rav Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) Boulton-Paul Defiant Mk.I N3437 EW-K, Polish 307 Night Fighter Squadron, Exeter, April 1941. Crew: Sgt Franciszek Jankowiak and Sgt Jerzy Karais. Kit: MPM 1/72. National insignia: Techmod - MPM roundels were too bright, and Polish chessboards were missing. Turret frames made of Techmod decal stripes painted Dark Green (Gunze Mr.Color) - it was first time I used this method and I'm satisfied. Everything else is standard. Feel free to comment. Critics are welcome too. Edited October 26, 2011 by rav 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi Rav - nice model there! What did you think of the kit to build? It's one of our (MJW Models) better sellers and I'm curious to know how well it goes together. We do the Mk I, Mk I Battle of Britain, Mk II Nightfighter and Mk I High Tech. http://www.mjwmodels.co.uk/home thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 great build and I love the pics !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi Rav! What an excellent way to inroduce yourself! and Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Very nice indeed Rav... Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Beautiful model, have this kit in my stash, not to sound like a muppet or anything, but i was under the impression that boulton paul turrents were always painted black (at least thats what the BoB RAF aircraft book i have says) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Never liked the plane but love your build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davec_24 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 That's an excellent build, you've done this rather odd yet somehow attractive aircraft justice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A H Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Very nice work. I have this kit and am looking forward to building it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Its always good to see something different and the Defiant is something you don't see much of. Great build as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 What a lovely model and very well photographed too, welcome to Britmodeller! All the best Tony O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rav Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 What did you think of the kit to build? It's one of our (MJW Models) better sellers and I'm curious to know how well it goes together. We do the Mk I, Mk I Battle of Britain, Mk II Nightfighter and Mk I High Tech. This is the Hi-Tech version with resin cockpit and some etched details. Assembly was easier than I expected working on a short run kit. The only surprising things were landing lights - there are transparent parts for them, but no cut-outs in wings. I also had to add some effort to make the turret fit to the fuselage and canopy. No problems with other parts, but as I mentioned above, the roundels and fin-flash had to be replaced. In general, it was a nice experience to build this kit. Soon I'm going to start another MPM kit of the same era: the Fairey Battle. Thanks everyone for your kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rav Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 I tried to show the Defiant in action... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Very nice job! This is yet another model that I need to have represented in my collection. Is the MPM offering the bee's knees as they say, or are there some better kits in 1:72? I'm afraid the only other kit I know of is the old Airfix one. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Very nice build, Sir! This is one of my favorite 'odd ducks'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky210 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Lovely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rav Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Is the MPM offering the bee's knees as they say, or are there some better kits in 1:72? I'm afraid the only other kit I know of is the old Airfix one. There is Pavla with some fitting problems and expensive CMR resin kit. A local curiosity is a poor vacuformed copy of Airfix, issued about 20 years ago in Poland. I think MPM Hi-Tech kit is the best Defiant in 1/72. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Lovely build of an interesting aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Lovely build of this kit, I love the battered scheme and your imaginitive photography. I've also built this kit, although not nearly as well as you have! I've always thought it doesn't quite capture the lines of the Defiant (though undeniably far better than the Airfix "thing"). One thing that has always stood out is the fact that it sits very high on the undercarriage, indeed I modified mine after completion by cutting a milimetre or so off the undercarriage legs, and I found that this improved the look of the model considerably. Good luck with the Battle, another kit I've built a few years back. As this has tons of resin you'll find it's not nearly such an easy build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docjojo Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 A superb montage painting. The photos are really worth the plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Keep seeing made up versions of this kit and I am always really impressed with them, and this one is one of the best I have seen.I will be investing in one soon I think! Selwyn PS By the way you title is incorrect. its not the 307th squadron! this is the USAF way of naming Squadrons. RAF Squadrons are never described as the first, second, third, or whatever Squadron. This aircraft is from (as pronounced) Number Three-Oh-Seven Squadron RAF, written as 307 Sqn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rav Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 By the way you title is incorrect. its not the 307th squadron! this is the USAF way of naming Squadrons. RAF Squadrons are never described as the first, second, third, or whatever Squadron. This aircraft is from (as pronounced) Number Three-Oh-Seven Squadron RAF, written as 307 Sqn. Thank you, I was not aware of such difference. I hope now it is correct. In Polish it is pronounced "Trzysta siódmy Nocny Dywizjon Myśliwski", which is translated as "Three Hundred Seventh Night Fighter Squadron". Now I will remember, thank you. BTW, correct Polish translation of "Squadron" should be "Eskadra". "Dywizjon" in Polish Air Force is bigger unit. But in 1942, a book of Polish traveller and journalist Arkady Fiedler, "Squadron 303", was issued in London. The book appeared in Poland in 1943 as "Dywizjon 303" and became the best known aviation reading in Poland. Even today the 303 Squadron is the most famous Polish military unit of WW2 period (deservedly, not only because of the book). It was impossible to change the title to correct "Eskadra 303" after some editions, so translation "Dywizjon" instead of "Eskadra" was left as is for all Squadrons in RAF, USAF etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occa Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Very nice job! This is yet another model that I need to have represented in my collection. Is the MPM offering the bee's knees as they say, or are there some better kits in 1:72? I'm afraid the only other kit I know of is the old Airfix one.Cheers, Bill The CMR is the only one that got the upwards tilt of the fuselage bottom behind the trailing edge right, all others have missed that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith in the uk Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Wow , thats a surpurb Defiant , you have done a lovely job. A couple of observations if i may , To me the spinner looks slightly undersized creating a step behind insted of smoothing into the cowling i noticed you have used 6 stack exhausts , is this correct for a MK1 Defiant? all the pictures of Defiants i have seem show the 3 stack as per Spitfire , Hurricane etc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rav Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 To me the spinner looks slightly undersized creating a step behind insted of smoothing into the cowling i noticed you have used 6 stack exhausts , is this correct for a MK1 Defiant? I think this photo shows it all: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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