Monday 16 March 2015

new-tool Airfix Boulton Paul Defiant in 1:72nd scale build review - finished




A few shots of my finished Defiant  night fighter using my phone camera.The model represents an RAF 151 Sq machine as seen early in February 1941 at RAF Wittering. Pretty pleased with the way the model turned out..the 'Night' finish I achieved more by good fortune than planning - Humbrol 33 on its own looks a bit too 'black' so I 'misted' some schwarzgrau 66 and then some light grey over the airframe until I was reasonably happy with the effect! An overspray of Windsor and Newton Galeria matt varnish really helps achieve that typical 'sooty' Defiant nightfighter look..

This new tool is another neat Airfix kit with no particular problems and plenty of detail. Scroll down the page for the build log. All the major components go together without any difficulty - the cockpit fits into the fuselage perfectly, although beware to get all the bulkheads aligned correctly as tolerances are tight. The wing root and undercarriage fit is perfect. The placement of the undercarriage doors is a little vague though and the head armour needs filing down a little to enable the canopy to sit over it properly. The decals are very good, but one of my serials rolled up on me; fortunately I bought two kits and am about to finish the second in the day fighter Battle of Britain scheme..









5 comments:

  1. It looks just the business! Very nice. The sharks mouth and eyes actually seem to change the shape of the forward fuselage. What was the yellow square marking on the wing? Thanks for the build.

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  2. thanks ! . .the yellow square was a gas detection panel I believe

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  3. Very nice! That shade of Night looks just right.

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  4. thanks Tim!.. I just realised that I didn't mention what 'colours' I used; Humbrol 33 with a light overspray of schwarzgrau 66, some light grey modulation style 'highlights' before another misted layer of matt black..bit haphazard I know

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  5. This is interesting...I built one of the 'old tool' Defiants as a little boy. Thank you for this update; and a great build!

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