Peter s Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Apparently one form of madness is to endlessly attempt to freehand perfect circles. My variation on this is to endlessly do MkX beaufighters. Its a favourite plane and its such a brilliant kit that I always feel I could have done better. My friend Shaun in brisbane has got me interested in RAAF aircraft from WW2 so that gave me the idea to try something different. I've had a stab at converting the standard airfix to the similar Aussie built Mk 21. The most obvious difference is that its got a weird nose bump. Also only 2 wing lights. Like a total muppet I drilled wing guns in line with the ejector ports then found out that the Mk21 carried 4x .50 cal in the wings not 6x .303. Doh.... everything else worked out nicely. The nose "BUMP" whatever it actually is was scratched nicely from the nose cone of a harpoon missile plus some filler. Pics to follow in subsequent posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter s Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Post #2. Most of you have seen this plane built so I'll keep it short and sweet:/media/tinymce_upload/bc22b7504eb5827990770df3f2cc596e.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/70d23936523a71e68cd42327d9316f31.jpgI've loads of rather useless Tamiya rattle cans best part used so used a Luftwaffe dark green as a base coat then lightly oversprayed Vallejo model colour gunship green which is a good match for Aussie foliage green. Decals came from Australia and cost a small fortune. Panel lines were picked out with black pencil and additional weathering at this stage using mig pigments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter s Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 andf post 3 final job:/media/tinymce_upload/3fc5a32d3d4c7b1211c71439f92ed3a7.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/2c60fbb572c53519b982fb5b4f94f433.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/b033fb6b981f7aacf950342635a82c5e.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/e6e2f66b1c53e9357ac1f120fff228d2.jpgI've sneaked an enemy in for the final shot (Ki 43) ! I used a load of AK interactive products for the final weathering. Enamel wet oil around the engines. The engine rings were built up using their coloured metalic wax. They shouldn't be bronze, rather heat damaged steel. I started with copper then thin coats of gun metal and finally metalic blue. More mig pigments on the tyres also a thin solution of mig pigment in enamel thinner on the props. Bit of a short and sweet one here. Hope you like. Personally I think its my best beau but there's still room for improvement.... God help me when the Beaufort arrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Very nice Beaufighter. I believe the lump on the nose was something to do with the autopilot system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Very nice Beaufighter. I believe the lump on the nose was something to do with the autopilot system. Correct it was a housing for the Sperry gyroscopic autopilot. The gubbins itself must have been too big to fit cleanly behind the panel, hence the bulged fairing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Yes it's a lovely Beaufighter and I really like the Aussie Green tones. Reminds me I really must do my Beaufighter before my Beauforts arrive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Well i must say I like the finish. But I also have to say that the Sherry autopilot fairing looks a little like a carbuncle. I’ve checked some pictures of the real thing and can appreciate that it’s not easy to create this fairing from scratch.In my opinion, this looks a good model and I like the pairing of it’s potential enemy. Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm1954 Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 There is a company called High Planes Models that does a conversion set for the Airfix Beaufighter to produce the Australian version. I have not done the conversion so cannot say how good it is. I merely put it out there.As an Aussie who cannot get enough models of RAAF aircraft from the Pacific Theatre I would love to see Airfix do the Beaufighter Mk. X with RAAF markings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter s Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 Thanks all! I did notice when building this one that there seemed hints of an earlier model planned for the kit. Alternative supercharger and twin holes on each wing looked like bomb mounts. Any ideas if a mkvi was considered then not followed through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I think a Mk.I was probably also planned for with the 6 ammo ports in the wings and ability to fit a smaller tail fin. But any other planned variants might still happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 /media/tinymce_upload/e137b4e6d3be7b816e69d3efaddbfa8f.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/e5915af3fdae8220f7589d9160f919be.jpg Those were the days, I think I have one of these lurking in the loft stash. Frog modified the tooling by adding the Sperry bump to the fuselage halves and added a couple of bombs.I think anything is possible with respect to future Airfix releases, it's a question of remaining patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm1954 Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 I remember the old Frog kit. From memory not great. One word of warning with doing the Australian Mk. 21, I do not believe they were fitted to be able to carry torpedoes. My reference for this is the excellent Stewart Wilson book Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 I remember the old Frog kit. From memory not great. The basic outlines are pretty good, apart from the engine cowlings that are awful, but as with most Frog kits it fails on detail. I had a plan that involved Paragon Designs Hercules nacelles and quite a bit of scratch building, then along came the Hasegawa kits and more recently Airfix, so it's on ice until I get an urge to fettle some vintage plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Earth Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Very Nice work Peter,I really like the heat affected steel engine ring color, and the overall fading of the forest green. Very impressive paint work.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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