Pete in Lincs Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Nice choice, Heather. The early Beau's (From what I've read) weren't too popular with the Aircrews. A pre-service test flight I read went something like, 'Entry into this aircraft is difficult, it should be made impossible'. AFAIK, The flat tailplane made handling 'interesting' at times. And, I've just read Guy Gibsons' 'Enemy Coast Ahead'. He flew Beaus' on Night Fighter missions from just South of Lincoln in late 1940 & early 1941. I'm sure I remember a passage about the early Aircraft not having any heating. It had to be retrofitted. I also seem to remember that he crashed one on approach to the airfield. Anyway, watching with interest. It certainly seems a leap ahead from what I remember of the ancient Airfix kit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Exquisite cockpit scratch and detail work Heather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete in Lincs said: Entry into this aircraft is difficult, it should be made impossible' It has been attributed to dozens of aircraft, notably the Botha, but the only more-or-less verified quote I have seen is Flight Journal magazine, April 2000, regarding the XF10F-1, Grumman's first attempt at a swing wing fighter. Nice work, HK. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete in Lincs said: Anyway, watching with interest. It certainly seems a leap ahead from what I remember of the ancient Airfix kit. It is that. 7 minutes ago, Cookenbacher said: Exquisite cockpit scratch and detail work Heather. Thank you, although competent bodgery is perhaps more the truth. With more care, it would have been exquisite. As it is, it’s quite adequate for the job. The belly parts are fitted. There are no positive location points, so a little care in lining things up is required before applying glue. The main belly part needed some gentle attention from a sanding stick along the edges, but otherwise it all fits very nicely indeed. The nose is a separate component. Other noses are in the kit, to cover other variants. The basic schnozz includes a moulded representation of a gun camera aperture. The instructions tell me to cut or sand the pimple away, as the first aircraft were not so fitted. Although the parts fitted well, there were some slight ridges on the joins. A little PPP and some mild sanding dealt with them. It’s about as smooth as I’m going to get it. With the main fuselage and wings done, I shall leave things for now. The next steps are undercarriage, engines and a smattering of tiny bits. The transparencies can be masked and fitted, and the whole thing prepped for primer. Perhaps that’s my prompt to get the FrankenDornier ready, too. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 More nice work Heather, she’s really flying together - a nice rest from ‘the Monster’ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I've was planning on doing an all-black MkVI using an Airfix X and the Alley Cat conversion but having seen your TLS one is making me think again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 I’ve called a temporary halt. Would you believe I’ve reached the point of the build where I’m actually starting to look at references, over relying on what’s in the box? It's true! I have one good photo of R2069, which is the MkIF covered in this boxing and I am led to believe the first Beaufighter to enter service with No 25 Squadron in September 1940. Some fairly obvious things stand out for me. First, it doesn’t appear the guns had been fitted in the wings. No barrel holes, no obvious tape covering them, nothing. Second, the exhausts don’t match the kit. The parts will need some slight modification, but not major. Third, the kit instructions are incorrect for the wheel hubs. So, nothing major. However, I made a somewhat fruitless search of the interwebs last night hoping to find more photos of R2069 as delivered, or at least other sister aircraft at the same time. Sadly, nothing turned up, but I’ll keep looking. So, styrene mangling will halt for a while. I really have to get on with some paying work now. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 The research is half the fun, looking forward to what you find out Heather. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Heather, Is the linked photo below the one you were referring to? It doesn't look like the wing guns have been fitted in the photo, but the exhaust and small intakes above the main carburetor intakes are very interesting! Mike https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bristol-beaufighter-if-of-25-squadron-raf-in-1940-news-photo/159139347 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 10 minutes ago, 72modeler said: Is the linked photo below the one you were referring to? It is indeed. The copy I have is in a book of RAF camo and markings I bought a few years ago. 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 The cannons look to be well faired in or possibly not fitted too. Or is that my poor eyesight? Edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 10 minutes ago, Edge said: The cannons look to be well faired in or possibly not fitted too. Or is that my poor eyesight? They are pretty well faired in, to be fair. I’ve just noticed what looks like an antenna mast under the nose, and could that be a gunsight in front of the windscreen? There seems to be a formation light on the nose, too. I love photo picking! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 9 hours ago, Heather Kay said: I have one good photo of R2069, which is the MkIF covered in this boxing Heather, When you get back to this project, you might try looking for photos of Beaufighter Mk1's serialed either before or after R2069, as they most likely would have the same armament and exhaust fit. Sometimes I get lucky when I try that. Good luck! Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Some photos of Beau IF's: Beaufighter Mark IF, R2153 PN-W, of No. 252 Squadron RAF preparing to taxy at Chivenor, Devon. Beaufighter Mark IF, R2198 PN-B, of No. 252 Squadron RAF based at Chivenor, Devon, in flight off the coast. Original wartime caption: View -G.2 - turning to starboard from below. Chris 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 (edited) "Beaudacious" photos, Chris! Wonder at what serial block the wing guns were fitted? BTW- any idea what those blisters are for underneath the oil coolers? Never really noticed them before. Thanks for posting the very sharp photos. Mike Just now found this photo of a Beaufort restoration- note the 'U' bend in the oil line underneath the cooler. I'm thinking maybe that's the reason for the blister on the Beaufighter oil cooler; to cover that section of oil line? IIRC, the Beaufighter and Beaufort oil coolers were very similar. What do you think? (Off-topic, but the posted photos made me curious!) Mike https://www.warbirdsonline.com.au/2016/08/09/beaufort-a9-141-update-aug-2016/donated-dap-beaufort-oil-cooler-trial-mounted-in-port-wing-detail-view/ Edited January 22, 2020 by 72modeler added text, added link 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 1 hour ago, 72modeler said: "Beaudacious" photos, Chris! Wonder at what serial block the wing guns were fitted? BTW- any idea what those blisters are for underneath the oil coolers? Never really noticed them before. Thanks for posting the very sharp photos. Mike Just now found this photo of a Beaufort restoration- note the 'U' bend in the oil line underneath the cooler. I'm thinking maybe that's the reason for the blister on the Beaufighter oil cooler; to cover that section of oil line? IIRC, the Beaufighter and Beaufort oil coolers were very similar. What do you think? (Off-topic, but the posted photos made me curious!) Mike https://www.warbirdsonline.com.au/2016/08/09/beaufort-a9-141-update-aug-2016/donated-dap-beaufort-oil-cooler-trial-mounted-in-port-wing-detail-view/ Now that you mention it, I've never noticed that before either. Good one! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, dogsbody said: I've never noticed that before either I have. I filed the bumps off when I used the Airfix Beaufighter wings on my Airfrog Beaufort, then had to add them back on when the appropriate photo turned up! Nice Beaufighting so far. Looking forward to a brown and green one! Regards, Adrian 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Well done Heather. It's looking good and will look excellent at the display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 On 22/01/2020 at 23:14, AdrianMF said: Nice Beaufighting so far. Ta. 2 hours ago, Greg Law said: Well done Heather. It's looking good and will look excellent at the display Ha! Yes, that. I am pulling ideas together at the moment as to how best to contribute there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz rb fan Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 8:52 PM, Ed Russell said: High Level?? HPM, Hiplanes, maybe or if really in the distant past, High Planes Models. @oz rb fan should look at this - he's building one too. for the same purpose. and checking it out i am doing........nice work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Hello again. A day to myself, so I decided to do a couple of jobs. Things to consider to make a reasonable replica of R2069 are filling the wing gun ports and ejector chutes, and consider which parts can be used and/or modified to represent the exhaust collector ring and the exhaust itself, and finally think about the wheel hubs. First, then, the guns. Out with the Squadron putty. This tube is on its last knocking, so it’s a bit dry. It’ll do, though. There are screwed down panels on the upper wings, but as I can't definitively work out if they are there for the gun servicing or not I will leave them alone. Sprue frame L contains most of the power plant pieces. There is a choice of collector rings, from which I will use L11 with the inlets filed off. L3 matches the exhaust shroud, but there’s an extension to the rear on R2069. I think L24 can be adapted for that job. Happily, the kit includes both plain and spoked hubs for the main wheels. The early planes had spokes both sides. That leaves adding bracing struts to the engine and collector ring. I shall look out some detail photos of engines to get that right. I’ll either use short lengths of fine brass wire, or stretch some sprue. It depends on my mood at the time. More, perhaps, later. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Your plans for the exhaust looks good. The shroud ( Part L3 ) just needs a short pipe at the rear end, that turns slightly outboard of the nacelle side. Chris 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 I have been pecking away at it. It’s a funny day for various reasons. I’m also jumping around the orthodox construction sequence as I see fit. I was wrong. See? I admit it. The photo published earlier clearly, well, not quite clearly thanks to a watermark, shows the inner hubs in the main wheels are plain. The main undercarriage parts have been assembled, and when the cement has set I’ll clean things up a bit and give them a coat of aluminium. It rather looks like these assemblies can be plugged into the bays much later in the sequence, so I ought to be able to paint the airframe, detail paint the bays, fit the gear and doors and away we go. You probably can’t see it here, but a tiny bit of microrod has been stuck into an 'ole in the schnozz to replicate the formation light there. The large oil (?) cooler intakes on the wings have been stuck in and carefully faired in to hide the join. Whether I’ve been successful will be seen after a coat of primer. Underneath, the cartridge ejector chutes have been successfully filled. The fuel dump outlets have been fitted to the backs of the nacelles, and you’ll note I’ve installed the cooling gills. I have also carefully drilled into the landing lights to dish them. I think it’s probably wise to paint the interiors of all the lighting parts (wingtip lights included) and get the transparencies installed and faired in. While I’m at it, I might have a bash at masking and fitting the canopies. Really, aside from the engines, it’s just little fiddly bits now before priming and painting. Oh, while I’m here, does anyone know if the early MkIs had a wing-mounted pitot tube? There’s one in the kit, and it’s there in the instructions, but I can't quite see one on the real thing. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 2 minutes ago, dogsbody said: Your plans for the exhaust looks good. Cross-posted! I forgot to mention the proper parts are actually on the sprue. L4 is the tail pipe. Those images are timely, too. Thank you for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 As for the collector ring struts, this is the best picture of them that I have ever found. Chris 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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