Mosquito B.IV/PR.IV
Cockpit and Accessories

Cutting Edge

Reviewed by Brett Green

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

Cutting Edge's Mosquito B.IV/PR.IV cockpit is deceptively simple despite its remarkable level of detail.

The set suits Tamiya's recent 1/48 scale kit and comprises only 18 resin parts (3 cream coloured and 15 grey "high strength" resin) plus a small acetate sheet.

Tamiya's beautiful new 1/48 scale Mosquito kit comes with some detail already moulded onto the inside of the fuselage sidewalls. This simplifies construction, but complicates improvement. It means that all the detail has to be scraped from the sidewalls before better detail can be added. Even if the modeller decides that the cockpit detail is adequate, the interior sidewalls are peppered with ejector pin marks that will be tricky to remove.

Cutting Edge's solution to these problems is as simple as it is dramatic - an entirely new forward fuselage is supplied.

Detail on all parts is superb. Hydraulic lines, electrical cables, cases, compass, flare cartridges, structural detail and even a small, holstered hatchet are moulded direct to the new forward fuselage halves. The new nose halves retain locating pins, so fit should be positive.

The remaining parts are equally well done. The cushion and Sutton Harness detail for the pilot's and navigator's seats are very nice. The throttle quadrant detail is brilliant, as is the big T.1154 transmitter behind the crew. It includes wiring harness detail, and the vents are moulded onto the back of the unit.

The instrument panel gives the modeller the choice of either painting the resin instruments (with moulded needle and dial detail), or thinning the instrument panel by sanding and using the supplied acetate backing to represent the instrument detail. I personally love this option. The instrument panel retains a three-dimensional appearance while the acetate instruments provide the crispest possible dial detail.

Care will be required when removing some of the parts from their casting blocks. There is nothing particularly time consuming, but some fine parts are cast onto thicker blocks and a delicate touch will be needed to avoid damaging the parts.

All parts are perfectly formed and detail is crisp. There were no pinholes on any of my sample's parts but it will be necessary to remove some excess resin (flash). The interior of the bomb bay also retains the ghosts of several ejector pin marks from the original kit parts. It is pleasing to see that the ejector pins have been repaired on the forward bomb bay bulkhead though.

Some of Tamiya's parts; including the control column, trim wheel and rudder pedals; are utilised to complete the cockpit.

Instructions are up to the high standards of Cutting Edge's earlier releases. Useful text and handy hints are supported with plenty of scrap view diagrams. Colour callouts are also specified.

The modeller is required to cut the kit fuselage to fit the new nose. There is no panel line so absolute caution should be exercised when marking and cutting. As the instructions advise, "measure twice and cut once"! The instructions suggest that the resin nose halves should be attached to each fuselage half before the halves are joined. It will be easier to deal with any alignment problems along the top and bottom seams.

I have already cleaned-up and dry-fitted the main resin components. I am pleased to report that the fit of my sample looks very good indeed.

Cutting Edge's 1/48 scale Mosquito B.IV/PR.IV cockpit is an impressive demonstration of the art of resin casting. The replacement forward fuselage adds an enormous amount of accurate detail - far more comprehensive than supplied in Tamiya's kit.

Assembly should be very simple due to clever engineering and the small number of parts in the set.

This set will be a must for anyone wanting to superdetail their Tamiya 1/48 scale Mosquito PR of Bomber.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Meteor Productions for the review sample

Cutting Edge Modelworks Resin Conversion Kits are available at Meteor Productions Website

Review and Images Copyright © 2000 by Brett Green
Page Created 18 January, 2000
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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