1/48 Monogram De Havilland Sea Mosquito TR33

Gallery Article by Darius Aibara

 

      

This kit started out as the 1:48 Monogram kit built as an FBVI.  I had never been happy with the look of the finished kit as it was one of my earlier efforts and I had always intended to improve it.  Paragon Designs spurred my enthusiasm with its Sea Mosquito TR33 conversion set and so the die was cast.  Out came the razor saw and off came the wings.  I also cut off the flaps, rudder and elevators, removed the undercarriage and doors and the cockpit canopy.  I stripped the RAF FBIV decals and lightly sanded the fuselage, masked the cockpit and wheel wells then primed the model with grey acrylic auto primer.  This reacted in places with the previous enamel paint coating but further sanding and patch priming dealt with that.  The underside of the fuselage and wings were sprayed with Halfords "Lada White", which approximates to a Sky colour.  The top surfaces were brush painted with Humbrol EDSG enamel paint.

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The now cut away kit flaps were re-worked so that they could be re-attached in the dropped position as were the elevators.  I also added details to the kit undercarriage using metal wire and thin plastic rod.   My attempt at "flattening" the wheels by pushing them into a hotplate was too successful and they were pretty well deflated.  I had to build them up again with plastic card!

The separated wings were re-attached using the Paragon etched brass wingfold parts.  Paragon also supply a nicely detailed resin torpedo with etched  brass details for mounting under the fuselage.  I added further details from the spares box to enhance the torpedo mountings.  The Monogram cockpit canopy was replaced with a Falcon vac-formed example and Aeromaster decals were employed to model a TR33 of 790 Squadron FAA stationed at RNAS Culdrose in 1948.

Paragon Designs have "suspended" production but Verlinden have produced a 1:48 Sea Mosquito conversion for the Tamiya kits.

Darius Aibara

Photos and text © by Darius Aibara