The Little World

Is there any nicer word in the English language than ” free “?*

I was attracted to this Airfix model of the Mosquito NF MkII when I saw it on the free kit table of the Model Car Spectacular earlier in the year.

If you put in an entry you got a number that was called out at the end of the show – and you could select one free kit as a prize. I had eyed the aircraft and hoped that no-one ahead of me was a plane builder. As it turned out, they all chose car models and I was cleared to take off with the Mozzie.

I’ve already done one Mosquito night fighter by Tamiya and wrecked the paint finish…but learned a lot. In the interim I picked up a rather special set of decals at the Victorian model show and this plane was just right for it. And as the build has developed, more ideas came together.

The kit is older than the Tamiya, and not as precise. There are rivets galore, and they may stay put as far as I am concerned. The canopy is a sad, thick parody of the one provided by Tamiya, but again, it fits perfectly into my plans. The good thing is the fact that the fuselage halves come together well.

I do get a spare pair of propellers, and this will be useful for the future.

The instructions are moderately good, the colour call-out is in colour, and decals are really very good. They and deserve a better model to place them on. In  my case I am going to use the Israeli set I got in Melbourne.

I am nervous about the Ventura decals, though, as I have placed a set on an IAF Spitfire and found them to be thick and unwieldy. The saving grace here may be the generally flat nature of the wing and the lack of rivet detail down the fuselage. I am not looking forward to dealing with the raised strake on the starboard side, however.

All this having been said, the model was fresh and sealed and free. Who could kvetch?

*  Actually, ” moist ” is a nice word , too…