Tamiya 1/48 scale Fairey Swordfish Mk. I

I won this kit with the extra photo-etch detail set in a club raffle a few years ago and finally got around to building it. Although it's well engineered, I found it a challenging project due partly to the complex paint job and partly to the photo-etch rigging, which was extremely fiddly to get in place and straight. The model depicts the plane flown in the Bismarck attack of May 21, 1941 by Sub-Lt. A.W.D. Beale of 810 Sqn., HMS Ark Royal. Beale scored a torpedo hit amidships on the port side, but did no significant damage.

In researching the plane, I quickly discovered that Tamiya got the serial number wrong and that the camouflage scheme in the instructions was inaccurate. I was fortunate to get in communication with IanG at Britmodeller.com. He provided a lot of really useful information as well as a starboard-side wartime photograph of the plane. Based on the photo and Ian's data, I went with the 1939 camouflage scheme of Sky Grey under surfaces and Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey upper surfaces with Dark Sea Grey/Light Slate Grey shadow shading. For paints I used MRP Dark Slate Grey, Mr. Color Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Sea Grey, Model Master enamel US Bomber Green as an approximation for Light Slate Grey, and a 50-50 mix of Mr Color Light Gull Gray and Neutral Gray 36270 for the Sky Grey. For the heat-stained exhaust collector ring and pipe, I started with Alclad Stainless Steel and then misted on a number of coats of Alclad Hot Metal Sepia. I finished with a very light coat of Alclad Jet Exhaust. I may have gotten it a bit darker than necessary, but I think it's still in the ballpark.

I laser printed decals for the proper serial numbers and extra "2P" codes to go under the upper wing. Ian was of the opinion that the fuselage codes may have gotten white outlines by May 1941, so I did artwork for them and had masks cut for me by my modeling buddy Bill Michaels. The Royal Navy markings, fuselage codes and fin flashes came from the Tamiya sheet and worked just fine with hot water. All the other roundels came from an Eagle Strike sheet.

The external control cables (three on each side, not very visible in the photos) are .004-inch diameter nylon tippet line. The radio antenna wire is invisible mending thread. Both the cables and antenna were colored with Testors Metalizer Anodonic Dark Gray. The antenna springs and insulators are pieces of polyimide micro tubing.

Cheers, Pip

4 additional images. Click to enlarge.