Wearing basic skins that I'm sure any of the skinners can improve:


For the desert:



This one we'll offer as an alternative on the SPAW page with all of Mike's other alternate skins:

Not bad, Ray, not bad

...that´s what a decent Beaufughter should look like. The desert camo looks very worn und dusted as it should be. My DAW scenario would be happy to have those Beaus. So where do you sell those beauties and which slot are they intended to work with? (In DAW it´s the p38h and p38j slots, afaik in Malta the p38h slot - the p38j slot is occupied with the Beaufort...

Fran,

I'll put together a Beau Pack with the plane slotted for the P38H/J slots and for the Mosquito slot.

Yep - that´s 1st class service - appreciate it

Btw, as the Beaufighter has some nice ancestry looking very similar concerning the wings, backward fuselage and tail unit: The Beaufort and even the Blenheim - (not to mention the Bolingbroke, the Buckingham and the Brigand - rarebirds at least - I know some modelers being keen on rarebirds )

What about a small HiRes Bristol family

Hi Ray

Nice new models

Thanks!

Cheers

Hi Ray,

A lot better than the old 410 based ones - I presume these are MkVI? The 12 degree dihedral tailplane is the source of some vagueness in the books I have. It was apparently fitted to late MkII's with Merlins to cure instability, and seems to have been fitted to most MkVI though a Putnam's book on Bristol aircraft I have suggests some of the fighter squadrons found it made the Beau a bit too stable for air to air combat, so perhaps some of the higher altitude rated VIF's did not have it. On the other hand Coastal Command seem to have preferred the extra stability for their low level rated VIC's, so you have quite a good selection of variations if you want to build a "family", what with horizontal and dihedral tails, Merlin, Hercules and perhaps Griffon engines, dorsal extension and thimble nose etc.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Peter

Hi Rotton,

The desert camo one is really good. DAW was really lacking a good version of this plane. I'really like the worn out effect.

And the RAAF one will be a good target for my F1M2 Pete !

Thank for the effort

Lolo

Hi Lolo,

You have got to be joking - make that your Pete will be a good target for the Beau surely. Pete has 2 7.7mm forward firing guns and one rear of the same - Beau has 4 20mm cannon and depending on the version up to 6 0.303 mg. Pete does a max 230mph and the Beau does at least 100 more. Sure the Pete is more manoeverable but it is dead meat.

Cheers

Peter

Peter,

You are right, the beau was faster and it packed much more punch. It's a historical fact that the nimble japanese floatplanes (Pete or Rufe) loose the game. More about this here

sometimes the floatplanes did manage to survive :

4 June 1943

“Five Petes and one Jake were in the air with five more taking off. The floatplanes were very maneuverable and, as soon as they were in danger of being attacked, would pull up into a loop or roll away, maneuvers which the Beaufighter could not follow.”

21 August 1943

“In another raid on 21 August, Gardiner and Lyne in A19-47, Leithhead and Graves in A19-63 were acting as top cover at 2,500 feet for four others. Both apparently sighted a Pete taking off and both pilots, concentrating on the floatplane, collided, crashing into the sea 400 metres off Taberfane village. At this time, it was noticed that the floatplanes now in use had a better performance than those previously encountered and could keep pace with the Beaufighter.” p. 99

But anyway, japanese biplane floatplane are something special for me, ...so I'd like to take the challenge. Boom and Zoom vs Turn and Burn.

Lolo

Hi Lolo,

Yeah, I like floatplanes and seaplanes as well - have a dozen or so 1/72 kits gathering dust at the moment and still waiting to build the Bv138 if I can ever find the time (and somewhere to display it). Never had a Pete though.

Cheers

Peter

You guys never stop do you?

Poor Ray, gives you a half decent Beaufighter, and then out of the Blue, you want all the variants.

Wish lists are fine, but I wish a few others would have a go.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind some 3dz help, guys.




Fortunately in this case the variants are easy.

Reduce the tailplanes to level and you have the Mk 1's. DONE

Add a fillet in front of the rudder and you have the Mk 10's. DONE

Add a thimble nose and you have the Mk 21's.

Add four bladed props and you have the one-off Mk 2 experimental version. DONE

Add a bulge under the right side of the cockpit and you have the 40mm cannon variant. DONE

The only one that requires serious 3dz work will be the Merlin engine Mk 2's.




So, there's two left, the Mk 2 and the Mk 21.

Who's up for a go?

I promise it won't hurt.

Hi Ray,

I understand what Fran is saying and it would be nice, but I would have thought the commonality between the Beaufighter, Beaufort and Blenheim was in reality not that great (though Bristol undoubtedly intended it to be initially) - the wings were about the same span and shape certainly, but with totally different engines. Not being a modder I may be wrong but perhaps these could be changed relatively easily? The fuselages are of course completely different, and the only part which is almost unchanged is the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces. As to the Buckingham, Buckmaster and Brigand they are virtually new aircraft,and the first 2 were not too successful though I must admit to fancying a Brigand - perhaps a "what if" for SPAW?

I look forward to seeing a full set of Beaufighters, but do not expect either Blenheims or Beauforts in the near future. You have enough on your plate already I think.

Cheers

Peter