New Airfix. The Not So Good...Bristol Beaufort

[Properjob56]

Airfix Beaufort I

 

2021 boxing

 

Now I know I’m going against the consensus but I really, really didn’t like this kit. How can you when it’s so difficult to build accurately?

 

Anyhoo, Presenting my version of the kit. I used Eduard etch and masks. Paints were Precision Paints M7 for EDSG, Polly Scale for DSG and Xtracrylix XA1012 for Night Black. Humbrol 78 was used for the interior.

 

It looks good but frankly it became a bit of a chore to build.

 

1. The engines, their cowls and associated nacelles are not easy to get to fit properly. Mine don’t despite using the WIP build articles, eg by @Rabbit Leader and @jackroadkill, to try and avoid trouble. Copious amounts of filler were required in consequence.

2. I really struggled to get the turret to fit together. I found it’s too long so fouls the floor of the fuselage, it’s too wide so fouls the upper fuselage as you try and instal it and the locators for the canopy and guns are in the wrong place so it just doesn’t fit, at all, and looks wrong with guns parallel to the upper fuselage line rather than at an angle to it. It is now installed only because I cut off the bottom few millimetres, cut off the locators and sanded the fuselage.

3. The wheel bay doors are, uniquely in my experience, a push fit. If that’s not asking for trouble I don’t know what is. A big risk for breakages I would have thought. Fortunately, I didn’t accidentally break anything but I had four to do. 2 went on fine, 1 was too loose so had to be glued. The final one (on  the other nacelle from the loose one BTW ) just didn’t want to fit and I had to cut off the locating arms and glue the remnants.

4. The bomb doors are another example of the problems In assembling the kit. This is an area that should cause few problems. The convention used in most modern kits, including those of Airfix, is closed doors are provided that you cut up if you want to depict them open.

The Instructions are confusing. You are provided with not only closed doors, as per convention, but a separate set of parts for open doors. For this kit though, you use the front and rear open doors but have to cut up the closed door part to get the central section. The open central section is designed for the doors to hang vertically when, I assume, bombs and depth charges are to be used. The vertical hanging doors were not used for torpedo planes apparently. Anyhoo, having worked that out, when you’re cutting up the closed door part to get to the central section for a torpedo plane you find the plastic is not scored at the back to help with the cutting. If you own a razor saw that’s not an issue. I don’t... so it was. Finally, I found, after I’d fitted everything together, that the closed part is handed and only luck allowed me to complete the assembly rather than having to dismantle it and start again.

 

So, apparently a popular kit, and even mine looks good from a distance, but it’s not a kit I’d recommend. When you re read the reviews you see that other experienced and expert modellers also had issues.

I also have the SH version, so when I get round to building it, it will be interesting to see if that is as difficult to put together as this one was.

 

I’m a huge fan of new Airfix and  enjoy their kits immensely. I regret this is the exception that proves the rule.

 

[jackroadkill]

What a shame you didn't enjoy the build much.  I suppose this is a good example of one man's meat being another man's poison.

 

Even so, it looks fetching in that scheme and you seem to have made a quality go of it even if you disliked the kit.

[Rabbit Leader]

Echoing Jacks comments above, its a shame this kit fought you along the journey. Perhaps we have cut our teeth on a range of vintage kits in the past so enjoyed the quality of parts on offer with this new tooling. I agree that the engine build up sequencing is tricky however 100% acknowledge that my foul ups were all my own doing. Sure they could have made things easier, however they do build up well with care. The undercarriage door push fit is a novel approach and I experienced one of my four doors wanting to play up. I attached these prior to fixing the rest of the undercarriage assembly and it ended up a very solid joint. The turret build up was always going to be an issue for Airfix as the original set up is half buried within the rear fuselage. Both Jack and I came up with different approaches, which appear to have paid off well for both of us. 

 

All that aside, you have an excellent new Beaufort to add to your collection. I’ve not built the SH kit, however cant help thinking that this might be an even tricker kit to assemble. Your comments are all valid and will help others take care when building this kit. 

 

Cheers and regards.. Dave 

[noelh]

Mine arrived this morning and I do agree about the bomb doors and frankly if I didn't have the resource of Rabbitleader, jackroadkill and Tony O'Toole. I would definitely be confused. 

 

I haven't yet built much yet but time will tell. 

 

Nevertheless I do like what you've done with the kit. I'd like to think I could produce something similar. 

[Properjob56]

7 minutes ago, noelh said:

Mine arrived this morning and I do agree about the bomb doors and frankly if I didn't have the resource of Rabbitleader, jackroadkill and Tony O'Toole. I would definitely be confused. 

 

I haven't yet built much yet but time will tell. 

 

Nevertheless I do like what you've done with the kit. I'd like to think I could produce something similar. 

Good luck.

 

The turret was the worst for me. Some don’t seem to have had the problems I did, and I hope you’re one of them, but if not the only advise I can give is keep cutting away the snagging parts until it fits and clean up the resulting mess as best you can!