Beaufighter Prototype RFI - Hasegawa Mk VI conversion 1/72

[CedB]

When PC ( @Procopius ) came over to the UK some time ago he very kindly sent me a couple of kits as a thank you. I finished the Beaufort some time ago but I've been saving this one until I thought I was up to the job and now I think I might be ready.

 

The kit is the Hasegawa Mk. VI but when looking for themes I stumbled across an image of the prototype:

 

 

Has to be done. The various modifications required are specified in the WiP here. Eventually.

Finished with AK True Metal (the paste) Dark Aluminium and Aluminium, sprayed roundels, masked underwing serials and a soldered brass tube pitot it's been a great exercise. Worn out now  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Procopius]

Spectacular work, Ced! 

[bristol boy]

Lovely shiny Beau, can't beat a Bristol! The last shot shows just how elegant the Beaufighter was, 

Neil

[Unfinished project]

That is a thing of beauty 👏👏👏

[Beard]

That's really rather splendid paintwork Ced.

[Gorby]

Lovely model, and very impressive navigation lights and soldering work.

[Heather Kay]

Very nice. I followed the rapid build with interest, and the outcome is superb.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Another Great model Ced 👍 ... Looking forward to the Vulcan. 

[bbudde]

That looks great Ced!!

[Meatbox8]

A real stunner.  A terrific metallic finish.  It makes the Beau look ahead of its time.

[TheBaron]

Resplendent in that metallic scheme Ced - a beautiful rendition of the Foe Biter.

[stevehnz]

Nice job Ced, that's a bit super. 👍 & look, I managed to keep up.

Steve.

[Stew Dapple]

Lovely job Ced, you might be worn out , but you have a unique Beaufighter in your collection and she is beautiful, and that's got to be worth the effort 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[MikeR]

Nicely done!

 

Mike.

[giemme]

Great result, great ride on the WIP thread - and quick too!  👏

 

Ciao

[KelT]

Worn out perhaps but you have to be very satisfied, you have your proof that you are more than up to the job.

 

A beautiful model, superb work.

[Cookenbacher]

That's a real beauty Ced, good on you for choosing to build the prototype.

The masked marking look fantastic as well.

[RidgeRunner]

A very nice build and an interesting subject. I like it a lot. 

 

Martin

Edited June 12, 2018 by RidgeRunner

[PhantomBigStu]

Fantastic ced, the silver really suits the lines of the beau

[stevej60]

Excellent work Ced,very different from look of the production airframes.

[Rabbit Leader]

Ced - that's just Beau-tiful (bad pun intended). 

You don't often see prototypes built, however when they turn out as gorgous as this, I'm sure we'll start seeing a few more pop up soon. Simply put, this is a stunning replica of a brute of an aircraft and makes a nice change from the Black and Coastal colours usually linked to the Beaufighter. 

 

Cheers and and well modelled (yet again)... Dave. 

[Courageous]

What they all said.

Great build of a shiny Beau.

Now let's go and find this big bird...

[The Spadgent]

Wowzers! A vision in Silver. Bavo Mr B.

she’s a stunner.🤩🤩🤩

 

Johnny

Edited June 12, 2018 by The Spadgent

[Horatio Gruntfuttock]

Wow that is something special , great effort there. Lovely detail work, alterations and scheme.

One question - are you sure that the prototype had cylinder head bulges on the cowlings? I have plans to build this aircraft as well and my references indicate that these bulges did not appear until the Mark VIf. I don't mean to be too critical, as your's looks terrific,  but want to get my facts straight.

[CedB]

13 hours ago, Procopius said:

Spectacular work, Ced! 

Thanks PC - I'm really pleased you like her after your kind gift of the kit. Thanks again matey  

13 hours ago, bristol boy said:

Lovely shiny Beau, can't beat a Bristol! The last shot shows just how elegant the Beaufighter was, 

Neil

Thanks BB  As you know, I'm with you Neil! There's just something about their designs.

13 hours ago, Unfinished project said:

That is a thing of beauty 👏👏👏

Thank you Sir  

12 hours ago, Beard said:

That's really rather splendid paintwork Ced.

Thanks Simon, glad you like her  

12 hours ago, Gorby said:

Lovely model, and very impressive navigation lights and soldering work.

Thanks Gorby  I'm hoping to improve my soldering with a bit more practice!

12 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

Very nice. I followed the rapid build with interest, and the outcome is superb.

Thanks Heather  I do spend a lot of time modelling at the moment... but not as rapid as your Rotodyne!

12 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Another Great model Ced 👍 ... Looking forward to the Vulcan. 

Thanks Dennis  

12 hours ago, bbudde said:

That looks great Ced!!

Thanks Benedikt  

12 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

A real stunner.  A terrific metallic finish.  It makes the Beau look ahead of its time.

Thanks MB  I think so too... like a lot of Bristols IMHO.

11 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Resplendent in that metallic scheme Ced - a beautiful rendition of the Foe Biter.

Thanks Tony  

11 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Nice job Ced, that's a bit super. 👍 & look, I managed to keep up.

Steve.

Thanks Steve - and well done for keeping up!  

10 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

Lovely job Ced, you might be worn out , but you have a unique Beaufighter in your collection and she is beautiful, and that's got to be worth the effort 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

Thanks Stew, glad you like her matey  

10 hours ago, MikeR said:

Nicely done!

 

Mike.

Thanks Mike  

10 hours ago, giemme said:

Great result, great ride on the WIP thread - and quick too!  👏

 

Ciao

Thanks Giorgio - especially for your earlier help on the vinyl cutter - couldn't have done this without it  

8 hours ago, KelT said:

Worn out perhaps but you have to be very satisfied, you have your proof that you are more than up to the job.

 

A beautiful model, superb work.

Thank you Sir, very kind  

7 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

That's a real beauty Ced, good on you for choosing to build the prototype.

The masked marking look fantastic as well.

Thanks Cookie - I did eventually get the RAF font to work (sort of) on my Mac so more to come (one day)  

7 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

A very nice build and an interesting subject. I like it a lot. 

 

Martin

Thanks Martin  

7 hours ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Fantastic ced, the silver really suits the lines of the beau

Thanks Stu, I couldn't resist after seeing that photo  

7 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Excellent work Ced,very different from look of the production airframes.

Thanks Steve - yep, I think my 'future Beaus' are going to be less Beautiful  

7 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Ced - that's just Beau-tiful (bad pun intended). 

You don't often see prototypes built, however when they turn out as gorgous as this, I'm sure we'll start seeing a few more pop up soon. Simply put, this is a stunning replica of a brute of an aircraft and makes a nice change from the Black and Coastal colours usually linked to the Beaufighter. 

 

Cheers and and well modelled (yet again)... Dave. 

Thanks Dave - oops, just stole your pun!  You've got me thinking now... more prototypes...  

7 hours ago, Courageous said:

What they all said.

Great build of a shiny Beau.

Now let's go and find this big bird...

Thanks Stuart - come on over!  

5 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Wowzers! A vision in Silver. Bavo Mr B.

she’s a stunner.🤩🤩🤩

 

Johnny

Thanks Johnny  

56 minutes ago, Horatio Gruntfuttock said:

Wow that is something special , great effort there. Lovely detail work, alterations and scheme.

One question - are you sure that the prototype had cylinder head bulges on the cowlings? I have plans to build this aircraft as well and my references indicate that these bulges did not appear until the Mark VIf. I don't mean to be too critical, as your's looks terrific,  but want to get my facts straight.

Thanks Horatio  I'm not sure of anything I'm afraid and information on the prototype is a bit thin... I'm hoping to get some time in the Bristol archive soon and will let everyone know if I find anything relevant and/or helpful. That said the Beau had several engine changes so I wouldn't be surprised if the bulges were added later.