Spitfires Forever Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Greetings all, I have been reading my Osprey Beaufighter Aces book and have decided an early version with the flat dihedral elevators would be a nice choice instead of going with the high dihedral version, (BTW, was that done for improvement of flight characteristics or to give the pilot a sporting chance of bailing out without hitting the elevators?) I have two Tamiya kits, one slated to be a thimble nose Mk VI and the other hopefully a !c or equivalent. Are there any major differences aside from the flat elevators? And, are there any decals that could be recommended to properly mark a 1c or older model? I am sure there are a few of you who have built these kits and would know the ins and outs of what I wish to do. I am deciding if I just wish to buy the elevators from Ultracast or the entire conversion kit ( the elevators alone are pricey enough as is, I would like to avoid having to pay 40.00 usd for the kit if I don' have too.) Any help would be appreciated. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Think Heritage do a set of flat tailplanes alone for about £5, also think the other external difference is the lack of cowl bulges, sure there are a limited number of decal options included within sheets of mixed subjects but can't recall which ones off-hand. Plan to do a pair of Beaufighters to much the same types as yourself so be keen to see your progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 http://www.redroomodels.com/conversions.php?conversion=1417 Other 1/48 Beaufighter resin parts like exhausts and cooling gills and decals available also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Firstly, congratulations on laying your hands on a Hasegawa Beaufighter. If you have a razor saw, I'm not sure that it's necessary to shell out for after-market tailplanes. I went into this a while back and concluded that the non-dihedral tailplane could be created from the dihedral one simply by sawing along the line running forward from the inboard edge of the elevators (ie where the tailplane cranks from horizontal to dihedral), discarding the stub and cementing the remaining tailplane on at zero dihedral. It is a while since I went into this and my memory is slightly hazy: if this idea is way off beam, II hope someone will come along and mow it down in a deserved hail of fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Graham Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 The dihedral was introduced in the Beaufighter to improve the stability. Didn't the pilot exit the Beaufighter by a door in the belly, so wouldn't end up anywhere near the tailplanes? The nightfighters would have extra guns rather than fuel tanks in the wing - but on re-reading you are doing Coastal versions anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heraldcoupe Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Didn't the pilot exit the Beaufighter by a door in the belly, so wouldn't end up anywhere near the tailplanes? There's a hatch in the belly, it involves climbing over the seat and down. Emergency exit would be through the hatch in the top of the canopy. When a torpedo was fitted, the pilot's belly hatch was completely inaccessible, Cheers, Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welkin Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Firstly, congratulations on laying your hands on a Hasegawa Beaufighter. If you have a razor saw, I'm not sure that it's necessary to shell out for after-market tailplanes. I went into this a while back and concluded that the non-dihedral tailplane could be created from the dihedral one simply by sawing along the line running forward from the inboard edge of the elevators (ie where the tailplane cranks from horizontal to dihedral), discarding the stub and cementing the remaining tailplane on at zero dihedral. It is a while since I went into this and my memory is slightly hazy: if this idea is way off beam, II hope someone will come along and mow it down in a deserved hail of fire. Seahawk is right - cut along the line at the point of dihedral, sand down the ends of both parts to a right-angle and cement the parts togther at zero dihedral. The light coloured Beau is a VIc with the dihedral tailplane and the black beau has the modified tailplane fitted and is going to be a IF. Don't forget also that you'll need to move the elevator actuators from the top of the tailplane to the underside for all Tamiya 1:48 Beaufighters. Martin Edited October 23, 2012 by Welkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfires Forever Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks for the valuable info. My surgical skills may be just enough to handle the conversion. Is there some putty and sanding involved? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Is there some putty and sanding involved? Don't see why. Just a little trimming with a sharp knife after you've made the saw cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welkin Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 It's going to need a little filler just to get a smooth finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Jones Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Heritage Aviation Models do a set of flat Beaufighter tailplanes. http://www.heritageaviationmodelsltd.com/beaufighter-flat-tailplanes-39-p.asp Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfires Forever Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Any suggestions for some nice Beaufighter Ic or other early model decals? Maybe Techmod or Xtradecal? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Early Beaus had some other less obvious differences, so it's important to do some research on the example you plan to do. Here are some features found on earlier models: - different canopy framing - different exhausts - no cowl bumps - small intakes above engines - different wheels - very early versions had no wing guns And that's not considering cockpit changes... I'm sure that's not all (done from memory from when I did my Mk 1) so check against photos! Good luck Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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