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George Henderson
64 articles

AIRFIX 1:48 BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT

May 29, 2018 · in Aviation · · 22 · 1.8K

The model represents an aircraft from the No.2(Army Cooperation) Squadron, KO•I, s/n N1572. Only one was trialled and rejected. This was a great kit to build. The fit of the parts is fantastic for the most part. I had an issue joining the fuselage together due to the instrument panel being a bit wide. With some parts the fit was a little too good, I had to force them apart after dry fitting. After studying the clear parts I decided it was time to try some Eduard masks. These were a great time and sanity saver. The one thing that others who have used Eduards mask found odd was the each "window pane" was dealt with multiple mask, three in some cases. I also decided to try Camouflage Masks. They've been out for a while but I've never seen a build that used them. You spray the Dark Earth and apply the masks, and then spray the Dark Green. There are no directions on how to use them, just a diagram showing where they go. The ones that go around the fuselage are two part masks so you have to make sure your alignment is spot on. Two things concerned me. The masks were a little stiff and didn't quite conform to the curves of the fuselage or into panel lines. Next I was unsure of the tackiness, feeling less tackier than Tamiya tape. This may have been a mixed blessing as I had to move the fuselage masks several times. So now we get to painting. Vallejo Primer first followed by Vallejo Model Air for the bottom colour. I shot Mr Hobby Aqueous H-72 for the Dark Earth. I waited a few days for this paint to cure, applied the masks and shot Tamiya XF-81. To try and avoid bleed under I thinned the paint down 1:1 with thinner, lowered the air pressure down to about 15psi. I started my spray on the mask, aiming away from the edges and then filled in the centers.. When I removed the masks I had two very small spots where the paint lifted, maybe 1mm total. This was probably my fault as when I saw there was no bleed under on a wing, I rushed the rest of the removal. I was very surprised to find no bleed under. Was I happy with this masking system...yes. Would I buy them again...probably not. Here's the website if you are interested...https://eshop.aml.cz/en/8-masks I've include a shot of how the masks look

Reader reactions:
7  Awesome

7 additional images. Click to enlarge.


22 responses

  1. Nicely done, George...(ugly airplane, but nicely done)... 🙂

  2. Lovely work George - the BPD is looking great. Thanks for the heads up on those masks too - nice outcomes despite the very minor issues!

    • Thanks Paul. Here are the masks and diagrams. Note the letters on the diagrams but nothing on the masks

      4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

      • I have to say very well done on working that lot out, George! It all looks so straightforward on the page, and then you are faced with a sheet of translucent oddly shaped film to turn into a highly specific pattern!

  3. George, I love this airplane and what you did with it. Did someone say "ugly"? It's character, friends, character!

  4. Lovely job George. I got the same kit in my stash and your's will be my guide. =)

  5. I find the Defiant a very interesting aircraft, aesthetically speaking. It is a far cleaner design than its contemporary turret gun fighter, the Skua. So any BP Defiant kit has my attention, and the Airfix sure looks a good kit, even more when it’s made by a talented modeler like you Craig. Good work!

  6. Profile Photo
    said on May 30, 2018

    Great looking BPD George.

  7. George,
    Your BPD turned out great... I can only hope that my current build turns out half as nice as yours did !
    Thanks for the information you provided on the type as well. It will come in handy soon.

  8. Yes, a beautiful build! I have to get cracking on their 1/72 Defiant.

  9. George, this is really cool !. A nice clean build that turned out very well on one of the more interesting looking airplanes of WW2. Well done !

  10. Looks good, George! I have a couple of those to do myself.

  11. Yep, the 'BPD' (what psychologists know as 'Borderline Personality Disorder') is full of 'character' all right. I guess by our ages, we all know looks ain't everything.
    Great build, George, and for my money the camo looks superb.

  12. Great looking bird, George! Definitely intend to build one of these.

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