Ground Attack Specialists, Beaufort finished 14/01/22

[neil5208]

Some time sanding I got the fuselage halves to a reasonable standard, canopy and nose where fitted with no gaps.

This kit is a rebox of the ART kit, not a manufacturer that I've heard of before and it has some noticeable design elements. One of them are joints with no alignment pins.

The fit is questionable, both where fitted with the top edges level with the main fuselage. One side the intake is oversized and the other is undersized.

The lack of detail in the wheel wells will need to be addressed. Also made the wing tip air brake units, now this are meant to modelled in the open position but they have no detail at all and the pictures of SU25 on the ground have them closed anyway, but like other parts sink marks are evident. More filler required...

 

[neil5208]

The intakes have been filled and sanded back to where they look ok, but I will need to rescribe some panel lines.

Canopy has been masked ready for the interior grey to be sprayed.

The air brakes have been fitted to the wings, this is just a butt joint so we'll see how well they stay on.

I wont be using all the supplied stores as a lot of the pictures of aircraft operating in Afghan show just the rocket pods fitted, so this is what I'll go with, these are ready for primer.

@Graham Boak and @Marklo made some interesting suggestions as to what I could do as part of this ground attack selection and I almost ordered the Special Hobby Breguet 693 but then @Rabbit Leader started on the new Airfix Beaufort kit so I called my local model shop yesterday and they had just some delivered so...

This will be built as either a Malta based aircraft ser L9965 or 4621 of the Turkish Air Force

[k5054nz]

Fantastic! I'm so excited to see the Beau join the Frogfoot on your bench.

[neil5208]

Disaster struck this morning and I dropped my favourite Spitfire mug!

Wifey has ordered a replacement so I'll just have slum it with a plain mug for a while...

Wings are now on the Frogfoot but I found another Art/Revell issue. The main wings have a downward dihedral but the tail planes have an upward dihedral but the instruction have the parts the wrong way round.

If part 14 is fitted to the port side it has a downward angle so needs to be fitted to the starboard side and the reverse for part 12.

Next up will be getting the pylons prepared for primer and fitted the jet exhausts.

[neil5208]

I'm having this week off work instead of next for the Easter break but the wife has had me busy in the garden painting the bench, seats and table as they haven't been done in a few years so no time for modelling but I did break like a damp Kit Kat and ordered the Special Hobby Breguet Br693. It looks nice with a small photo etch frame and resin engines included, not quite as well moulded as the Special Hobby AH1 Cobra I built last year but its a rebox of the Azure kit from 2011 (according to Scalemates) but still good. I need to go through the instructions and check against the paints I have as I have not done a French plane before.

[neil5208]

Made a start on the Br693 today and the thing that struck me was A) is a small aircraft and it is a short run kit with no locating pins. Below is a comparison with the fuselage of the Beaufort.

Cockpit tub, once I get the right Grey/Blue paint I can paint and fit the etch seat belt.

The wings have a butt joint rather than tabs so there is a corresponding mould mark inside the fuselage.

But there is a part to fill.

The rear bulkheads and floor in place.

A quick check to see how the fuselage halve mate up, not up to most modern kits but better than some I have had.

I presume that Special Hobby have just re-boxed the Azure kit as the plastic is softer than the Cobra but is still good to work with, will see how the paint takes to it once I've been to Elite tomorrow.

[neil5208]

A 3 plane update this morning, the Frogfoot has had the canopy frames sprayed the same interior blue/grey and the under side has been primed. Must admit I glad to see the tan colour disappear.

The Br693 wings have been assembled and the engine nacelles fitted, these will require some filler.

Also managed to get to Elite for the correct paints for pre war French Air Force.

Also picked up the colours for the Bristol Beaufort, a Malta based Mk1a. I have checked the kit sprues and it has the correct turret and engine filters but doesn't have the second chin antenna so I will have to scratch build that. @tonyot highlighted in @Rabbit Leader build that the Mk1a had the twin Vickers K in the nose so I will follow his method and have just one gun in the turret. Thanks to @keithjs for sending me the Xtradecals as Hannants had run out.

[tonyot]

3 hours ago, neil5208 said:

A 3 plane update this morning, the Frogfoot has had the canopy frames sprayed the same interior blue/grey and the under side has been primed. Must admit I glad to see the tan colour disappear.

The Br693 wings have been assembled and the engine nacelles fitted, these will require some filler.

Also managed to get to Elite for the correct paints for pre war French Air Force.

Also picked up the colours for the Bristol Beaufort, a Malta based Mk1a. I have checked the kit sprues and it has the correct turret and engine filters but doesn't have the second chin antenna so I will have to scratch build that. @tonyot highlighted in @Rabbit Leader build that the Mk1a had the twin Vickers K in the nose so I will follow his method and have just one gun in the turret. Thanks to @keithjs for sending me the Xtradecals as Hannants had run out.

Got to say that I`m very dubious about this two blue upper surface scheme,..... I`ve seen artwork of it over the years on Blenheim`s and Beauforts,..... usually mentioning Malta,..... but have never come across any evidence to back it up. Colour footage from Malta shows Dark Slate Grey with a lightish variant of Extra Dark Sea Grey (faded) on the uppers with Azure Blue undersides which matches all of my research into the matter,.... with Malta and N.African based Beaufort`s...... these units tended to flit between both base on detachment.   

https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/media/bristol-beaufort-39-squadron-malta-1943.27404/

 

Which is basically the same finish used on UK based Blenhiems used for the same martitime strike role,..... with the UK based aircraft retaining more suitable Sky undersides;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Blenheim#/media/File:RAFBristolBlenheimWWIIColour.jpg

 

I would say that both were in service repaints,..... judging by the `official' scheme;

https://twitter.com/clark_aviation/status/1294666542102257665/photo/1

 

 Re the guns,..... I`ll be using spares box twin Browning .303`s in the turret of my own Mk.Ia`s,

Good luck with the model/ mate,.... cheers Tony 

Edited April 4, 2021 by tonyot

[Graham Boak]

There was an example of a 55 Sq Blenheim painted in the three blues when in use as a hack.  The information came from squadron member "Mac" McKennaugh, later a Tempest pilot, and long a stalwart of IPMS UK.  I see no reason to doubt this particular example.   Like Tony, I've seen a number of references to Beauforts from Alexandria in this scheme, and also Baltimores when in maritime use.  There was even a description of USAAF B-25s in these colours operating in the Eastern Mediterranean.  However, supporting evidence - no.  I do wonder whether the blue tone in fading EDSG may have misled some viewers.

 

To be fair, there are not a lot of photos of Beauforts in the Mediterranean, and only one that I know of in colour.  That was indeed TSS, on Malta.  So was this just chance?  We do know now that the Mediterranean Blues were in use to a much larger extent than we'd have thought possible some years back.  Given the number of anecdotes about it, it's hard to completely rule out the possibility of a 3-blue alternative scheme on some Beauforts: but even if so, which? 

[neil5208]

Frogfoot's upper camo painted, but I'm not sure if I like it. The new airbrush I got at the beginning of the year cannot spray as fine as the last one so I may have to upset the wife and buy another one.

I may go back with the green and add some more as it looks to tan compared to most pictures I've seen.

[neil5208]

Another 3 plane update. The Frogfoot has had the upper camo adjusted to include more green and less sand, this has improved the overall look. The underside has also been sprayed with Mr Colour RLM65 Light Blue as this is almost a perfect match to the colour used on the early SU25's, the later aircraft had a much whiter underside.

The Br693 wings and engine have been assembled, the first went together fairly well and just needed the rear of the engine fairing filled to match the wing surface.

The starboard wings engine was not fitting so well and had a large gap at the front which I filled with a piece of plastic card rather than filler and the rear of the engine fairing also needed filler applied to match the wing.

The Beaufort as others have stated very well designed, more so than the other recent Airfix kits I have done, but it literately falls together and in the space of 10 minutes I had the main cockpits parts together so they got a coat of Tamiya XF71 Cockpit Green. Here I have test fit with the fuselage halves.

And finally the replacement Spitfire mug arrived in the post and put straight into use

[neil5208]

Started on the decals on the Frogfoot a few days ago, normally this is a process I quite enjoy but Revells insistence on printing black and white instructions on poor quality paper is very annoying. Hasegawa manage to do this and remain perfectly clear but Revell's low resolution instructions have spoiled it as there is around 200 individual  decals on the sheet. 2 hours work has resulted in the nose done on both sides.

16 decals in the picture below and there still another 9 stencils to add!

The rocket pods have been sprayed with Tamiya XF16 Aluminium ready for the nose to be sprayed later.

[neil5208]

Not a proper update this morning as I haven't done any modelling for the last 2 weeks due to work, wife etc but I did manage to find a shop in Japan that had the Fine Molds F4E's on pre-order so that should be on its way early July. The wife works at a charity organization and picks up any models that come through and sends me a picture if I would like it. She did this yesterday with this kit.

I thought this could get added to this thread so I said yes to buying it and when I opened last night I found all sprues are still packaged.

And even better there was 2 Airfix starter kits in the box as well, this F4F4 Wildcat that the cockpit has been started and a RAF Mustang that was 50% done but has had a glue bath so will be headed for the bin.

I have already built the Revell B17 kit 2 years ago in the Hawaiian Air Depot scheme and have the Academy/Minicraft B24 in WIP now so this one won't be done for a while and I wanted to do a formation ship with the B24 but couldn't get the marking but Hannants have the HAD Models decal sheet for this aircraft, so that now on order. An exercise in masking for the stripes.

Revell B17 in Hawaiian Air Depot scheme

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by neil5208
Added pictures

[neil5208]

Back to the work bench at last! been delayed by many things, needed a new airbrush, Future floor polish and the myriad jobs the wife has had me doing around the house but got hold of a Harder and Steinbeck airbrush and finally found the floor polish so I can get back to building models (not walls). Carrying on with the decals on the frogfoot, pylons and rocket pods.

Inner and outermost pylons will be empty so have been fitted.

And 6 pods mounted to the pylons, there's already 18 decals on this lot and another 30 to go

The Br693 and Beaufort are on the back burner until this one is done so I can clear the build draws before I start anything else.

Edited August 4, 2021 by neil5208

[neil5208]

I have until Friday to finish the Frogfoot as this will be the first club meeting since Feb 20, so the decals are finished with and hopefully get a flat coat on tonight. Under carriage is painted and fitted but the kit instructions call for doors to be all open, this is incorrect. The front 2 doors of the main under carriage and and the rear door of the front under carriage should be closed the bonus being the lack of detail will be hidden.

Some of the hundred or so warning decals.

I assembled the Beauforts wings and test fit today and I must say that its the best fit of any kit I have made so far, Airfixs wing spars and moulding leave no gaps at all. I need to do some highlighting work inside the fuselage before I can close, and I have to find another Lewis gun so I can make the dual mounted front guns.

[neil5208]

So, I didn't get the Frogfoot finished for Friday but I couldn't attend the club due to Covid concerns in my social circle anyway. Decals are done with, under carriage doors fitted as close as possible rather than wide open as the instructions indicate. Flat coat sprayed and the weapons pylons on which just leaves a few probes and antenna to finnish off.

Finally manage to get the new version floor polish which smells a bit more than Future did but does the job.

The Beauforts interior was given a couple of coats yesterday and got a dark humber oil wash today, I'll leave for a few days before spraying some flat clear.

Also started on the engine cowls, a quick dry fit looks ok but some sanding will be needed to get a perfect result.

 

[neil5208]

Finally dragged the Frogfoot over the finish line tonight! Not my best work but a reasonable representation of the SU25. The kit has some shape issues most notable the nose which is much squarer than the kit represents. RFI will be up shortly.

[neil5208]

Beauforts fuselage is together, not sure that I like the plastic that Airfix more or less than previous Airfix kits but it bonds well with Tamiya extra thin and sands well too. Also spayed the under carriage bays before assembly to make things easier. Wheels and props also sprayed in preparation.

Just need to add the observers seat and control stick before the canopy gets fitted.

This will be cleared and oil washed before assembly.

Wheels sprayed Tamiya Nato Black and props done with Tamiya Gloss Black ready for decals.

[neil5208]

Engine cowls and air filters assembled.

Props painted, engines assembled and had first coat of paint.

As this will be a Malta based aircraft I need to mount twin Lewis gun in the nose so I made another lewis gun from plastic card, a bit more refinement needed.

Nose glazing going on, Airfix has done a great job designing this.

 

[neil5208]

The Eduard mask set I ordered for the Beaufort have arrived, also picked up some parafilm to try out.

Some work on the BR693 engines. Special Hobby supply these lovely resin engine but they need to have the cylinder head filed off to fit inside the engine cowls.

Some time with the sand paper in my future.

[neil5208]

Started the masking of the Beaufort, not using the Eduard masking set as I wasn't happy with the them so I reverted back to Tamiya tape. Also assembled the engine cowls, much better design than the ones Airfix used on the Beaufighter and no gaps to fill.

[neil5208]

I finally ordered some Kora resin Lewis guns for the Beaufort and they arrived yesterday, look nice and better than the Airfix ones.

[neil5208]

Fitted the kit's lewis gun to the nose as they are plastic, less likely to snap than the resin ones. Simply drilled 2 1.2mm holes in the clear part and super glued the gun into place. I then fitted the nose section in to find that it wider than the fuselage.

Some clamping soon brought it back in line and glued into place.

A few more windows to mask off and then the interior colour can be sprayed.

[AdrianMF]

Looking good, all three of them! shame you have to trim down all that lovely engine detail on the Breguet.

 

Just to note, the Beaufort and other RAF WWII aeroplanes used the Vickers K Gas Operated gun, not the Lewis. The two guns look similar, and both have drum feeds, but they are different.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[neil5208]

4 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looking good, all three of them! shame you have to trim down all that lovely engine detail on the Breguet.

 

Just to note, the Beaufort and other RAF WWII aeroplanes used the Vickers K Gas Operated gun, not the Lewis. The two guns look similar, and both have drum feeds, but they are different.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks for the info, looks close enough in 1/72