1/48 Mosquito two-stage nacelles

[JasonC]

As anyone who's looked into the subject probably knows, there's a dearth of (decent) two-stage Mosquito nacelle conversions in 1/48. The Paragon set is long out of production and commanding silly prices on eBay, and the available alternatives all have their issues to a greater or lesser degree. With this in mind, and wanting to build a B.IX, I undertook a few months ago to make my own. It took a while, but I've finally got a nacelle that I'm happy with.

The starting point was the Airfix two-stage nacelle: pretty dire in detail but generally regarded to be of decent length and shape. I proceeded to chop almost everything off it. Nacelle depth and width were modified slightly to match the Tamiya kit, which is the intended recipient. The dark plastic at the back is part of the Tamiya nacelle forward of the intended cut line. Here it is with the Tamiya spinner.

All of the details were then added back to this bare bones structure. The intercooler intake at the front was resculpted and the intercooler outlets scratchbuilt, as was the carburettor inlet and the small cooling air scoops behind the spinner. The carburettor inlet was made out of styrene sheet, with lots of carving and sanding.

Main exhaust apertures were reshaped slightly and some internal detail added. Lots of filling and sanding to get the overall shape right and achieve a decent match to the Tamiya kit. Panel lines were filled with superglue and talc, and rescribed.

A coat of primer:

And some more adjustments:

After all that effort to get one nacelle built, getting it copied in resin was suddenly on the cards. The original intention had been to build two, but I began to have doubts about having the motivation (and ability!) to build an identical copy.

Enter Ali M (ex of A2Zee / Alley Cat Models). I saw in another thread that Ali had offered to cast up small batches of parts for someone's project. Although no doubt he makes very little out of it considering the amount of time that must be involved, Ali was very helpful and generously offered to have a look at the nacelle and cast up some copies. Photos coming next...

regards,

Jason

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I'd say your effort is better than the Paragon conversion.

These need an extensive amount of filling. You should consider taking a mould from that, in my humble opinion

[JasonC]

I'm happy to report that Ali has done sterling work on the castings, the evidence is below. Needless to say I'm quite chuffed with these. They haven't been prepped or cleaned up in any way since I got them in the post. I suppose the results shouldn't have been in doubt, as I have both the Alley Cat Vampire and Spitfire Prototype in the stash, and both are exquisite.

I'd say your effort is better than the Paragon conversion.

Thanks. I've only seen the Paragon nacelles in photos, so can't offer a first hand opinion but they've always looked pretty good. I'd certainly have been happy with them if I'd found a set at a decent price! The one feature I felt might be improved were the intercooler outlet blisters, which I thought looked a little flat on the Paragon nacelles.

cheers,

Jason

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Those look great! I missed the sentence in your first post saying you were having them cast. Will they be for sale in due course?

I think your cut line is better too, as the back of the carburretor fairing is left very weak when doing the Paragon version. Maybe it's just that I'm too clumsy for this sort of thing, but I keep breaking it when trying to get it all to fit!

Edited September 26, 2015 by SovereignHobbies

[JasonC]

Those look great! I missed the sentence in your first post saying you were having them cast. Will they be for sale in due course?

Watch this space!

I think your cut line is better too, as the back of the carburretor fairing is left very weak when doing the Paragon version. Maybe it's just that I'm too clumsy for this sort of thing, but I keep breaking it when trying to get it all to fit!

Thanks. The required cuts on this one are all along panel lines in the Tamiya kit, which should hopefully simplify matters a little.

[Admiral Puff]

Those look great! I missed the sentence in your first post saying you were having them cast. Will they be for sale in due course? :

This little black duck has his hand up for at least one set if you do!

[Blogs On]

If you do decide to release this to market, I am sure it would be popular.

I'd certainly join the queue.

Regards

Darren

[Keith Primrose]

Oooooeee. I'm in the queue for a pair (or two) of these as well. Great job

[JasonC]

Thanks chaps. Since BM has a no trading rule outside of the Buy and Sell forums, I'd ask that people hold off from any hypothetical reservations for the moment to keep everything above board. The interest expressed so far is gratefully noted.

Thanks,

Jason

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Thanks chaps. Since BM has a no trading rule outside of the Buy and Sell forums, I'd ask that people hold off from any hypothetical reservations for the moment to keep everything above board. The interest expressed so far is gratefully noted.

Thanks,

Jason

well you can count me in for a set too - so come on - get a move on that man!!

jonners

[GregW]

I recently bought the Alfred's Mind set, but really wish I hadn't wasted my money on them. Poor is the polite description of the quality!!

Appreciate your not looking for orders, but "if" you do market them I'd be very interested in at least a couple of pairs.

I've got a set of the Paragon ones but am loathe to use them incase I goof them up!!!

Greg

[Kampartiger]

Those nacelles are simply outstanding and I am going to queue behind the others guys for a purchase of 4 sets. I have thought of chopping up the Airfix kit nacelle but the idea is simply too barbaric. (we don't chop up a good friend,do we?) In terms of marketing, I bet it's going to be selling like hotcakes!

Edited September 27, 2015 by Kampartiger

[JasonC]

Moment of Truth. The test fit.

Not too bad considering it's just taped up for the minute.

I've circled the area where radiator meets nacelle. Because the nacelles aren't handed port and starboard, it wasn't possible to tailor this area to the respective wing. This means I'll need a bit of filler to tackle the gap.

[tonyot]

Looks great and I`d like a set of these nacelles too,......well done Ali!

Cheers

Tony

[woody37]

Me too!

Both for admiring your work and wanting a set!

Hopefully, you and Ali can come to some sort of arrangement

[hrtpaul]

Outstanding effort there mate. If these go to market I'll be putting my hand up for at least 1 pair. Great work to all concerned

[JasonC]

Righto.

The mods have given the okay for me to offer the nacelles here for those who are interested. If you think you'd like a pair (they include exhausts) please contact me via PM. There aren't many going (probably about 10-12 sets tops) so first come first serve. Given the small number available, limiting it to one set per person seems fair. Anyone who has expressed an interest in this thread is provisionally on the list, again please confirm via PM. Cost is likely to be somewhere south of £20, plus postage. The full batch hasn't been cast yet, hence the uncertainty about quantity and price.

I'll need to confirm with Ali, but there remains the option for another run in the future if it looks like the interest is there.

cheers,
Jason

[JasonC]

I thought it would be useful to include a post showing the cuts required to the kit nacelles. The photos shown previously are of the starboard wing, and the master was made to those parts. In the following post I've made the same cuts to the port wing and nacelle.

To start, I should say that it really helps to have a good quality, fine razor saw. The one I use is the JLC razor saw (on the left). Also shown (right) is your common or garden razor saw which you tend to see for sale at shows. IMHO the latter is a little thick for this job, because it doesn't fit easily into the Tamiya panel lines and therefore makes it harder to get a precise cut. The resulting kerf is also wider, i.e. it removes much more material.

The first cut is to the top wing half. The front of the nacelle is removed along the panel line. Rather than start at the top and cut straight down, I found it easier to run the saw gently and repeatedly around the whole curve of the panel line, slowly deepening the cut. You can then virtually guarantee that the cut will follow the line exactly.

Here's the completed cut. A bit of careless saw work has left a small step, visible upper left. I'll probably sand this level, being careful not to take too much off. The replacement nacelles are designed to the length at the panel line!

The other two cuts are to the halves of the nacelle, along the panel lines as shown.

Note that the forward bulkhead of the undercarriage bay is on the other side of this panel line. It needs to remain attached to the rear part of the nacelle. Fortunately it is slightly offset to the rear of the panel line, so a perpendicular cut should leave minimal trimming required. A photo showing the panel line and the bulkhead behind it:

And here is the reverse side after the saw has cut through the main thickness of the nacelle. The only thing holding the front on now are the two 'ribs' indicated. Slicing through these at the bottom separates the cut portion.

The finished cut:

And that's the cutting done!

regards,

Jason

[hrtpaul]

Hmmmm off to buy a 1/48 Tamiya Mossie B.IV me thinks

[Blogs On]

Good morning Jason

I think you need to expand this into a full blown Mossie build thread..........go on........you know you want too!

The JLC blade is also my weapon of choice although the blade can and does shatter if abused.

Regards

Darren

[Roof Rat]

Good morning Jason

The nacelles you have produced are "top quality" if I'm not to late I would also like a pair, however the way my luck has been going just recently I'm probably No. 21 out of 20.

I'll send a PM.

With regards

RR

[Matt Walker]

I've also sent a PM in regards the cowls!!!

Fantastic work!

Matthew

[JasonC]

The resin nacelle (at least the one I'm using here) is very slightly narrower than the Tamiya parts where they mate. I would estimate less than 1mm. To get a good flush fit it's helpful to sand down the bulkhead mating surfaces a little. I've highlighted these areas in red below.

I found it was useful to tape up the plastic nacelle halves as shown. This way, it's easy to fold the halves back together for fitting checks.

Test fitting against the resin showed that the top of the bulkhead needs a little more attention than the bottom. You can see above that I've sanded a little more off the top of the joint.

I also added a couple of plastic tabs, on the basis that it's always helpful to have more gluing area.

The rear edges of the resin nacelles were also given a light sanding to make sure they were flat and parallel. The result, an almost flush joint ready for glue.

Total elapsed time about 15 minutes.

regards,

Jason

[The original Kit Builder]

The more I see of these, the more I'm determined to get a pair.

They are, without doubt, the best two stage conversion part I've seen.

[JasonC]

You're too kind.

My motivation for this project was to end up with a two-stage Mosquito that I personally was happy with, given the paucity of satisfactory, existing options. It's great that people think enough of the result to be interested in the conversion.

cheers,
Jason