Hello fellow modellers,
I present my WIP of the new Airfix BP Defiant in 48 scale. Lots of words abound the internet concerning the quality of the kit and I, for one, am very pleased with this rendition. I am awaiting the arrival of Eduard's Zoom PE set, mask and Hurricane Mk I exhausts to go with the build, so I am limited to how far I can progress.

I started with the turret which includes a wealth of detail and excellent clear pieces including a choice of closed or open turret glazing. I left the vertical detail in place and will only use the PE on the gunner's horizontal controls. I replaced the barrels with Master .303 Brownings.There is no gun sight included, so after a search of the web, I scratch built a simple Mk IIIA gun sight and mounted it accordingly (sideways). The barrels were added and the whole thing received a coat of MM Aircraft Interior Black. The spent gun casing bags were painted OD, not sure if this is correct but once installed they will never be seen.The two central gauges are related to the oxygen system so two of the smallest airscale "RAF gauges" set were installed, using copious amounts of Microsol. Once the PE arrives and is installed, I will be able to continue with the turret construction.

So next up we turn to the fuselage and cockpit area. Basic assembly skills required to fit the sidewalls to each fuselage side. There is a nasty ejector pin mark on both the throttle quadrant and the fuse box (?) on either side. These were filled with punched discs and sanded smooth.The cockpit floor forward cockpit area consists of 11 pieces. The fine detail in the seat supports reveals springs moulded (which are fragile) and the unique control column which attaches to the seat.Turning to the IP, it is a little clunky by modern standards, so the Eduard PE one may be better. However to compare, I painted it up and used the kit IP decal with lots of Micro Sol. I also cut the decal where the gap above the compass housing and between the two compass housing supports, to enable a better fit.
The result is not too bad but I will have to replace the PE compass face as it looks ludicrously small in the current housing. I will have a look how the PE set for the IP looks when it arrives and decide to keep the kit one or replace it. For those of you who are building this and decide to use the decal, it may also be advisable to cut the two uppermost dials from the IP decal and attach them as a separate item into their respective dials. It will make the settling a little easier.

Regards and thanks for looking,

15 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Not much to report, apart from the arrival of these items today. Even at first glance, the IP is superior to the kit plus decals. So there will probably be some reworking. I may try and keep the two upper dials as they protrude and just fit the panel and blind flying panel in. The compass face in the Zoom is much larger and should look much better!

Regards,

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Still working on the cockpit sidewalls. The PE is great but some pieces add nothing so I am not using all of it. To help me recall, I have marked the instructions for the starboard sidewall and prepared the areas to be replaced. The port sidewall is a bit easier.

I have also prepared the sidewalls to accept the new IP. The PE brings it back to its original size and will need reducing to eliminate a gap in the upper fuselage just forward of the IP. I have thinned the starboard side and removed a chunk from the port side to accept it. I am not sure which way was better. More test fitting!

Regards,

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Welcome back!
Progress has been good. The cockpit has been completed, the fuselage halves joined and the wings attached. Firstly, the cockpit, washed with a brown shadow oil wash and then over coated with AK Interactive Ultra Matte Acrylic coat (the first time I have used it). Highlights added with a mixture of artists pencils (warm greys/cool greys and silver). The cockpit section and the rear air-foil housing were then affixed to the starboard side, the IP to the port.I had some trouble getting the PE panel in the port side-wall to stay, so I cut a small notch in the plastic framework with an RB Productions ultra fine saw, jammed it in and CA the joint from underneath. Next the fuselage halves were lined up and Tamiya Extra Thin used to seal them, starting from the front and working backwards a small section at a time, to ensure as good a join as I could get. The clamped until dry. The join just forward of the cockpit did not present the problem I had envisioned and will require a small scrape to finish the join. The wings had already been assembled and were now added to the fuselage. A small scrape with a sanding stick eliminated a possible step at the forward edge. Clamps were used to secure the wing sections front and rear and this resulted with possibly the best join I have seen in a long while. A couple of small areas to fix but in the main a well engineered aspect.

The turret support pieces were removed and the hole cleaned up to ensure a good fit of the turret when test fitted. The one piece front upper cowling was attached and also fit perfectly. Kudos Airfix and pay attention you other manufacturers.

The rear turret was then detailed again using artists pencils, a HB pencil for the graphite look and a wash.

Until next time,

Regards,

19 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks,
It was a great fit. I did sand the join faces a little. Watch the cowling to lower wing joins at the sides, as there is a step. I didn't get it all correct and have a small step on the port side which will need some additional work. Had I taken a couple of more swipes beforehand I feel I may have avoided it. I have added some pictures.

Regards,

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks George,
Certainly Airfix was a big part of my childhood and it is good to see them on the comeback trail. It is a shame the Defiant was banished to virtual obscurity as information on it is scarce to find.

Regards,

There is very little information about the actual mechanism that raised and lowered the forward airfoil. What can be seen through photos I have are diagonal support arms on each side. There also appears to be a single pneumatic ram attached to a horizontal cross piece on the ram. Once the canopy piece goes on, you will not see much so here is my representation out of plastic rod. The pneumatic rod will be trimmed to size after painting and when the canopy is attached. The rear airfoil has been tacked in place with Micro liquid tape, which holds the piece in place solidly but temporarily. The horizontal cross piece in place and interior masked for RAF IG.

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Welcome back,

Progress has been steady. The central canopy was attached without incident. The mechanics will just be seen through the glazing so at least it will give an impression of workings, even if it isn't 100% correct. The front canopy, landing lights, covers and the ID lights have been affixed and masked. The ID lights had small holes drilled on the inboard faces and red/green paint added in the holes. The underside has been sprayed Tamiya XF21 Sky. The lower escape hatch and flare chute doors (missed by Airfix) were scribed using the 48 scale plans in the MMP book. I used the retracted wheel covers as masks for the painted wheel well interiors. The MLG covers are two piece but are moulded as a single unit. I took an ultra fine saw to the joins and deepened them to better reflect the original. The turret main canopy and doors were masked inside and out and painted MM Flat Black. Once these were dry, I shot a protective coat of Testors Dullcote out of a rattle can over them. Then the interior markings were removed and the main canopy clipped into place over the MG mechanisms. Tamiya Extra Thin was run around the base and this was left to dry overnight. The exterior masks were removed from all glazings and the doors placed in the open position, with Tamiya Extra Thin again run just around the bottom joins. It is all starting to fall into place as the masks arrived in the post this morning.

16 attached images. Click to enlarge.