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Charles Whall
17 articles

Classic Airframes 1:48: Boulton Paul Defiant Mk1, Hornchurch, 1940

November 10, 2013 · in Aviation · · 13 · 3.1K

The build:
I was never happy with the finish on this one so went for a complete respray as the real aircraft had a roughly applied demarcation line between upper/lower paint scheme on fuselage. Re-done weathering and added antennae wire. I opened up the turret and detailed the interior and added resin .303 barrels as the kit ones were awful. I also rebuilt the fairing aft of the turret which can be raised/lowered. Canopy was rebuilt from scratch.

History:
The crew of this , Flt Sgt E. R. Thorn and Sgt F. J. Barker were to become the most successful Defiant team of the war, destroying seven enemy aircraft plus a shared over France and five more during the Battle of Britain.
On August 24th 1940, the aircraft was in action again, piloted by another crew, Sqn Leader P. H. Hunter (pilot) and LAC F. H. King. Following an attack by Ju88's on Manston at 12.40pm, the crew intercepted but were reported missing and subsequently posted lost.

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


13 responses

  1. Really fine build of a rather crude kit!

    You have inspired me to retry mine.

  2. Nice build, Charles...and equally nice pics.

  3. This one has been on my "To Do" list for quite a long time. I would not go as far as saying that this kit is "rather crude" especially when compared to the version Eduard released so many moons ago. This kit just needs a bit of work and a whole lot of patience to git 'er done. Nice build Charles...she looks the part.

  4. An aircraft you don't see modeled often & well done at that.

  5. Charles,
    Very, very, nicely done.

  6. Great job. It was not a success but I think it is a "mean" looking aircraft, especially from thet front quarter view.

  7. Yeah, what Frank said, very very nice work.

  8. that's a beauty

  9. I've always had a soft spot for the Defiant for some reason, I remember buying the Airfix 1/72 version when it first appeared many years ago (1950 something?). You've done a wonderful job on this one, it really looks the part.

  10. Guys, thankyou all for your kind and encouraging comments!

  11. It looks good and even more so with the added work you put into it. After all the pictures I have seen of this plane, I never realized that it had a belly-mounted anntena. With the turret it makes perfect sense but didn't know that. Thanks for the picture and the chance to learn something.

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