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Defiant L7009 TW-H 141 Squadron


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I thought it was about time I began a build thread on something I have a real interest in - 141 Squadron. They are known for having just one engagement in the Battle of Britain and being cut down, losing six aircraft and ten aircrew. It was 75 years ago yesterday that they suffered at the hands of the experten of JG51, and after that one sortie, they were withdrawn from 11 Group.

I am planning on building L7009 TW-H piloted by Acting Flight Lieutenant Ian Donald, with the air gunner being Pilot Officer Arthur Hamilton. They had survived the engagement, and were limping back in a seriously damaged Defiant with the aim of making Hawkinge. Near Dover, the situation deteriorated, and Donald ordered Hamilton to bail out. But the Defiant could not stay aloft much longer, and with Donald still at the controls, it fell out of the sky and crashed in Elms Vale Road, Dover, killing him instantly. As to Hamilton, he sadly drowned not far from Dover; his body being recovered later that day.

I will be using the new tool Airfix Defiant, and the L7009 option from the Printscale Decals sheet for this build.

And for a historical aspect of this build, here is the crew casualty file, casualty notifications, crash notice, and the grave of Arthur Hamilton in Hawkinge Cemetery.

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I agree with Nick. A fascinating backstory and they always add something to these builds. Looking forward to following this project of yours.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, about time I posted some progress...

Here's the sprues, decals, and masks...

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One thing that I was certain to buy was a set of pre-cut masks for the turret and canopy. Due to my sausage like fingers, these are essential for me during my occasional ventures into 1/72. These are the set by Peewit - come off the backing and settle down on the transparencies well, but if you leave them overnight, they start to peel off again. So, I got some paint onto them asap.

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I built up the turret and like many others before me, broke off one of the .303's!

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Just before finishing the innards and joining the fuselage.

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And here's where we are now - removing a seam line on the cowling.

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Thanks for looking.

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Good start Andy, should be an interesting build B)

I haven't had any problems with the Peewit masks lifting, but I do tend to 'seal' the edges with Klear to prevent any undercreep from the paint so that might also serve a dual purpose of keeping the masks stuck down.

Cheers,

Stew

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Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. So next stage - chucking paint at it!

Gunze on the undersides...

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Lifecolor RAF brown...

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Tamiya RAF Green camo. Masks made from Frisk Film.

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Next stage will be to micromesh it all over and a couple of coats of Klear. Thanks for looking.

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Klear on, and decal time. I'm afraid these aren't very good, and upon removing the sheet from the bag I saw that some of the options were out of register, and some had not been fully printed - i.e. roundels not having a full coverage of the roundel blue. One of the serial numbers for L7009 broke up, so the build will be sans serials now. Here is where I am as of now.

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Thanks for looking.

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Dave, all I will say is just take care getting some of the smaller parts off the sprues, mainly the .303 machine guns, as they are easy to break, even if you are careful.

I have managed a bit of progress. Undercarriage on, decalling finished, and a light panel wash added.

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Then a coat of matt varnish - Windsor and Newton Galeria matt, cut 50/50 with IPA. Turret clicked into place too.

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I need to add the wheels, tail wheel, exhausts, pitot head and a couple of smaller items, and I'm there!

Thanks for looking.

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That is a realy sweet looking Defiant. :goodjob:

I have two in my stash as well and would one to start, but I have already two models in the GB and time is running out to get another one started.

Luckely I have got a set of metal gun barrels for them. That will be the icing on the cake.

Cheers,

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