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Revell 1/32 Bristol Beaufighter


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18 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Looking good so far. The propeller hubs should not be metallic but black, the same as the prop blades. Don't forget the yellow tips on the prop blades, too.

 

 

Chris

Chris, 

 

looking through lots of reference books it seems that whilst most Beaus had black props, some had light colour caps... from what I can find if the airframe is black then the props are black, but on some of the grey/green aircraft the prop cap is a light colour.

The question is then "is this also Medium Sea Grey or Silver?" With B&W film it would be very tough to see any difference. 

 

Preparing the props for correcting the hub/cap and the yellow tips I noticed that on the back of every blade there is a faint ejector pin circle. Filler and rub down and a complete re-paint called for. Grr! 

Mind you, as the inside of the U/C doors had the part numbers moulded on, as well as deep ejector pin marks I shouldn't be surprised...!!

 

Peter

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20 hours ago, gunpowder17 said:

That looks really nice. I remember getting one of these sent to me COD by Mil Slides. Remember them?!

That's a blast from the past that's where mine came from.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

20 hours ago, gunpowder17 said:

That looks really nice. I remember getting one of these sent to me COD by Mil Slides. Remember them?!

That's a blast from the past that's where mine came from.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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The front dome of the prop hub may have been painted a lighter colour, perhaps even a squadron colour, but the whole hub would not have been bare metal.

 

 

Chris

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, all modifications and painting finished, a couple of coats of Tamiy's gloss varnish as a base for the transfers and a bit of subtle pin washing. 

 

Beaufighter-Painted-3.jpg

 

In summary, to make an early Mk VI(f) I have..

Fitted "porcupine" flame damped exhausts, 

Re-framed the pilots canopy

left the spinners off the props...

 

I'm really pleased with the modified cockpit canopy, it is the first time I've filed, then polished a canopy. 

Overall an enjoyable build and the result looks like a Beaufighter! 

 

The next photos will be in the "Ready for Inspection" forum!! 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Peter, do you happen to have any closer pictures of the modifications you did to the Beau? I'm currently working on the exact same kit and am detailing the interior as much as feasibly possible.

 

Beautiful build anyways! Shes a Beau-ty!

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3 hours ago, YakkityYak said:

Peter, do you happen to have any closer pictures of the modifications you did to the Beau? I'm currently working on the exact same kit and am detailing the interior as much as feasibly possible.

 

Beautiful build anyways! Shes a Beau-ty!

Thanks..

 

It sort of evolved... there are two Builds of the Tamiya 1/48 Beaufughter, which has a well detailed interior and I used that for inspiration when I came back to the kit after 43 years...

 

The Revell interior is very simple and in some cases, wrong. A degree of scratch building is needed. Other than posts above I do not have any useful photos. 

 

This is what I did. 

Starting at the R/Os station, the radar gear is on racks aft of his seat. There is no bulkhead as such.  

There is a front bulkhead with a door way into the cannon area. The kit bulkhead is solid....! 

The floor of the R/Os station should run right up to the back of the pilots seat. More on this in a moment. 

The bulkhead behind the pilots seat doesn't exist, his seat is almost touching the front of the main spar. 

There is an armoured bulkhead just aft of the main entry hatch, and unsurprisingly this has doors. 

The pilots cockpit needs a lot of work especially the side consols, including a very obvious heating trunking. I didn't add this, but with hind sight should have done so. 

I cut out the entry hatch and ladder, boxed in the ladder storage and made a basic interior detail so looking through the cockpit it is possible to see daylight. There is a drawing of this arrangement on one of my posts. 

I drilled out the gun barrels, but this isn't needed as all Beau photos I've seen show doped patches over the cannon ports. I used thin cotton and dull read paint. 

For the A/C I'm making the canopy framing needs simplifying: I sanded away the framing that isn't needed, polished and am happy with the overall effect, but it isn't 100% accurate.  

The engine nacelles have a floor to the wheel well which would preclude the U/C retracting, I cut this out and made a representative box, so it looks possible correct. 

I fitted After Market "porcupine" flame damping exhausts. 

 

You could do a lot more, but it would mean scratch building the interior and wheel wells and making a new canopy for the pilots station. I felt the kit didn't deserve hours and hours of work.

 

Good luck with yours and please keep us all in the picture!

 

Peter

 

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  • 3 years later...

Thx for the build story. I too have had one in the stash for  last ~40 years - and would rather like to finish it. The updates/corrections you have done are just my cup of tea!  Thx!

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also had one sitting in my stash since before Hadrian built his wall (my wife says I'm prone to exaggerating but it has been there since the late 70's I think). Having just gone through your post from start to finish I'm digging it out and will give it a go. An all black nightfighter for me I think, I'll enjoy working with raised panel lines again and like you will try and detail some of the interior. Proper modelling for a change in this day of easy build, accurate models with a plethora of aftermarket details. Thank you - you have enthused me !!

 

neil

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