Tour de Airfix Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 I do love the occasional charity shop purchase. This is a find by a good friend of mine who always seems to be able to strike scale model gold! This is the 1:72 Airfix kit No. A50037 as released in 2008 using the 1958 Beaufighter and, I think 1975, Messerschmitt tooling. I built this classic Messerschmitt Bf109 v Beaufighter Dogfight Double over 15 years ago when I was on a mission to build every one of these great kits before they got discontinued. While their fragile stands have not stood the test of time, I still have the old models, each one reminding me how happy I was just using the little pots of acrylic paint, tube of cement and a hairy brush! This build is going to be so nostalgic, the kits themselves a far cry from the latest and greatest Airfix offerings. It does look, however, as though my original decals applied back in 2008 have faired somewhat better than those in the box. I wonder if I have anything suitable in spare decals stash?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 By a long way, this DFD is my favourite ever Airfix offering. I was in hospital a lot as a kid. My dad turned upon a visit once and he brought me this, as something to do. I was already an Airfixoholic anyway but this was worth being in hospital for. Fabulous looking British twin, classic German figher, both armed to the teeth. Silver and light blue plastic. They are both pretty good kits shapewise. The Beaufighter is 1958 but the 109 is 1965. Oddly the header bag art was accurate, the kit wasn't. The G6 had blisters on the nose to accommodate the 13mm gun ammo, the artwork has the same but the kit has a sort of saddle tank effect. Takes me right back to 1972 or thereabouts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) I forgot to say I also love the box art even though it's not accurate. The Beaufighter is jettisoning a torpedo - it's much too high to be launching it - yet it has the rockets under its wings as well! The 109 meanwhile sports a pair of air mortars, which IIRC were a one-shot weapon designed to be launched at heavy bombers, flying in straight lines, in formation. They would have been of no value in an actual 'dogfight' of the 'doubles' variety. If you fit them to a model, you have to angle them upwards slightly, I believe. The round was so heavy it dropped like a stone if fired on a flat trajectory, so to hit a target dead ahead, it had to be fired with a few degrees of elevation. I only realised quite recently what a punch the G6 packed with the gun pods fitted compared to earlier versions. It went from 2 x rifle calibre MGs and 2 x 20mm, to 3 x 13mm MGs and 3 x 20mm - plus, the 3 x cannon now had 150 to 200 rounds per gun, instead of the previous 60 per, aboard the E. So I reckon a burst from a G6 would have weighed something like twice what it did from an E, and the G6 could keep it up for a lot longer. 60 rounds per cannon for a 109E is less than seven seconds' fire, say three bursts, whereas the G6 had twice that. Those are pretty nice builds BTW. Here is the actual MB-T: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126586 - note how Roy Cross completely nailed the tailplane angles, the fin being dark all the way down and the demarcation lines between the upper and lower camo. Edited May 3 by john redman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jopres57 Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) Good photo of a classic aircraft. I wonder what colour the rocket rails are, I always used to paint them underside colour but this is obviously wrong. I also have some after-market decals depicting the MB-T codes in sky rather than red but the latter seems correct from all the illustrations I've seen. It makes you wonder how many of these two kits have been made over the years, individually and as a DD. I've still never found out what unit the 'yellow 3' Messerschmitt is from, the 'yellow 14' version was captured on Sicily, I've seen pictures of it. Edited May 3 by jopres57 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted May 5 Author Share Posted May 5 Yey .. look what I've uncovered in my spare decals box. It's only the unused set from when I first built this kit 15+ years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 AFX have got very good at upgrading the decals on older kits. The original red stripe issue of that DFD didn't have those invasion stripes, you just had to paint them. It's tough to get them to line up though. I acquired a Cessna and MiG21 DFD recently, which came with different markings as a DFD pair to those in the kits when sold separately (the MiG / Mirage DFD likewise). They were horribly yellowed and the dark blue of the USAAC roundels has gone pretty much black, so I have scanned them in at 1200dpm and am now editing them in GIMP. When I've got a better set I can just print them out on clear decal paper. The white of the stars and stripes markings isn't here the problem it usually is. You can't print white, as printers have no white ink and assume the print medium is white, so white areas come out transparent. You can print onto white decal paper, but I find it very hard to work with, like the skin on hot milk, and you have to cut exactly round each decal. But since the Cessna is itself white or light grey, it won't much matter; I can just place a dab of white paint where the decal's going to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 that's really interesting. I've often thought of printing my own decals ... but that's as far as I've got, Hannants keep on giving me the easy option 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 With all my other builds going on I’d almost forgotten I started this kit 😉 I now just need to decide whether to brush paint, as I did 15 plus years ago, or spray as I would today. I’m thinking the former would be more in keeping with the age and nostalgia of this duo kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 My memory of this from last century, together with the quality of more recent releases and the size of my stash, mean that I would never spend the time to make it. That said, I am looking forward to seeing how you finish the pair of them (silk purse from a sow’s ear?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Phew 😅 My charity shop acquisition of the Airfix A50037 1:72 scale Dogfight Doubles kit is finally complete 😬 This 2008 reissued set which I remember building all those 16 years ago, contains a 1973 moulding of a Messerschmitt Bf109G and a 1958 moulded Bristol Beaufighter TF.X. Without exception both, like me, are showing their age! As back in 2008, I’ve finished the pair with brush using the provided pots of acrylic paint. Using the second set of decals to those I originally selected, the Beaufighter is completed in the colours of 404 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Airforce based at Wick during 1944 and the Bf109G as JG53 “Pik As” based in Sicily 1943. The likelihood that these would have have, therefore, ever met in a dogfight is unlikely to say the least. Being without doubt the worst kits and finish of any I’ve completed in quite some time, I fear for their future. Indeed, I foresee a dusting disaster on the horizon 😂 I now can’t wait to get back to the P-38 Lightening I’ve also been working on, which has been patiently awaiting a return to the bench! I look forward to my next charity find with trepidation! 😉 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 On 18/06/2024 at 07:24, Dominic Thomas said: My memory of this from last century, together with the quality of more recent releases and the size of my stash, mean that I would never spend the time to make it. That said, I am looking forward to seeing how you finish the pair of them (silk purse from a sow’s ear?) Dominic ... I'm already regretting the hours I spent on these; which I'll never get back! I was hoping for a bit of nostalgia but all I could think about as I despaired over their aging quality was the fine kits I have awaiting my stash to build. Over the past few years I've luxuriated over the beautifully moulded and detailed range of Beaufighter and Bf109s that Airfix have produced and so will definitely think again should I have opportunity to turn the clock back again!! I think my eventual lack of interest in these together with my desire to use a hairy brush, something I gave up a few years ago, has worked against me even getting close to producing anything silky 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerazzurri Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 I'm glad you opted to brush paint them. Even though it was ultimately a mojo sapper, I think it was a good choice for these old kits. My next build is going to be a milestone for me I think - deciding whether to airbrush or brush going forward. Well done on the builds and bringing the old kits to life instead of lying unbuilt in a box 🏆 Gavin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 I really like the finishes, well done. But oh my word, the shape of that Beaufighter …. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now