1/48 Boulton-Paul Defiant

[BarryW]

Cutting it out is a case of patiently and repeatedly scoring around it untill it comes away from the sheet.I find a sharp pair of nail scissors give you a lot more control when cutting out vacuformed parts.by the way,I'm Dave.

Of course Dave - where on earth did Steve come from!!!! Sorry Steve too...whichever of you I was thinking of.....

 

[Dave W]

I've painted the PE seat and installed it along with seat belts and PE armour plate.The instructions show the shoulder straps attached to the hole in the seat back.Theres also a hole in the armour plate.Ive placed then in the plate whilst I decide what to do.I can't find any cockpit close ups on the net so will probably attach them to the armour as they are way too long when fixed to the seat.Ive also cut out the canopy.Ive placed it on the model to see what it looks like.Rather a thick frame below the windscreen.I can trim a bit more off along the bottom edge,but not much.So I am just going to have to live with it as I can't find a replacement on the net.The kit comes with resin guns for the turret.The barrels of which don't look very good.So I've ordered some 'Master' turned brass barrels from Hannants this morning.The turret is a focal point of the model so it will be a worthwhile improvement I think.

 

[Dave W]

590lbs with guns, ammunition and oxygen equipment for the gunner, not a ton but heavy enough The Defiant was intended to attack unescorted bomber formations and may well have been quite good at that. Nobody was expecting France to fall and for the Luftwaffe to acquire bases just across the Channel which it could use to escort its bombers with single engine fighters. That spelt disaster for the Defiant as a day fighter but it soldiered on and made the best of a very bad job as a night fighter and in some other roles.

A rather optimistic and factually inaccurate view of the type, and some nice film here.....

Cheers

Steve

Interesting film Steve.And some good views of the turret mechanism.As you say,optimistic and inaccurate.But I suppose they had to be positive and upbeat at the time.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Great work on the Defiant Dave.

I think the barrels will make a difference.

I'm really looking forward to this being finished - The aircraft kit has a fond place in my earliest modelling memories.

Watching this

Cheers

P

 

[Dave W]

Canopy glued on.I found a walk around of a Defiant on You tube that shows the pilots shoulder straps attached to the armour plate behind the seat.So that's where I've fitted them.ive also rescribed some lost detail on the fuselage.The I fitted the PE representations of landing lights to the wing Leading edges.Will cut out and fit the vacuform landing light covers to the wings next.

 

[Dave W]

I've just cut the vacuform landing lights out and glued them to the wings with 'Gators Grip'.Two spares are supplied in the kit.But I managed to cut two out without messing up.

 

[0ne48thtel]

This is looking good Dave

 

[flyjoe180]

Yep, awesome work Dave

 

[colin m]

What a great W.I.P Nice to see a 'challenging' model coming along so well.

 

[Dave W]

Tonight I've scribed the flap detail on the undersides of the wings.i marked them out with black pen first to make it easier.Then I spent ages masking the turret transparency and finally I cut out the slots for the guns.Now I'm going to cut it away from the backing sheet.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

You are making a superb job of this. it is so good to see real modelling skills at work rather than relying on expensive kits that do everything for you.

 

[flyjoe180]

Really nice work Dave. Rather you than me with that turret framing though.

 

[Polux]

Your effort on this one, is visible on every update Dave!

Excellent work so far.

Polux

 

[yak face]

That masking job alone would make me shiver Dave , never mind having to cut out the gun slots and cut it off the vac form sheet!!! Keep at it mate , I think its yeilding! cheers tony

 

[Dave W]

That masking job alone would make me shiver Dave , never mind having to cut out the gun slots and cut it off the vac form sheet!!! Keep at it mate , I think its yeilding! cheers tony

I've cut it off the sheet now.As the plastic is thick at the base of the turret I used a razor saw.It was quite easy to do.However,The plastic is wafer thin where the gun slots are.So I haven't managed to get a very straight cut.With hindsight I should have made a wooden former to place the turret over.Then I would have had something to keep the shape of the turret whilst I cut the slots out.We live and learn.

 

[Dave W]

Like a lot of older kits,this one doesn't have any wing tip lights.So I've cut a piece out of each wing tip and glued on a piece of clear sprue.Then I've sanded it to shape and finally polished it.A simple thing to do.

 

[Dave W]

I've just brush painted the turret glass framing and removed the masking.Its not perfect but I'm happy with it.looks a lot worse in these close ups than it does sat don my table!.They say the camera never lies.....

 

[flyjoe180]

That's not going to be hard to clean up Dave. A bit of nifty brush touch ups and you'll have a nice turret. Super job, the nav light looks great too.

 

[Dave W]

I put a coat of primer on the model this morning.And despite all the filling and sanding some fuselage joins are still visible.So it's out with the filler again.Think I will use the Mr Surfacer 500.

 

[The Migrant]

Superb work Dave, I love seeing older/short-run kits being tamed. You probably already know this but Classic Airframes re-tooled their Defiant kits in 2004 and they came with injection moulded clear parts and lots of resin for the cockpit and wheel wells, worth searching for if you fancy another