Dave Ward's 1/48 Revell Beaufighter TF.X 2018 Tooling.

[Dave Ward]

Judging by some of the surplus parts on the sprues, other variants have been catered for - a nightfighter seems possible ( aerials ), the bits for rocket mounts ( though no rockets ), and the extended dorsal fin of later models ( Australian production? ). Considering the price <£25, you get a lot of plastic!
Dave

[papa 695]

Just seen this one Dave, a great start, I built the new tool Airfix 1/72 not too long ago.

[Dave Ward]

The wheel wells are built into the bottom wing - quite complicated things, that literally click together.


I've puttied up the wing cartridge ejector slots, and put plastic rod into the machine gun ports.
The wings went together nicely, and I decided to add the fuselage and stabilisers/elevators - all pretty good fits, just a smear of filler in the small gaps.
I'll clean up all the joints next, before adding any more details. I'm working out when I can paint the invasion stripes, for ease of handling.................
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Made good all the seams, added a few inlets, and primed overall with the lightest grey primer I had in my collection

Over this, I will spray the white base for the D-Day bands.
The primer I used was Vallejo Grey - I DON'T like using this - it covers well, BUT it always clogs the a/b up - I always have to strip it down & deep clean it. ( I've tried all sorts of dilutions, pressures, but still no good ) I just keep it in reserve for such a job as this! Maybe I should bite the bullet & buy some white primer..................
Dave

[Guest]

Dave,
That is looking very good, I agree with the airbrush problems, no matter what I try it is a full strip down and clean after (comments on a pin head please).
Mike.

[Guest]

The primer I used was Vallejo Grey - I DON'T like using this - it covers well, BUT it always clogs the a/b up - I always have to strip it down & deep clean it.

This is why I use primer from a spraying can. Clean-up is holding the thing upside-down and pressing the button until no more paint comes out

[Dave Ward]

I spent quite a while masking up the white - I used Tamiya masking sheet, sadly the masking tape I had was 10mm wide - the stripes are 12.5mm & rather than overlapping tape, I had to cut the correct width from plain sheet.

I used Hataka Night Black ( it was the first black I came across in my paintbox )

After a couple of hours drying time ( OK, I was at the pub! ), I sprayed the underside Vallejo Sky Type 'S'.
I'll let this dry overnight, and see if it needs another coat. If not, then I'll mask up the Sky demarcation line and hit the top with Dark Sea Grey
Dave

[Guest]

I spent quite a while masking up the white - I used Tamiya masking sheet, sadly the masking tape I had was 10mm wide - the stripes are 12.5mm & rather than overlapping tape, I had to cut the correct width from plain sheet.[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1088568[/ATTACH]

I used Hataka Night Black ( it was the first black I came across in my paintbox )[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1088569[/ATTACH]

After a couple of hours drying time ( OK, I was at the pub! ), I sprayed the underside Vallejo Sky Type 'S'. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n1088570[/ATTACH]
I'll let this dry overnight, and see if it needs another coat. If not, then I'll mask up the Sky demarcation line and hit the top with Dark Sea Grey
Dave

Dave,
That looks good, at least to the part where you came home from the pub :tongue-out3:.
Cheers, Mike.

[BattleshipBob]

Looking god Dave! Looks like a good kit

Very interested in the next step

Bob

[Dave Ward]

Masked up the Sky lower half, then hit it with the Dark Sea Grey

It's Vallejo Dark Sea Grey - it looks a little light, at the moment, but I'm sure it will darken up with a Gloss Varnish overall coat
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I'll let the lot dry, until the suspenseful moment of peeling off the masking - I have been interrupted by a Fire Alarm - all the residents milling round in the car park. A false alarm - but the alarm engineer will take at least 1/2 hour to come and turn the alarm off the bells, the bells, the BELLS!!!!!!!!!!
Dave

[yak face]

Liking this a lot dave , only trouble is i now want one and my stash isnt getting any smaller!! Cheers tony

[Dave Ward]

A few minutes of steady peeling of the masks revealed.....................

A partial success! In one area, it looks like the primer didn't 'grab', and rhe mask removed black, white & primer.


There are some local areas of bleed, and, despite my care (!?), some areas of overspray. Still, I've never managed a perfect masking of this size yet, and there's nothing that is irreparable. I'll spend an hour or so touching up, before moving onto the engine cowlings, and the rather complex looking undercarriage
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I've been touching up the bleeds etc on the airframe - and waiting for paint to dry, I assembled the undercarriage. These are the bits for one side

I've assembled before painting, against my normal practice, but the Beaufighter is quite a chunky beast, and I want the undercarriage to be as sturdy as possible - I might add a few drops of CA to the joints, to strengthen them.


I've tried assembling the cowls, without the engines, but it's not possible, so I have to paint, as I go along
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I was concerned about the fit of the cowlings - there are 3 sectors for each engine - quite tightly fitting

I needn't have been worried - the 3 parts fitted together beautifully, both sides!


Undercarriage painted, and waiting to be fitted, I'll give the legs a bit of a wash, and take off some of the brightness....................

Coming together now, I'm just about at the stage of spraying overall gloss, pre decal & washes.
Dave