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1/48 Boulton Paul Defiant- 410 RCAF Night Fighter Build- Finished


Antb

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Hi Folks, 

 

Received the Airfix kit from SWMBO for Christmas and as I have a massive soft spot for the Defiant it has to be the next build, pushing down another I had planned to start in the New Year. 

 

I actually built one of these back at the end of 2016 (seen here 2016 Defiant) which looks a bit rubbish now. I remember the build being really good, with no issues or problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, that Defiant is no longer with us having suffered the wrath of a ferocious duster many moons ago.... 

 

The kit itself is really nice however there is absolutely zilch riveting detail on the wings or the fuselage so this will be my first ever build whereby I will be putting in riveting to make it look better and a tad more accurate- however, im not promising 100% accuracy so if you're nervous about proper accuracy probably best to look away now. I have ordered the 1/48th scale drawings for the build which arrive tomorrow so once received I can crack on and get the riveting started. 

 

I'll be using Eduard seatbelts as the kit contains nothing, no decal or anything, and may use the ROP O.S. Decals to model RA-R or I may cut my own masks and paint the codes on for RA- H. I haven't decided which way to go just yet, i'll see how the work goes in riveting first. Might prefer the simple way forward... 

 

I've got some super help from @Troy Smith and @AndyL with some great photos so hopefully I can pull off a good build. 

 

Enough with the waffle I hear you cry, on with the photos: 

 

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Here's the fuselage with fasteners and panel lines just no rivet detail whatsoever. Oh, and some nasty ejector marks where they have almost come through the plastic:

 

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So, i'll await the arrival of the plans and the replacement riveter for the one I ordered incorrectly and then I can get cracking. 

 

Please feel free to follow along and chip in with comments good or bad. 

 

🐜

Edited by Antb
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2 hours ago, Antb said:

Here's the fuselage with fasteners

If you need to re-do fasteners, a set of beading tool is a good buy, they can be got cheap on ebay from China

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handmade-Jewelry-Tools-Diamond-Setting-Beading-Stone-Beaders-23Pcs-Set/122555118797

 

A tip from @Basilisk  Hurricane build

 

HTH

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Thanks Troy, I might have a look at that when I get near the airframe to see if I can live with whats there or not. 

 

The build has officially started, the new Rosie and the scale plans arrived today so managed to crack on. I decided to make a start on the wings (well, one atleast) to see how I got on, having never done anything like this before. 

 

It took some time to decide what the best way forward was with transferring the rivet and panel line details from the plans to the model itself. I scanned the plans in, printed out with a view to sticking them onto the model and riveting through the paper, but gave up before I even got started. So, it was the long way. I took each panel in turn, measured all the rivet lines carefully and transferred this onto the model, measuring again, with a pencil line. I've no idea how long it took, but it was a long time to get to this stage: 

 

20191230-160037.jpg

 

Not easy and it looked real messy but I decided to crack on. This was the easy bit, running the wheel over the pencil lines. I wasn't too worried about them being perfectly straight as I guess in real life they weren't 100%- I did say I wasn't going for complete accuracy. Oh, there were also a couple of panel lines to put in, at the leading edge of the wing and on the RH side just before the wing tip. 

 

10 minutes or so and we had this:

 

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Pencil lines roughly rubbed off gave this:

 

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Compared to the kit part:

 

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Loads better. 

 

I went at the wing with a proper rubber to try and remove as much pencil grime as I could and it left with me with this:

 

20191230-162738.jpg

 

I really like this if im honest. 

 

I think ill give it a quick run over with some TET to get rid of some of the sticky up bits (technical term) and see what it looks like. I think with some paint on it will look great, well, I hope so atleast. 

 

I'd love some feedback from you guys who have experience of this for hints or tips and where I can improve. 

 

More later this evening hopefully!

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Good Morning Folks, 

 

Firstly, happy new year and best wishes! 

 

I've been suffering with a severe case (if I don't say so myself) of man flu for the past few days so NYE was a bit of a wash out. However, every cloud and all that, it means that ive had to indulge in some medicinal work on the Defiant and have cracked on with the riveting across the wings and the fuselage. As ive said previously ive never done this before so its not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and im aware that there are errors all across the work ive done but it looks much better than what was there before.

 

I have yet completed the upper and lower parts of the fuselage where they join and this will be completed once the fuselage halves have come together.  

 

So this is where we are: 

 

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I haven't done the tailplanes as yet, these will be done once they have been built up along with other parts of the airframe, scoops and rudder etc

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Hi Folks, 

 

The lurg remains so ive spent the day doing some medicinal building. The kit seems to be flying together at a rate of knots and I knew there was a reason I moved away from 48th WW2 kits to 32nd. 

 

Anyway, the cockpit got built up along with the internal details and the wing section including the wheel wells. There's not really much to show so I haven't got any photos of the cockpit built up in its plastic state. No painting yet though, im waiting for my brand new spray booth to arrive before painting so progress on that front will be slow until it arrives. 

 

Wings went together alright and are currently drying being taped together. Couldn't resist a dry fit of the wing section and the fuselage. Goes together really nicely and there doesn't appear to be any issues. The riveting looks alright too, hope it doesn't get lost when the paint goes on, but so far im pleased with how it looks. The main focus of this build for me is the airframe and the wings and the overall finish I get. I hope the paint blends the riveting together as it does look stark in the photos. The beauty of close ups I guess... doesn't look that stark in the flesh. 

 

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On 01/01/2020 at 22:06, dnl42 said:

Very impressive rivet work! :worthy:

Thanks for the kind words. 

 

Time for an update. 

 

I'm , unfortunately, still suffering with this Flu (wife says its man flu but im convinced its actually much worse than that 🤣) so have only felt like making some progress on the build this afternoon when SWMBO and the kids went out. Managed to get loads done actually and the build is really rattling forward. 

 

First up, I didn't take any in progress photos of the cockpit when I dry fitted everything together so this is what it looks like:

 

20200103-133514.jpg

 

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Once I had glued the wings together there was a slight gap either side of the reinforcement spars? for the wings so these got some PPP

 

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With this taken care of it was time for the interior green- in my Case Tamiya XF-71- no primer on the cockpit side walls or the pit itself, just straight on the bare plastic: The IP got a coat of flat black too- just the kit panel no aftermarket for this one in that department. 

 

20200103-142100.jpg

 

Seat painted with Tamiya Red Brown XF64 and details picked out with flat black. Gloss coat applied ready for a burnt umber Oil wash: 

 

20200103-145043.jpg

 

I had a set of Eduard steel belts left from a few years ago so these were put to good use. I found these really easy this time around but much prefer the HGW textile belts as they sit a lot better. But they look good enough. And here's the pit weathered up 

 

20200103-171402.jpg

 

 

And a better image on my other cutting mat: 

 

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Things were moving on pretty quickly, i'd forgotten how quickly WW2 fighters went together! and it was time to mate the fuselage halves and then the wings too. 

 

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Bit of a gap at the front wing root but nothing major to sort that out. Tailplanes, radiators ets and then I can add the rivets along the top and bottom and it wont be too much longer until we can get into paint. Just hope that rivets stay visible. 

 

So far so good, a bit simple with not a lot of details, a 1/32 or 1/24 Defiant would be awesome! 

 

Maybe more later, but probably more this weekend. 

 

 

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Howdy, 

 

I've managed a couple more hours since last nights update and I cant believe how quickly im getting through the build. I remember now why I went away from 48th WW2 fighters into 32nd... :-). Im not exactly adding any detail to the engine etc so that makes a massive difference but still, im really surprised. 

 

So last night the airframe was all put together and the wings were attached and left overnight to set. 

 

This morning saw the gaps filled, (there weren't many), seams sorted on the fuselage and then on with the cowling. I added a panel line down the centre as it wasn't there on the kit but was on the plans, and a touch of riveting right in front of the windscreen. This attached really well but I sued a touch of PPP to make some of the joints not as deep. Radiator and coolers fitted on the bottom, again a touch of riveting and the wing lights. These were actually quite troublesome and didn't fit great. I painted the wing light section interior green, added the lights which happened to ping off my bench and onto the floor- luckily the carpet monster was asleep at the time! No idea how I managed to retrieve them but I did- it's probably my one for the year! 

 

A touch of PP around the lights where they met the wings, cleaned off and masked ready for painting. 

 

I don't usually add the rudder, flaps and ailerons until after the build but on this occasion I did. A bit of riveting added again, not too much, and these were glued into place accordingly. The "fin" behind the turret was also riveted and has been placed in so I can paint it at the same time as the rest of the airframe. Ill glue it in later. 

 

And I think its ready for paint- Black- and lots of it 🙂

 

I'm enjoying the build so far, really looking to the painting which is my favourite part of the build. Ill also be painting the codes and markings so that will be interesting. 

 

As always, any comments, hints or tips are really welcome- it is about learning after all. 

 

On with the pics! 

 

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Hi Folks, 

 

So ive spent some time inbetween house work etc getting the Defiant ready for paint. A few bits and pieces have been cleaned up and ive decided to fit the canopy in the closed position. Ive cut the masks out myself just using some tape. 

 

The painting instructions call out for Aluminium wheel wells but I have also seen Defiants with Black wells instead. @AndyL would you happen to know which is right or if both are right? Thanks in advance 😀

 

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the spray booth before painting- cant wait to get cracking. 

 

Enjoy the rest of your day folks

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28 minutes ago, AndyL said:

Mate, go for black wheel wells. My night fighter images show them that way, including the undercarriage legs and doors.

Awesome, thanks buddy! 

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Hi Folks, 

 

3 whole days without an update! 🙂

 

So, the spray booth arrived on Tuesday and it got set up last night, however I wasn't able to get to have a play. But this changed this evening- paints on! 

 

First up (which I nearly forgot to do!!) was spray the interior green on the canopy. This didn't really need a photo but I took one as it was the first time i'd sprayed in the booth and wanted to see what the pics looked like 🤣- so here it is:

 

20200108-191538.jpg

 

I ordered some Mr finishing surfacer 1500 Black to give it a go as ive seen really good reviews about it online. Usually id just use flat black but im all for something different/ So on it went. 

 

20200108-195715.jpg

 

It seems to be drying "bitty" in places but seemed to go on smooth enough, so will need a light sand when its properly dry. Its also highlighted a few areas that a bit dodgy that will need tidying up but theres nothing major from what I can tell so far. The rivet details looks ace and really adds some interest to the otherwise plain surfaces. 

 

Once the sand has been done and the areas sorted im planning going with some flat black mixed with a bit of blue across the surfaces, avoiding the panel lines, and then adding a bit of grey to the mixture to break it up a bit more. Whether it will look decent I don't know but we will find out. 

 

I've also made the masks ready for the markings to be applied, so really looking forward to pushing on with the build now. My favourite bit is the painting as it really starts coming to life. 

 

More in the next few days hopefully. 

 

Take care 

 

Ant 

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10 minutes ago, Christer A said:

Wow! What a tremendous job you did with the riveting. It looks great!

Thanks so much, you're very kind! 

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Hi Folks, 

 

Had some more time on the Defiant this evening and have pushed forward with the black. Im not sure im too happy with it but we will see how it is after it has dried overnight. 

 

First up, the issues were fixed.

 

20200109-200641.jpg

 

A view from the other side- the riveting shows through nicely 

 

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Rather than going over them with Mr Surfacer I went straight flat black to add some depth and variation. Mr Hobby Aqueuous was used:

 

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When this has dried off a little I added some Mr Hobby Aqueuous Intermediate Blue to add a tint and finally some Tamiya XF20 to add another level of variation:

 

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It looks patchy but its still drying so hoping it all blends in. If it doesn't, ill use it towards the weathering. 

 

In other news, ive made the masks ready for spraying the markings on. 

 

20200109-211854.jpg

 

Im looking forward to cracking on with these. The 0 in the serial code I will have to paint the inside by hand, the cutter wouldn't go that small but its an easy fix. 

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On 1/4/2020 at 5:30 PM, Antb said:

 

 

20200104-170856.jpg

 

 

 

 

Great build! I'm fascinated by the riveting, it adds so much.
One thing that caught my eye, the tail. Looks like you have sanded the panels to give a planked effect? Apologies if you've already described it and I've missed it. I'm converting a 1:48 Spitfire to the K5054 prototype, and the panels on the top wing surfaces are planked. I'm not sure how to go about getting that effect. I did consider laying a strip of tape, and putting a skim of filler up to the edge ... ? You've nailed it with this though.

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That's looking really nice. I built the Mk.I a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the build. I didn't rivet mine but it certainly adds some visual interest to an otherwise dark model.

 

What tool/machine did you use to cut the stencils? The cameo seems to all of the rage at the moment.

 

Cheers

Mick

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10 hours ago, Quiet Mike said:

Great build! I'm fascinated by the riveting, it adds so much.
One thing that caught my eye, the tail. Looks like you have sanded the panels to give a planked effect? Apologies if you've already described it and I've missed it. I'm converting a 1:48 Spitfire to the K5054 prototype, and the panels on the top wing surfaces are planked. I'm not sure how to go about getting that effect. I did consider laying a strip of tape, and putting a skim of filler up to the edge ... ? You've nailed it with this though.

Hi Mike 

 

Wish I could take credit for it but it's actually the kit detail out of the box. It's a really detailed kit despite no rivets. 

 

I think your filler idea could work, never done it myself but Mr surfacer might work for you. 

 

5 hours ago, Mick Drover said:

That's looking really nice. I built the Mk.I a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the build. I didn't rivet mine but it certainly adds some visual interest to an otherwise dark model.

 

What tool/machine did you use to cut the stencils? The cameo seems to all of the rage at the moment.

 

Cheers

Mick

Thanks mick. The wife bought a Cricut for her work (which I understand isn't in the range of the cameo) but it does the job. 

 

You can import fonts and find an image online of the rounders and cut them out in the program. Dead easy really. 

 

 

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