side of the fuselage in front of the national insignia. Hat-in-the-ring will go on both sides of one tail, and the plane number on both sides of the other (repeated in smaller font near the nose). I am using those typical "navy" shaded numbers (normally only found on ships) because they can be seen on dark OR light surfaces.

[sequoiaranger]

One good thing about whifs, if you make a goof, you can "cover it up" with a good excuse. For some reason I *JUST* noticed that the edges of the Flounder's nacelle extensions into the trailing edge of the wings don't match up with each other (see pic in Post # 62). Astoundingly enough, as I deliberately and carefully sawed off the triangular thingy from real Mossie nacelles to keep the look, I *NOW* I see that the Mossie nacelles are "handed".  That is, the four halves are absolutely unique, and that I inadvertently put two "outer" nacelle halves together, and two "inner" nacelle halves together instead of one of each. That is, the right-hand half of both nacelles is correct, but the left-hand halves should have been switched. *DOH*!! My custom extension of the shorter Lanc nacelles has too much plastic card and CA glue filler on the underside to change anything now!! [edit: too hasty a conclusion--see post #66]

Well, the "artful extricator" in me will have the difference explained in the "handed" engines and resultant propwash that "caused" the rearward extensions in the first place. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

[PR19_Kit]

Well, the "artful extricator" in me will have the difference explained in the "handed" engines and resultant propwash that "caused" the rearward extensions in the first place. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Plus, of course, the assymetric nature of the Flounder's twin canopies had an effect.

Because one was further forward than the other, and they were both very close to the wing leading edges, the vortexes they generated at the high speeds and low altitudes differed on each side of the airframe and this needed the differing nacelle extensions to compensate..................

[Weaver]

Looking good Craig - looking forward to some epic whiffjitsu on the nacelle issue.....

[sequoiaranger]

>Looking good Craig - looking forward to some epic whiffjitsu on the nacelle issue<

Well, after I got over being totally flabbergasted by my missed error on the nacelle tails, I noticed an easy "fix" to get back to the real Mossie look.



The left nacelle looked fine after the cut, but I will have to do some minor putty-fu on the right one. *OF COURSE*, when I delicately sawed off the thin sliver from the left nacelle, the Dremel flung the piece into the carpet monster's gaping jaw, never to be found again, so I had to make a similar new piece from cardstock and insert/glue it to the right nacelle. Blending that in will be no great sweat, just more delay. WHEW!

[sequoiaranger]

I'll need better light and background for the definitive photos, but here are the preliminary "done" photos. The first one shows the "Highball" mission markers (giraffe motif indistinct on fuselage just behind wing), the lengthened nose, Griffons and 5-blade props, the deliberately mis-matched drop tanks, and the "VEE" tail--still very much a "Mossie" derivative:

Next shows the plane's asymmetric double canopy close-up from the front quarter. Note that the trailing-edge flanges of nacelles issue from previous posts has been "cured". On my computer screen, the top camo colors are way too "green"--they are both very much BLUE-gray:

This third one (the Flounder still drying on the workbench) shows the "business end" with the three Highballs (with white stripe) and the single-oleo landing gear ("wheel well" decal looks kinda lame in this setup, but oh, well). The "handed" props can be seen here, too:

[Hobbes]

Splendid!

[Stargazer]

Magnificent!!! 

[James]

 

[tc2324]

Super cool... 

[kitnut617]

Very nice Craig    FYI, the colours appear as two blue-greys on my monitor

[lenny100]

blue gray for me also

fantastic job loved watching this build

[NARSES2]

Looks good