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1/48 Airfix BP Defiant


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Hello fellow modellers,
I present my WIP of the new Airfix BP Defiant in 48 scale. Lots of words abound the internet concerning the quality of the kit and I, for one, am very pleased with this rendition. I am awaiting the arrival of Eduard's Zoom PE set, mask and Hurricane Mk I exhausts to go with the build, so I am limited to how far I can progress.

I started with the turret which includes a wealth of detail and excellent clear pieces including a choice of closed or open turret glazing. I left the vertical detail in place and will only use the PE on the gunner's horizontal controls. I replaced the barrels with Master .303 Brownings:

2EF5A237-1CC7-45E1-A573-43B4AB9791C4_zps

A7B70754-A1E2-41DB-B4F8-BF073B542A44_zps

There is no gun sight included, so after a search of the web, I scratch built a simple Mk IIIA gun sight and mounted it accordingly (sideways):

C7BD3EF2-ADF1-4A1B-9517-7F91138BC1D3_zps

4DC24801-853C-4286-BF6E-C6A660D49B92_zps

The barrels were added and the whole thing received a coat of MM Aircraft Interior Black. The spent gun casing bags were painted OD, not sure if this is correct but once installed they will never be seen:

84BD9392-9121-41A4-B308-762CD0A53164_zps

5E86D745-B3F9-4C72-8870-C8CDB2AB0CB0_zps

2E874EA2-B3E8-4331-A925-127C70BA323F_zps

The two central gauges are related to the oxygen system so two of the smallest airscale "RAF gauges" set were installed, using copious amounts of Microsol:

B4DE2F83-DD68-4776-9575-DEF86A8AB9CE_zps

Once the PE arrives and is installed, I will be able to continue with the turret construction.

So next up we turn to the fuselage and cockpit area. Basic assembly skills required to fit the sidewalls to each fuselage side. There is a nasty ejector pin mark on both the throttle quadrant and the fuse box (?) on either side. These were filled with punched discs and sanded smooth:

E9668EDF-B136-4AC6-BE11-0AF34F914E58_zps

The cockpit floor forward cockpit area consists of 11 pieces. The fine detail in the seat supports reveals springs moulded (which are fragile) and the unique control column which attaches to the seat:

C42E19F1-8420-4CC0-8D10-6B58B95C1805_zps

C2B67B9E-36DE-4102-82B6-2DD6A4557082_zps

Turning to the IP, it is a little clunky by modern standards, so the Eduard PE one may be better. However to compare, I painted it up and used the kit IP decal with lots of Micro Sol. I also cut the decal where the gap above the compass housing and between the two compass housing supports, to enable a better fit:

5A583897-EE42-402F-8C5E-AA66CF55D5AD_zps

D982BA47-8B76-4679-914C-D654A3E666F8_zps

343A381F-F002-4632-9F89-BB79D734D633_zps

The result is not too bad but I will have to replace the PE compass face as it looks ludicrously small in the current housing. I will have a look how the PE set for the IP looks when it arrives and decide to keep the kit one or replace it. For those of you who are building this and decide to use the decal, it may also be advisable to cut the two uppermost dials from the IP decal and attach them as a separate item into their respective dials. It will make the settling a little easier.

Regards and thanks for looking,

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Thanks guys,

About the only real criticism one could have of this kit is the lack of rivets. Apparently a defining characteristic of the real aircraft. The question now begs itself...."to rivet or not to rivet?"

063E0F6F-F7CC-477A-A41B-5D4E8880E9B3_zps

Regards,

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Personally Kent having looked at the Hendon example very closely. No don't rivet it. They are flush rivets and just don't show up on the real thing but that's my opinion. It's your model after all. Good work so far

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Personally Kent having looked at the Hendon example very closely. No don't rivet it. They are flush rivets and just don't show up on the real thing but that's my opinion. It's your model after all. Good work so far

Thanks matey,

It's good to get a perspective from somebody that has seen one "in the flesh" and is able to provide some perspective. I have read elsewhere on forums they should be "prominent" and certainly from the reference photos of the Hendon aircraft I have seen, they appear prominent but, the book author also indicates the flash photography has accentuated them. This may have caused some confusion amongst the pundits.

Regards,

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After searching my picture library,I found this one,this was taken about 1940,and those rivets as dazdot pointed out are flush,almost indented into the fuselage,so definitely not proud of it,see bottom left of picture,hope it helps the decision.

defiant_cockpit.jpg

Edited by Jackofalltrades
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After searching my picture library,I found this one,this was taken about 1940,and those rivets as dazdot pointed out are flush,almost indented into the fuselage,so definitely not proud of it,see bottom left of picture,hope it helps the decision.

defiant_cockpit.jpg

Thanks for that photo Jackofalltrades,

It still makes me ponder about the rivets, as they are still very noticeable/prominent. Certainly not proud of the panel nor divot like, as in the marks you would get from a "general" rivet tool. They appear (to me) to be more like the circular design of the MDC rivet tool?

Certainly in 32 scale I think they would have to be included but in 48?

Thoughts?

Regards,

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I am torn. A search of the Internet images show me examples for both arguments. I may have to resort to a coin toss!

As an aside, from my quest I have found an Australian connection. 456 Squadron, RAAF, flew Defiants, albeit briefly in Jun-Sep 1941. They were a NF squadron and transitioned to Beaufighters and then Mosquitos during WWII. I may have found a contender for a second build (or change this one if I can find proper markings).

Regards,

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I would say relying on museum aircraft is fine,but beware,an aircraft that is 75 years plus will have on it many coats of paint IMO,which will hide such detail as rivets,I have always tried to find picture references of the time the aircraft was built/in operation,to give a better idea of the finish,anyway just my two pennies worth for what it's worth :winkgrin:

Here's another shot showing a little riveting on a 264 Squadron Defiant

An_air_gunner_of_No__264_Squadron_RAF_ab

Edited by Jackofalltrades
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Your build continues to be most useful! What I would like to know is where the display unit for the radar on the night fighters was placed? All I have been able to discover is that it was somewhere on the starboard side of the pilot's cockpit.in

Martin

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The control units for the radar were mounted on the cockpit sidewalls. On the starboard was the main on/off switch box and reset button, whereas the port side housed the control unit which had the spot and background brilliance controls, suppression control and the test button. I've yet to see an image with the actual radar display in place, but I'm working on it!

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Thanks Andy,

With the 456 SQN information, I will probably need those drawings for the other kit and luckily the kit has the antennas.

Still debating the rivet question. I have the MDC rivet tool so I am going to try that out on some spare plastic, so I have been faffing around the peripheries. I had a spare set of PE belts for the pilot's seat, so they went in and will need some touch ups (I will have to reattach the control column too):

C7B1C2DC-5D01-4F53-9FB0-4A824BDC50B6_zps

MM Aircraft Interior Black for the sidewalls:

B0A63F5F-6718-4F5A-8E3A-458E6C772FFC_zps

Wiring of the gun sight and touched up the overall blackness of the turret:

5E9BDF26-1537-4218-99B0-51D6FB51CEB0_zps

And the prop completed:

D40F3D9E-818C-4F06-806E-2D525B537337_zps

CB0249E3-7EF6-45AD-B951-97C0BB71EEEA_zps

News in the Eduard stuff has been despatched so that should be here in a week or so.

Regards,

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An excellent start indeed. I also have one of these but haven't examined it closely yet, but I'm pleased to see the amount of detail in the turret.

I have one query on the fuel tank, would self sealing tanks have been fitted by this time and if so should it be red/brown? I don't know but someone else might. If only Edgar were here.

Cheers

John

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An excellent start indeed. I also have one of these but haven't examined it closely yet, but I'm pleased to see the amount of detail in the turret.

I have one query on the fuel tank, would self sealing tanks have been fitted by this time and if so should it be red/brown? I don't know but someone else might. If only Edgar were here.

Cheers

John

John,

The turret truly is a gem OOB. The Eduard set doesn't add much as far as I see, although some parts are useful. It is much better than the old CA one, I am told. I have no idea re self sealing tanks either. The colour call out is aluminium but once the (thankfully) single piece cowling goes on, the tank will never see the light of day.

Regards,

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Thanks Andy,

With the 456 SQN information, I will probably need those drawings for the other kit and luckily the kit has the antennas.

Still debating the rivet question. I have the MDC rivet tool so I am going to try that out on some spare plastic, so I have been faffing around the peripheries. I had a spare set of PE belts for the pilot's seat, so they went in and will need some touch ups (I will have to reattach the control column too):

C7B1C2DC-5D01-4F53-9FB0-4A824BDC50B6_zps

Good to see I'm not the only one who snapped off the control column. :)

Andy

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Not much to report, apart from the arrival of these items today:

41585B43-88DC-40D3-AEF3-D25EAF9DC85B_zps

Even at first glance, the IP is superior to the kit plus decals. So there will probably be some reworking. I may try and keep the two upper dials as they protrude and just fit the panel and blind flying panel in. The compass face in the Zoom is much larger and should look much better!

Regards,

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