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Bristol Beaufighter Mk II F, 307 Sq, scratch conv. Frog, 1/72


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Hi,

Next from my deep archive - I made it in 1996. This is a scratch conversion of Frog Beaufighter Mk XXI into Mk II F. I used Airfix Lancaster "Merlin egg" (which left in drawer after doing my Manchester) and reshaped part of wings near engines, made a bit shorter nose and pilot canopy (this came as required from comparison of kit with plans), add radar antenas, made stabilizers not elevated, add home made rear canopy etc.

Markings are from RAF Squadron 307 (Polish) Night Fighter, "Eagle Owls of Lvov" (in Polish "Lwowskich Puchaczy" - R2445 EW.A, spring 1942. And then, some years later the Hasegawa  issued their kit smashing down all my efforts to have something special on my shelves.... That is brutal life. (Edit 21 Jul 2017 - not true, no Hasagawa Mk II!) :)

Comments welcome

Regards

Jerzy-Wojtek

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Thank you for watching...

Edited by JWM
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Hi Jerzy!!!!

I feel that you are making me happy to watch a wonderful lot of Good Old Frog Planes "Ultra Recharged"...:):);) This Very nice Black beauty looks wonderful and the qay you have treated the paint to show a nicely done matt finnish liked me a huge lot, and also the weather effect in the parts of the airframe scratched by the ground and aircrew look very well.

The GOOD thing(1): (1) I have received some kits as a gift from a friend and he gave me Two or three Airfix Beau, and wanted to do at least one of them in special paint scheme and the chosen one was the normal Black version of the night fighther.

(2) I have bought many years ago at the local hobby Shop a box of the Modelcraft reissue of this old Frog kit which has Two planes in the box to make two versions as this kit as I remember has variations in parts.

The BAD thing:

But as I see thinking slowly, not too bad; is that one has a missing upper wing, but it would make more special this one when built as will have to do something more to the kit and think is a challenge. BUT with the advent of the Airfix Old Little Boxings this one willhave to wait unless plans changed and the wing was manufactured or found in another modeler's spare parts,maybe the missing part of mine will have found locally by another guy......unless when compared something or someone make me think to make the wing and go ahead.....anything can happen.....JAJAJAJAJAJAJA

I have seen your masterful work in this old beautiful kit and really think that is amazing. I will do the same as you but just less than a half as wanted to do the normal one with all the antennas and other parts as I have seen in the Squadron In Action book, and following some of the ideas that Ray Rimmel wrote in an article made in a very old last century dated 1981/1982 Scale Models Magazine, when he did the same I want buy If I remember well he did a crosskitting -BTW a thing I won't want to do- :)

Don't feel bad that Hasegawa did what you have done with careful guidance, research and advices, dealing with many many hours in the bech perfecting with careful love and depurated modeling techniques, as the effort is on sight. Manymodelers around the globe have had the same issues, but be sure that even Hasegawa or any other did this one version, the kit has some faults that you have had to correct, or modified as for the sake of easily production some details have been sacrificed.

Anyway, every model you do, is a lesson or more you have learned, and I am sure you will recall what were the lessons this nicely done Black beauty gave you, for shure more knowledge and dexterity, and the joy of doing what you dreamed and wanted.

Thank you very much for sharing,

Cheers,,

Luis Alfonso

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Thank you Mitch, Myrsky, Luis-Alfonso and Trevor for you nice comments. I appreciete it.

Luis - I wish you nice time doing all ancient models, you love so much. Perhaps you are right that effort is at least as important as result :)

Cheers

J-W

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And then, some years later the Hasegawa issued their kit smashing down all my efforts to have something special on my shelves.... That is brutal life. :)

Comments welcome

Brutal or not - life is life.

But not ALL your efforts have been smashed down by Hasegawa, as they only have issued decent RADIAL Beaufighters - Mk.I, VI, X and 21. So you can have them with short- or long span tailplanes (horizonatal or dihedralled), short or long nose, with or without dorsal fin fillet, with or without dorsal gun, with 0.303 or 0.5" wing guns, radars, rockets, bombs or torpedoes.... But still NOT with Merlin engines.

Even the Mk.XI - although Hercules-powered - is still absent from their range. So "Don't worry - be happy" :)

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What particularly impresses me is the heavier wear on the starboard wing root reflecting the British practice of approaching the cockpit from that side rather than the American left sided entry. Good job!

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Thank you Mitch, Myrsky, Luis-Alfonso and Trevor for you nice comments. I appreciete it.

Luis - I wish you nice time doing all ancient models, you love so much. Perhaps you are right that effort is at least as important as result :)

Cheers

J-W

Hi Jerzy:

Thank you very much for your best Wishes and also I agree with you, and are according to Mike in the same way of thinking. I was thinking that Hasegawa have produced this variant but as Mike said, YOUR effort for sure will be UNIQUE inyour shelves for many many time unless Hasegawa San make all the things you did to his moulds or made new ones to sell expensive kits of this variant.

Cheers,

Luis Alfonso

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Thank you Mike, Luis Alfonso, Rob and Ejbojd5 for your comments :)

I am very glad to hear, that there is no Hasegawa kit of Beaufighter Mk II F in 1/72. I remember my dissapointment when I found it somwhere in announcements about incoming new models - .... and never checked if this roumor become truth...

A very good news to start a day :)

Cheers

J-W

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  • 1 year later...

Thank you Meatbox8 - I missed this in March apparently :)

Now I jump on this when I am converting to Flickr all my thread for "B" today!

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