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Michael Booth
33 articles

Airfix 1/48 Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I

June 20, 2016 · in Aviation · · 19 · 2.5K

Have to say, I've really enjoyed building my first aircraft for my Battle of Britain Collection both for RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft. Detail is superb and offers a good model for a different RAF aircraft.

I first built a when I was 12 and was the old kit (Naturally nothing went right) before getting stressed out and basically scrapping it. But as soon as I saw this I just had to get it.

Problems - turret does not fit directly into the housing ring so carving has to be made, and a bit of filler here and there under the wing and fuselage

note Figures are not included with the Defiant kit

Reader reactions:
6ย  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Although I'll most likely never build a defiant (IMO, they're one of the ugliest a/c produced), your build turned out quite nicely. Good work, sir.

  2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Great build. One does wonder though, what the British were thinking...

  3. "Its a matter of taste the woman said when she kissed a cow on the arse". I kinda like the look of the Defiant. Sort of a Hurricane with a turret.

  4. A very nice looking Defiant. You did a good job on this kit. Well done.

  5. Turret solution is easy. Here's two:

    1. Place the interior in position after painting and mask off. Then when complete, attach the clear parts. 2.

    2. Do noit attach the turret, or the aft fairing. Place the fairing in position for painting, unglued. Remove the fairing, decal the model, put the turret in position, glue the fairing in whatever position you want.

    Easy peasy.

    Yes, I am working on the kit and figured this out.

  6. I like them both, the model and the real thing! I think you can see a number of styling influences, it helps to make it more interesting to my eyes.

  7. Lovely Defiant! Nicely detailed and weathered. I have that old Airfix (1/72) sitting on my self now. You gotta hand it to our British forebears - they weren't afraid to put stuff in the air that probably shouldn't have gotten there! But - as the saying goes - "now you know!"

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    said on June 21, 2016

    Nice build. I quite like ugly aircraft. I'm thinking avenger. The more bumps and lumps on them to me makes them more interesting than there sleeker counterparts. Though I still like the sleek ones too.

  9. Nicely done, I've always liked the look of this bird too. And we Yanks have put some question marks into the air as well.

  10. ๐Ÿ™‚ ... Greetings ... ๐Ÿ™‚ :
    Nice looking DEFIANT Michael, as I have seen lately, AIRFIX has gone a long way. They seem to have turned a new leaf, good for them. I remember back then, one of my very first AIRFIX kit was a Me-110, I still remember it.
    Very glad to see it in 1/48 scale, lots of history in that bird. It was there when Great Britain needed it. I see it as a historical piece, I will be getting one. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

  11. Nothing ventured,nothing gained. The Defiant was a mid-thirty's design and folks were still thinking about what worked in aircraft design in the Great War. In many ways it was ahead of the Hurricane with all metal construction. I have to agree with many other comments it looks good standing still even if it was on the "B" list behind the "A" list of the Spitfire and Hurricane.

    Two thumbs up on what will be a Airfix Classic.

  12. Lovely result of a lovely kit. I enjoyed building mine and have at least one more in the planning stages.

    Regards

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    P.k said on June 22, 2016

    Nice work nice i LIKE!

  14. Nice work, Mike. Great photos too.

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