Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 The Royal Australian Air Force was an enthusiastic user of the Bristol Beaufighter. So much so that towards the end of the Second World War, the Department of aircraft Production started a licenced production line of Beaufighters in Australia. However, this build will depict one of the early Mk IC aircraft used by 31 Sqn RAAF. I will be using the Airfix kit. I'm sure you will have seeen the sprues before, elsewhere on BM, but here they are again. The Airfix kit depicts a Mk.X which is quite different from the early IC, the most visible difference being the dihedral tailplane. Luckily Alley Cat provides a conversion set. This set has the early flat tailplane, some replacement collector rings, early exhausts and the early spoked mainwheels. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 Here we go. Hold on tight, rider! I'm quite familtar with the airfix Beaufighter, having started two of them before now. to my shame I've never finished one. Thankfully it's not to my eternal shame, as the two unfinished Beaufighters are currently getting a new lease of life in the KUTA GB. But knowing what to expect, I was able to jump right in. The Interior builds up quite quickly. The spars provide a very rigid airframe. The tailplane part is designed to be a simple drop-in replacement for the Airfix part, but it doesn't quite work out that way. It does need a modicum of fettling to fit well - but no more than five minutes work. I've added the canopy and masked it before fitting the wings. the wings are an easy build. they slide onto the spars to provide a very rigid structure. Like so. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Nice subject choice and progress looks to be going smoothly so far Enzo. How long have you spent working on this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 It's been progressing slowly since the start of the GB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Still good progress given all your other concurrent projects. Now, about the other two you're promising as a KUTA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 5 minutes ago, Col. said: Now, about the other two you're promising as a KUTA... Here's where I started one of them. The Tamiya build in that thread was originally intended to be built with the decals that are going onto the current build. However the Hasegawa one is also a KUTA build, repainted as a Mk.I nightfighter. But back to the Main Event. Airframe sprayed with grey plastic primer from a rattle can. I like this primer. Previously I used ordinary grey auto primer from a rattle can, but that seemed to sometimes strip off when masking was removed. I changed to using Alclad2 grey primer instead, which isn't very convenient as it requires a complete strip of my airbrush after use. I have since found this grey auto primer which is designed for use on plastic. It seems to be a little "hotter" than the first primer and so far I haven't had any issues with it lifting with masking tape. Here is a close up up the Alley Cat resin collector rings. One the left is the Airfix part for the Mk.X. In the middle is a cleaned up Alley Cat resin part. On the right is the resin part with a substantial casting sprue. It's not a difficult job to clean up though. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Excellent choice Enzo, but then I'm biased as I'm building it's bigger Tamiya brother. You're really flying along at a fair old rate on the build, best hurry up and finish mine before you catch up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Ooh I remember those now. Nice to see them getting some renewed attention For this 1c I think you need to remove the slight bulges on the engine cowlings; the early model Bristol Hercules fitted better than those found in the VI and X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 Here's where Enzo has been a bit naughty. I usually use blutak worms to mask the camouflage patter. Sometimes however, the pattern can end up being a bit simplistic. also, if I build numerous versions of the same aircraft, the camouflage patterns can vary more than actually happened in real life. AML produce some nice camouflage masks for various aircraft but I have found that the adhesive used is too strong for acrylic paint. It's ideal for enamel, but strips the acrylic right off the primer. So... being naughty, I applied the masks to a sheet of A4 paper and simply photocopied it. What you see below is the model sprayed with Lifecolor UA-513 RAAF Earth Brown and then masked with paper masks from the photocopy. This means that I have an unending supply of camouflage masks for any further Beaufighters I wish to build. Like I say.... naughty. But to be honest, as I'm at heart a wowdy webel, I'm not sorry at all. Green sprayed with Lifecolor UA-514 RAAF Foliage Green. Undersurfaces were masked and sprayed Lifecolor UA-124 Japanese Grey Green A5, which is a better match for the undersurface colour than UA-515 RAAF Sky Blue, which seems far too pale. I've also added the engines and cowlings. The collector rings were painted with Valleju Metal Color 77.723 Exhaust Manifold. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 8 minutes ago, Col. said: For this 1c I think you need to remove the slight bulges on the engine cowlings; the early model Bristol Hercules fitted better than those found in the VI and X. Nice spot, Col. But as you can see, it's a bit late for that. never mind... I'll live with it. Bringing us up to date, the decals were applied. these came from Print Scale sheet 72082. One minor problem is that the PSL declas are very thin indeed and if you are not extremely careful they will fold up on application. Guess what? I wasn't extremeley careful with the serials. One of them folded up and nothing - but nothing - I could do would unfold it. Luckily the same markings are in the High Planes Beaufighter kit, to I robbed the serials from that. I like the looks of this scheme as the green and brown have a low contrast which should look nice and drab when the matt coat is applied. We're up to date! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Sorry I wasn't able to tell you about the bulges in time Enzo but that'll teach you to work so fast Looking good though and not far from finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, Col. said: Sorry I wasn't able to tell you about the bulges in time Enzo but that'll teach you to work so fast Acksherly... it'll teach me to document my builds in a more timely fashion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, Enzo Matrix said: Acksherly... it'll teach me to document my builds in a more timely fashion. Aye who knew your 'plane geek mates could be usefull some days 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 I'm just looking for a bit of colour info by this observation. The green colour looks a bit odd to me. Almost green blue. Is this close to what the Australians used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 On 28/11/2018 at 21:38, Greg Law said: I'm just looking for a bit of colour info by this observation. The green colour looks a bit odd to me. Almost green blue. Is this close to what the Australians used? As far as I'm aware, it is accurate. The RAAF used a locally manufactured version of the US Medium Green colour, which is close to FS34092. http://www.colorserver.net/showcolor.asp?fs=24092 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 Thanks Enzo that will help me when I get to my Boomerang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 Don't say "Boomerang"! Don't say "Boomerang"! It'll just make me want to build one!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 It's looking very nice, very nice indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 bugga!!! you slipped this one in and I completely missed it....actually just about the complete build! very nicely done Enzo, she looks great in camp, the airfix model do look to be a nice one, nothing like they early release! I have to admit I really like seeing the Beaufigthers in this GB some much I had to go buy me one! Now a proud owner of a 1/48th Tamiya Mk.VI with rare Aeromaster decals.....and I blame Craig for this! You're just about done with this one, been a busy year for you. and before I forget BOOMERANG! you know you want to! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 1 hour ago, trickyrich said: and before I forget BOOMERANG! you know you want to! Oi!!! That sort of thing is only cool and stylish when I do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 9 hours ago, trickyrich said: ...very nicely done Enzo, she looks great in camp, the airfix model do look to be a nice one, nothing like they early release! I have to admit I really like seeing the Beaufigthers in this GB some much I had to go buy me one! Now a proud owner of a 1/48th Tamiya Mk.VI with rare Aeromaster decals.....and I blame Craig for this! What, no resin for your Beaufighter Rich!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 there maybe some resin AM stuff....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 I think I'll have to get that Printscale sheet to use with the 2 or 3 Alleycat conversions I have in the stash. I doubt my one will turn out as nice as yours has. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 I ahev a number of those Alleycat conversions in The Stash as well. I';ll be combining one of them with the Alleycat Beaufighter Mk.II conversion set in the Specialst GB early in the new year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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