Revell 1/48 Beaufighter

[Deleted member 7181]

With two builds almost finished I thought it was time to make a start on another. This was a surprise Christmas gift from my mum. Nice choice as I love the shape of these.

There's certainly plenty of plastic in the kit - 19 sprues altogether if I counted right.







There are a few options in the kit and no doubt I'll get some of them muddled up. Good job I'm not too fussed about accuracy!

In between copious amounts of food, beer & red wine I started getting the cockpit together. I gave it a coat of green, which might not be the correct shade but it's what I had on hand and will be fine for me.



After a gloss coat to try and protect from later washes I started brushing in a few details

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Nice choice from your mum. One of Revell's latest kits. It seems to compare well with the much older Tamiya kit. At 1/48 it will be a big model. Starting on Christmas Day - true dedication or maybe just enthusiasm
Jim

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Yes Jim, I could have ended up with just about anything so really happy she picked this. Seems well moulded, very little clean up needed so far.

 

[Mickc1440]

I recently built a night fighter version, it is a lovely aircraft. Good luck with your build Andy.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Mick. As it happens I've been searching back for previous builds of these for hints & tips so have just been reading through yours again. It came out looking great so I've got my fingers crossed for a similar result.

 

[adt70hk]

Hi Andy

Always had a bit of a thing for WW2s train engined fighters, so will be watching this with interest.

ATB

Andrew

 

[Si Benson]

That should keep you busy for a while Andy

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Cheers guys, and welcome.

All is going smoothly so far. Did some more work on the office, decals snuggling down nicely with a few coats of micro set. Doesn't look like it in the picture but there's a lot of raised detail including levers on that panel, I guess so that a better man could paint it instead.



Painted the inside of the fuselage and gave it a black wash, even though it'll be virtually invisible



There were a couple of nasty ejector pin marks beneath these instruments that might just be visible, so after a bit of very tricky sanding I'm happy that they are all but gone. (big ones towards the front are hidden behind IP)



The two halves went together remarkably well after a few test fits and a bit of scraping of the mating surfaces. Dark line is mostly paint residue squeeze out but I'm sure there'll still be a bit of filling and sanding needed in some places.



And just to show how little of the interior detail can be seen. Will probably be even less once the canopy is in place. Moulded seatbelts are naff, but they are what they are.

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Looking good.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Paul

 

[JR]

Hi Andy.
Looking nicely painted, and coming on a great. That office looks smart .

 

[Jakko]

Nice-looking build so far, bodes well for the rest of it

 

[Si Benson]

Very nice

 

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
looking good - I nearly finished this model earlier in the year - sadly I dropped it & totalled the undercarriage - it's in its box, waiting for my enthusiasm to kick in to repair it................
Dave

 

[adt70hk]

Andy

Looking very good indeed! Keep up the good work.

Andrew

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks all, glad you like it.

Dave - yes, I've been reading through your build to see what's coming and might catch me out. Shame about it's crash landing. Mine will probably end up as a mish mash of various versions but I'm just sticking on what I think will look nice! Not sure whether I'm ready to tackle invasion stripes yet, but they definitely add to the look so may give them a whirl.

Had a go at "weighting" the tyres. Maybe went a bit far on the tailwheel but it doesn't look too bad. I held the wheels above a heat gun on low setting for a few seconds to soften them up, then pressed them firmly onto my photo etch tile. The heat has split the seams a little but nothing that a touch of filler won't cure.





I've also worked on the fuselage seam this morning. After a good file and some sanding it only needed two small bits of filler where I'd cut it a bit closely from the sprue, leaving a small divot. Hard to get a decent picture but here it is with a coat of Mr Surfacer 1000 on it to highlight any defects. Seam line looks a whole lot better than my rescribing! At least I got it straight this time, it's just a bit furry Should have perhaps run some extra thin over it first but I forgot.

 

[JR]

Andy .
Oooh I got quite excited at the photo of the hot air gun, fire crossed my mind , sadly not the case .
The out come looks fine by the way .

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Sorry to disappoint John, but as a trained Fire Marshal I try my best to avoid that kind of thing

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Cracking progress so far. Nice cockpit. Tyres look good. Not tried your method - I have just sanded a flat and it looks ok but no bulge.
Jim

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
That's a nice technique on the tyres will try it on vehicle tyres.