Beaufort! The New Mk. I from Airfix
My version of the great new Airfix kit.
Of the two available scenes, I chose L9866, which flew from St. Eval and was lost on February 1st, 1941, probably to fire from a 109E. Both schemes have compelling stories connected to them; I chose this one partly for aesthetic reasons - the slate, grey and black scheme gives real visual weight to the bullish lines of the airframe, I think.
Like all the recent 1/72 Airfix kits I've built, it's well designed and generously detailed. The interior is wonderful and slots together with satisfying snugness without glue; it's worth appreciating before a lot of it disappears inside the hull. The major parts go together very well and any fit issues I had were self-inflicted. There's some problem-solving to do with the gun turrets and working out when to paint and install them; I ended up fully painting the rear turret and installed it - plus the cowling - then masked it all off before painting the rest of the plane. Somehow I managed not to knock off the guns.
There are plenty of images of well-worn Beauforts, and I wanted to capture some of that in the paintwork. I used Tamiya and Mission Model paints, plus lots of masking fluid to create chipped and faded layers. I hope this all tells the story of heavily-worked aircraft pushed through adversarial conditions.
It was a fun and relatively quick build. If the Airfix quirks (heavy panel lines, slightly chunky feel to the overall design) don't bother you, I highly recommend this one.
That’s awesome, Tim! I just started one and will be using yours as a reference.
Excellent work, Tim T! A real joy to see.
Very sharp Beaufort. The weathered finish is outstanding.
Wow- love the colour scheme of black undersides with the slate gray/dark Sea gray uppers!
Your weathering looks fantastic- awesome build!
Dan from Bermuda.
That's a great looking aircraft! I always liked the RAF bombers. Reminds me of this pic a friend of mine just sent me earlier today, nonetheless.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Never seen that - what a fantastic image! Thanks for sharing that one!
Another one of that event!
Just because you liked the first one lol
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Great wear and tear.
Thanks for the positive comments, everyone! Much appreciated.
Tim, this is just another one of your stunning builds. I love the paint, weathering, flight pose and photography. Thank you for sharing.
Truly a remarkable build, I would have never believed it was 1/72, your paint work and weathering is excellent. Really well done build!
Impressive build, Tim @timtozer231
Paint and weathering is great.
Also the in air position is giving this build a special look.
Compliments on the photography as well.
Amazing Beaufort, Tim!
You are right about Airfix heavy panel lines and clunky chunky feel, but all looks great in the end.
I love that paint job - it definitely looks like it's been around a lot of seaspray at low altitude. Very nice work on this on all points.
Thanks again for the support, everyone. Really does make all the effort worthwhile!
That's a real beauty, and makes me want to add one of these Airfix kits to the stash! Beautiful paint and weathering work, and love that it's in-flight (where all aircraft are intended to be!).
Nicely done! great bit of weathering! Looks good in flight, at first glance I thought it was one of Greg's builds. I like the new Airfix kits, especially their decals.
Nice build, looks great. Nice to see a decent kit for this aircraft.
Ship shape and Bristol Fashion ! Super nice and inspiring work Tim. Thanks for showing.
Thanks again to one and all for the community support! It's what makes this such a great venue to share your work.
How to make a splash and introduce a new kit. Great build and motivator for people who are into Airfix models. This is the one subject that falls under the esoteric column of "It will never get done by a major model maker". A new kit, kind of like having your birthday celebration and holiday rolled into one. Your kit creates a real Buzz.
Two thumbs up.
Looks fantastic! I was looking for this model or it is available in my favorite hobby-stores, but it looks like it is sold out 😮 very interesting torpedo finn! I think it was for shallow immersion when torpedo was thrown into water. Does this model show an aircraft from an attack on german battleships in Brest?
Really great result Tim, & masterful paint job & weathering.