1/48 Boulton-Paul Defiant

[flyjoe180]

Doing a great job Dave

[monica]

great job Dave, coming together very nicely

[Dave W]

I've put the radiator together and glued it to the model.There are no locating pins or any indications as to where it fits.So just had to place as per a pic in the instructions.It doesn't fit properly so I've got some more filler to sand.Ive also started the laborious task of masking the vacuform canopy.I'm doing this before cutting the canopy out of the clear sheet as it's more rigid and easier to work on this way.

[Vaughan]

Looking good Dave your hard work is paying off.

[Dave W]

That's the canopy masked.Its taken about an hour and a quarter.Just the turret to mask and then carefully cut them both out.Best get on with decorating the house now.

[BarryW]

This is coming along really well Steve. I shudder at the thought of that vacformed canopy though and trying to get it accurately cut.......

[Dave W]

This is coming along really well Steve. I shudder at the thought of that vacformed canopy though and trying to get it accurately cut.......

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.

[Alan 45]

I've been watching this from the sidelines because as a kid I was fascinated by this aircraft simply because it had a turret

It's coming along nicely Dave

[stona]

I never realised how big the turret on these aircraft was , the hole for it is huge! No wonder the performance suffered it must have weighed a ton! tony

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

[flyjoe180]

Excellent work Dave. That vacforned canopy looks very sharp indeed.

[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.