1/32 Revell Bristol Beaufighter Mk.If



Dear friends,

this is the old Revell kit of the Beaufighter in 1/32 scale. I have just started working on it as you can see in the photos. The kit features some really severe fit problems especially round the wings-to-fuselage joints and the wing parts themselves. Anyway, ALL the interior detail will be SCRATCHBUILT - as always - while the model will be rescribed and riveted. A lot of work for sure! The striped areas in the photos below show the panels to be removed, while the outlined ones show the panels to be repositioned.

This is the color Profile I'm going to work on



And so the journey begins...





Next stage: all the raised panel lines have vanished and rivets have been added, just as the pictures below can tell!!!



And then certain fuselage panels and control panels were removed...





...and the surgery goes on!!!!!!!!!!




And here are some dry-fitting photos...





Here is the upper part of the fuselage...As you can see, a lot of panels have been removed, so that all the detail which will be added will reach the eye of the beholder!!! Everything will be scratchbuilt!!!



The lower part of the fuselage...






This is another minor update of my extreme makeover project...I started from the tail, building the internal detail and making some of the bulkheads. I used hard aluminum foil and lead wire of two different sizes. I also worked on the back leg of the u/c system. Unfortunately, only a small amount of the added detail will be visible at the end...This is what I'm talking about:


...here are two of the bulkheads in position...


...and this is the improved u/c leg in position. It's a pity almost none of this will be seen at the end...


...and the final dry-fit...

As for the cockpit, the kit detail is disappointing, so I decided to build everything from scratch! Then I dealt with the wooden floor which is actually made of real balsa wood and the hatches. Very careful planning is required in order to align all of them properly, since any mistake will make you rebuild either the wooden floor or the hatches!



And now the new cockpit with everything in place!!!










And now this is the wooden floor of the Beaufighter!!! It was actually made from real balsa wood strips on a plastic card template. The hatches of the boarding ladders are already cut off. You can also see the tool boxes, the oxygen bottles and the flares launchers behind the observer's hatch. I also added all the necessary detail at the bottom of the floor and the gun bays.




Dry-fitting the model proved that my calculations were right, at least up this point!!!





And this is the first of the four Hispano guns...It took me about 1 hour to build and consists of about 35 pieces.



The model is also presented at www.helmo.gr homepage.

Gentlemen thank you for your time and attention!!!

Wow... wow again. This is going to bear watching - beautiful work so far

Amazing work so far - watching with interest

Very nice so far! Keep us updated please!

Dino

fantastic work so far.


Andy.

STUNNING !!!

Thanos,

Well, that is a very refreshing approach to a Beaufighter build! This is one aircraft that I have studied fairly closely, and I must admit that you have caught the whole charecter of this aircraft very well indeed (you also work very quickly, unlike me ). I look forward to seeing more of this very fascinating build.

Regards

Derek

so far, some fantastic work there. This is going to be fascinating to watch.

Thats amazing!!!

Martin

Thank you all for your kind words!!! Next update coming soon...before the end of May!!!

Absulutely Amazing craftsmanship. I love seeing these old Revell kits taken to highest level of detail. I do have one question you Thanos, what referances are you using for your interior details.I have to admit after seeing your project posted,I've got to dig out my Beaufighter kit for a second look.
Regards,
Gregory Jouette

Lovely job

I have posted these before, but if they help......

Spad57:

I'm currently using the following titles...

as well as these ones in .pdf form... "The Bristol Beaufighter" (SAM Publications) - "Bristol Beaufighter cz.1 No 74 (AJ Press) - "Official Bristol Beaufighter Technical Manual (Air Publication vol.1)
along with hundreds of photos found in the internet.


bentwaters81tfw:

Thanx a lot for the photos!!!


Mike:

Thanx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wowee, I'm awestruck, I have one of these in my stash and it just became a hole lot more interesting. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

Cracking build

All the best

Chris

Wow - brilliant work...

And those photos of the real a/c - have saved those!

The Revell Beau is one of their better 1:32 kits - nice to see it getting some attention!

Iain

There was a Revell Beaufighter in my local toyshop this morning - I was seriously tempted.

"There was a Revell Beaufighter in my local toyshop this morning - I was seriously tempted."

Just do it my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And once again, thanx again to all of you for the kind words!!!!

Beautiful work on your Beaufighter!! Thankyou for posting the pictures. I shall look forward to seeing the end product - it will be stunning

Cheers

Andy

I really am being tempted by the Dark Side now!

I just want to say...

Amazing work!!

You know as well as I do Jeff that resistance is utterly futile!

Derek

The only thing stopping me is a lack of cash!

SPEND






Nick's specific word of the day for Obi!!

Dear friends,

this is a minor update, having to do with rest of the Hispano guns which are now 95% ready to be installed. One of them is 100% ready, another one will be given some extra detail and the rest will be installed just as you see them, as almost nothing will be visible at the end...





And now a little progress on the floor. The only detail added concerns the mechanisms that hold the Hispano guns in place...



Well, here come the engines!!! This is what you get from Revell...hmmmmm...not too bad really, but some extra detail will improve them!!!



Just compare the two engines!!! The detail added bears a close resemblance to the actual complex exhaust piping system. If I manage to get things right there, the second engine will follow closely!!!





Well, that was it!!! Next update in a few days!!!

Gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention!!!

seriously nice work Sir !
i like the scratched guns looking forward to next update
exciting stuff
jim

Thank you my friend!!!

This is one superb build of one of my favourite aircraft. Well done.

John S

great work, the use of all the different materials is really effective....WWII aircraft are not my bag normally, but will be watching this great build with interest!

Cheers

James

Τhank you all for your kind words!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanos... excellent work, and you are a perfect example of a non-beligerant rivet counter*.


* meant as a compliment

Thank you my friend, I'm really flattered!!!!!

Dear friends, this is another major update concerning the interior details, mainly the wooden floor and the cockpit area.





And this is the cockpit, almost finished!





The four Hispano guns in place, painted and weathered!





The left part of the fuselage...





...and the right one!

The observer's scrstchbuilt seat base comes next:



And now, everything in place...Very few parts come from the original Revell kit, the vast majority was entirely scratchbuilt!!!




And the final dry-fit...




Next update coming soon!!! Since there is a limit concerning the number of photos posted, you can see the whole article on www.helmo.gr homepage!!!
Gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention!!!

Calling this build an "extreme makeover" is an understatement !!! Perhaps the "ultimate makeover " would be more like it....a labor of love certainly...........!!

Totally Stunned Cheers,

ggc

Thank you my friend!!!

Amasing work. Keep it up as i look forward to seing more from you.

Absolutely superb!

gobsmackingly good! particularly the cockpits.

Thank you all for your kind words!!!

Hello there!!!

This is the latest update before summer vacation...so, don't expect too much!!!


This is how far it's got up to now...






And now the cockpit, almost complete...

Coming on nicely – enjoy your holiday!

And here comes the left side of the fuselage...




...and the right one!!!



All the smaller details which are still unpainted now will be ready for the next update. I keep my fingers crossed that the fuselage halves will close after all that added detail...well, let's see in a few days!!!

Gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention!!!

Have you seen this build by a forum member over at large scale planes?
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=8127

No, my friend, but I just have!!! Thank you!!!

Fantastic Thanos.

Extremely educational asto what can actually be achieved with the old Revell Beau and also from the
"what the inside of a Beaufighter looks like" point of view.

A shame the TFC's Beau(the real one pictured)isn't progressing with the same pace as yours.

Enjoy a well earned holiday.

Mark

Thanx mates!!! Summer vacation is over now... ...next week back to work...hope to c u soon!!!

Well, it's been quite a lot of time since my last update, but it's never too late, is it???

This is my latest progress on this extreme makeover project, concerning mainly the cockpit and the roots of the wings...



















I hope my next update will not take thaaaaaaat long!!!

Gentlemen thank you for your time and attention!!!