Copper Color for the Nacelle Lip on Beaufighters

[occa]

Fascinating topic, !!
I always wondered why some fronts of the collector rings showed slightly protruding rings around the openings while on others such wasn't discernible.

Also obviously a model highly benefits if one takes care to paint those parts in a realistic way like woody's excellent Blenheim proves above.

 

[Tokyo Raider]

I have to catch up on this thread and all the info posted...  But I went with what I saw two days ago...  Here is my Beaufighter with a burned steel testors model master 'jet exhaust' color.  I was planning to touch this up if new info comes out but it looks like a decent place to start...  Now I will go back and read all the new posts here and see if I need to repaint!  I saw the excellent photos of the factory and these nacelle lips being made...  Looked like a sheet (metal) steel to me...  So probably a similar material in a Jet exhaust color would be proper...

[rossm]

That looks like a good start to me, now "weather" in generous areas of burnt (brownish) metal using some of the photos above and I'd be happy.

[Tokyo Raider]

4 minutes ago, rossm said:

That looks like a good start to me, now "weather" in generous areas of burnt (brownish) metal using some of the photos above and I'd be happy.

Yes... I think thats a good idea...  I like to mask the tip ring like others did here and dust on burnt iron metallizer...  I will do that last after the clear flat cote goes on...  Was thinking testors model master metallizer (non buffing)...  Its dark and like a gun metal with brownish rust colored flecks in it...

 

 

Thanks for all the great help on this project and feedback from you Brits!  I do appreciate it very much!

[rossm]

I think you are correct to mask the tip ring for 'Bambi'. I've an idea the construction method changed to simplify it for ease and speed of manufacture on later Beaus - Terry Higgins refers to a removable nose cowl in a photo caption in one of his articles on the TF.X but I think I got the idea from a thread on here.

[dogsbody]

In the lower left of the image, you can see a collector ring without the added nose fairing.

 

 

 

In this image, you can see the added fairing.

 

 

 

Here is a good view of a Lancaster B.II's engines fitted with the fairing. These have been over-painted black along with the collector ring.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what the later nightfighter Beaus had, as I haven't found a good picture of one. Early flat-tailed Beau nightfighters didn't have the front fairing on the collector ring.

 

 

 

Chris

 

 

 

[rossm]

Found a shareable photo of Bambi - no additional cowl. There is also a different photo showing the squadron codes in the Ducimus Camouflage and markings booklet. I'm assuming the censor has got at this one?

 

 

 

I can't get the IWM code to work but it can be found at https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205447732 where you can enlarge it.

 

There is another at https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205447731

 

The Camouflage and Markings photo is different again but looks likely to have been from the same sortie / photo session.

[wschurr]

Model Master Burnt Metal  looks the treat. Just don't spray it over acrylic or enamel. It shines up nicely and looks like real heat stained metal. Try using Tamiya clear  blue and amber to heat streak darkened metal areas to add interest.

[AltcarBoB]

I have done several models with a Sharpie Bronze paint marker pen. I painted the rings with Tamiya matt dark iron left it for a few days to set hard then using the tip of the pen you can dab spots of the bronze colour in the exact places you want, building up the colour slowly and getting a nice mottled effect. I then left the Sharpie colour for a few days then painted with matt varnish to seal it.

[Brad]

Here's a good pic of the black put on the rings.

 

 

What the steel looked like without paint on.

 

[Tokyo Raider]

wow, that photo with the kids...  those cowl rings look really close to the testors I painted...  Hope you guys say my RFI photo of the Beaufighter I made based on your help...  It turned out really nice...

[Clifton]

On 4/24/2020 at 9:45 AM, Tail-Dragon said:

Here's how I did the exhaust ring on my Blenheim.

I first painted the ring itself Tamiya 'Metallic Grey', blending it into Tamiya 'Dark Iron' for the exhaust pipe. Then I masked the forward lip, and fogged heavily thinned Tamiya 'Dark earth' on the main body of the ring , biased towards the rear, and blending into the 'Dark Iron' of the exhaust pipe.  Copper just doesn't look right (IMHO)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you use AS-22 Dark Earth spray?  I really like the quality of their rattle cans!

Edited August 10, 2020 by Clifton

[Tail-Dragon]

9 hours ago, Clifton said:

Did you use AS-22 Dark Earth spray?  I really like the quality of their rattle cans!

No, I used Tamiya's small jars of acrylic, and my 40 year old original issue Aztek airbrush!  I really like the Aztek, and they last forever if you clean them properly.

[Clifton]

7 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said:

No, I used Tamiya's small jars of acrylic, and my 40 year old original issue Aztek airbrush!  I really like the Aztek, and they last forever if you clean them properly.

Well, whatever color you used, it looks great!  Nice result!

[Tail-Dragon]

On 8/10/2020 at 3:43 PM, Clifton said:

Well, whatever color you used, it looks great!  Nice result!

Thanks!  The colors were Tamiya XF-56 'Metallic Grey', XF-52 'Flat Earth', and XF-84 'Dark Iron'

[Clifton]

On 8/11/2020 at 4:00 PM, Tail-Dragon said:

Thanks!  The colors were Tamiya XF-56 'Metallic Grey', XF-52 'Flat Earth', and XF-84 'Dark Iron'

They turned out great.

[JOCKNEY]

On 07/05/2020 at 09:35, Brad said:

 

 

 

That has to be the coolest play park ever, we just had boring swings and a slide !

[stevehnz]

Its a hard life Pat.   All joking aside, I reckon that shot is a great illustration of how the steels used in aircraft exhausts with their high content of alloying metals such as nickel & chrome did not rust as such but did tarnish & certainly change colours due to heat.

Steve,

[FinnAndersen]

8 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

 

That has to be the coolest play park ever, we just had boring swings and a slide !

Well, here in Copenhagen we have this playground with a giant wooden "crashed" Zero. Google won't let me imbed a picture, but here is a link

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x465253b2c46c9e1f%3A0xe83e085fe740d1b4!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNuKLr7uFdAmmOQr1GgGuHsx7mbZEzy1nmLoj1u%3Dw260-h175-n-k-no!5snørrebro park legeplads - Google-søgning!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNuKLr7uFdAmmOQr1GgGuHsx7mbZEzy1nmLoj1u&hl=da

 

Back on topic: I remember 40+ years ago when I first saw a Beau with copper exhaust ring - it looked absolutely stunning and everybody copied it. Now I'm glad that this myth was debunked.

 

/Finn

[Brad]

10 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

 

That has to be the coolest play park ever, we just had boring swings and a slide !

 

...and that was the summer camps second beaufighter. They also had a vampire, tank, brengun carrier, tram and steam train.

[alt-92]

And it wasn't just plonked down - some thought went into that, see how the bottom prop blades are anchored into the ground?

[Black Knight]

I mainly use a mix I have made of Humbrol acrylic 171 Antique Bronze and dark brown (just a drip or two). Whilst its still wet I put on a few streaks of silver and light grey enamel which doesn't mix in properly.

[rossm]

A very curious feature is that the underside is painted as a target tug yet it has zero length rocket launchers??????

[Maginot]

What a brilliant thread, @Tokyo Raider. And Edgar's posts, which are preserved for posterity and linked on Page 1. Very interesting. I have begun building the 1/48 Tamiya Swordfish seaplane, so this information is very handy and will be applied to the Pegasus exhaust collector ring. Thank you all contributors.

 

There are some great pics in this thread, but no more evocative than the Beaufighter languishing at Lord Mayor's Children's Camp, Portsea, down the bay south of Melbourne. You might be interested or relieved to know that this was rescued in the early 1960s and restored by Australian Aircraft Restoration Group at Moorabbin Airport. I volunteered there in my early teens and if memory serves, I spent hours in the blazing sun rubbing down paint on the wings with wet-and-dry. I can't recall paying much attention to the exhaust collector rings %~))

 

DAP Mk 21 Beaufighter A8-328

 

And to digress further, at the other end of the children's camp recreation ground is a squat cliff line with 19th century coastal battery emplacements and associated works called Fort Franklin. Grouse!

Edited July 21, 2021 by Maginot
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[Seawinder]

If you have access to Alclad products, try a base coat of Stainless Steel followed by light mist coats to taste of Hot Metal Sepia. The latter is just a tinting agent: the more coats you apply, the browner it'll get.