Yet another Defiant

[Torbjorn]

Decided to try out Hataka paints. Dark Earth is on. Compared to Vallejo, which I usually use, this seems a bit finer and more thinned (yes I’m lazy, and use the pre-thinned stuff both for Vallejo and Hataka). It needed two layers to get to this stage, and dries to an almost satin finish.

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Torbjorn
spelling due to big thumbs on small phone

[Torbjorn]

Painted the green too. A bit too much DE on the port wing I think, so I will likely have another go. The finish is smooth and shiny so I will skip gloss before decals.

 

Couldn’t resist putting the turret in place, though I didn’t press it down since that will surely make problems.

 

[Jabba]

Looking good. You have also confirmed the colour of the turret for me as I was not sure if it was black or not.

[SimonT]

Very tidy paintwork, it looks great!

[Torbjorn]

Thanks guys. Stickers are on, except the codes and fin flashes since I noticed some overspray that needs correction. The walkway outlines disintegrated but that’s fine. The area will be a bit run-down and scratched anyway.

 

[Torbjorn]

Decided on representing L7021, code PS-H. Just to be different I guess. This AC was flown by different crews, with mixed success, and lost while still flying day missions - the pilot bailed succesfully but the gunner did not survive. The Defiant gunner was always in deep trouble if the plane had to be abandoned. Not only was there no room for him to wear his parachute, actually getting out was no easy task.  I’m searching the archives for more details.

 

Visually, PS-H carried the same older and larger fuselage roundel as the kit’s PS-U but not the lighter blue on the fin flash. The latter fact I only discovered after adding all decals. I’m taking the easy way out by marking and overpainting the blue.

 

 

The serial was made from the kit’s L7013 with some manual work to make a 2 from a 3, and the H code letters were cut-paste-touchup-jobs from the kit-supplied U:s.

 

For anyone who wonders, Vallejo light gray (71050) matches perfectly with Airfix’s gray codes.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Torbjorn

[AndyL]

34 minutes ago, Torbjorn said:

Decided on representing L7021, code PS-H. Just to be different I guess. This AC was flown by different crews, with mixed success, and lost while still flying day missions - the pilot bailed succesfully but the gunner did not survive. The Defiant gunner was always in deep trouble if the plane had to be abandoned. Not only was there no room for him to wear his parachute, actually getting out was no easy task.  I’m searching the archives for more details.

 

Visually, PS-H carried the same older and larger fuselage roundel as the kit’s PS-U but not the lighter blue on the fin flash. The latter fact I only discovered after adding all decals. I’m taking the easy way out by marking and overpainting the blue.

 

 

The serial was made from the kit’s L7013 with some manual work to make a 2 from a 3, and the H code letters were cut-paste-touchup-jobs from the kit-supplied U:s.

 

For anyone who wonders, Vallejo light gray (71050) matches perfectly with Airfix’s gray codes.

L7021 was lost when being flown by Squadron Leader George Garvin and Flight Lieutenant Robert Ash.  Garvin had joined 264 to take over from Philip Hunter who had been given a staff officer posting, but his command was somewhat thrust upon him when Hunter was killed on 24th August. Robert Ash was an ex 149 Squadron air gunner who had flown operationally before requesting a posting to Defiants. Their loss came about after 264 were engaged by JG26, and and during the encounter, the master fuse in Ash's turret blew - he had been using it on the high speed setting and if you used it in this mode too much, then the old fuse would pop. ( the guns were fired electrically, but the elevation and rotation of the turret was hydraulic ). Robert was in the process of changing the fuse ( the turret carried spares ) when they were hit, L7021 was set alight, and Ash wounded. Garvin gave the order to bale out, with both getting clear, but Ash was found dead in his parachute near Faversham.

 

Ash's family were insistent that he had been machine gunned while descending, and were still trying to ascertain the facts in 1944. They claimed Garvin said he was fired upon, but nothing in his surviving letters and log book support this. The 264 medical officer told the aircrews that when found he had suffered a broken neck, having hit the tail when he baled out. The last thing he must have done was pull his ripcord and when the parachute opened, he descended dead.

 

As to air gunners getting out of Defiants, the pilots notes give two routes; one over the side of the turret, or if not possible, drop into the fuselage kick out the panel in the floor, as long as the pilot lowered the undercarriage to retract the aerials. I think a lot has been made regarding the apparent difficulty for an air gunner to get out in an emergency. In a tumbling, out of control aircraft, nobody really has much of a chance when those g forces kick in, but in a Defiant turret, the air gunner sat much higher in the turret than people think. The doors were spring loaded and could be popped open by unlocking the ratchets, and the fairing immediately behind the turret could be lowered with the flick of a lever ( as long as the Co2 system was working, of course.  At the time, Defiant air gunners wore the GQ Parasuit, however there always was room for a clip on parachute to be carried in the turret, but while the air gunners were wearing the Parasuit this wasn't carried as it required them to wear the observer type harness, which some squadrons changed to later in the war.

 

As an aside, L7021 was damaged on 24th August when being flown by David 'Bull' Whitley and Robert 'Sam' Turner with the latter having a bullet pass through the turret and his oxygen mask, taking the tip of his nose off as it departed.  Whitley and Turner were killed the same day as Garvin and Ash were brought down.

[Torbjorn]

Thanks Andy, for the great write-up. I’ll borrow some for the summary post in the gallery of you don’t mind. I did find the battle report for that action - well, all of them, but they did not mention any serial numbers, only pilots and gunners. 

 

The model itself is almost finished after some detours.

 

The blue on the fin was overpainted with a darker version mixed from French blue and black. I had more use of that mix, since when I removed the masking after painting the port side ”H”, a 45 degree section of the blue and yellow of the roundel came off. Using a compass, I made masks from Tamiya tape and attempted a repair. You can see it up close but on the photo it’s barely recognizable so I give it a pass.

 

Now I only have to find that moving fairing behind the turret and make one new door foor the undercarriage to replace the one that I most likely binned when cleaning my desk. Although the Falcom vac-form turret it a vast improvement in terms of thickness and transparemcy, it appears to be a tad small. i’m considering to use the lowered fairing for the canopy to hide this.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Torbjorn