I've finally managed to get comfy enough in my new job to start spending a few nights a week plodding along with a new kit, and i mean plodding. Time just keeps going by faster and faster, it's already Feb 2021, crazy man. I was going to jump into another 109, a G6 with an early Hartmann scheme - pre tulip nose, but the more i looked at the Beaufighter kit, the more i wanted to unbox it..so i did, and pushed Hartmann aside.

The box art paint scheme doesn't do much for me and neither does the other option included in the instructions so i started looking for something a bit more interesting than this...








In my internet travels i came across this interesting scheme, which is the only actual pic i can find of this particular aircraft







besides a few profiles






On first sight i knew this was the one i wanted to paint. Many hours of research hasn't turned up much excepting that it was serial LZ293 that was eventually with 236Sqn in march 1944 and crashed near Davidstow Moor a/f Cornwall in august 1944.
I have before seen the colour scheme referenced as an anti u-boat scheme used by a/c based at Davidstow moor, although, it may just be the coastal command scheme. Note the strip around the wing root. This was red doped fabric to seal the joint between fuselage and wing fairing. Not a well known fact.

One other bit i dug up is that this plane below is supposedly the same plane after a repaint...and before it's crash, obviously. And that is about it. Unfortunately i have no Beaufighter books in my collection and there just does not seem to be much info on the net about this plane at all.










The kit doesn't come with the needed Yagi Array, the ASV (Air to Surface Vessell) shown in the image above of LZ293 in the air, what's a Yagi Array i hear you ask..?







Some(extremely minor) research turned up this





If anyone is interested there is a bunch of links in THIS thread about early ASV Radar and Yagi arrays.



I should be able to make that up fairly easily and i'll also need to add the directional finder and glass canopy for it just aft of the cockpit. Besides that i've milliputted up the 6 extra mg ports in the wings and tamiya puttied them, smoothing still to be done. I'm going with a two tone top camo that i haven't done as neatly as say my spitfire in the same colours and changing the white to cover the complete top engine nacelle section, just because i think it adds interest..and looks cool I've also mucked around a bit with preshading colours as i want her to be a bit daggy and have a workhorse look about her. The underneath and side work i have done is possibly too dark and may require a lot of thin white coats to cover it, but i'm in no rush, and i would like patches of it to show through.



















The taping has begun. I started taping on Monday night and planned to have that finished and get some white down this week but have not managed to find the couple of hours i need. Weekend just rolled in though so i should be able to start whitening her up tomorrow morning, after bacon and eggs of course.








This time i will not hit 'Preview New Thread', think i have posted, and then close down my pc

Interesting subject choice.

The Beaufighter is in the running for ugliest in class but it was an overlooked workhorse.

What's the deal with those exhausts? I have only seen that type once, on the CA Boomerang from Australia.

Most certainly an interesting choice, a white Beaufighter.

Torpedo?

Due to engine vibration issues the engines were slung forward more and the nose was dropped back slightly to maintain centre of gravity, i quite like the ugly pug nose look myself. The weird porcupine exhaust, possibly a flame retarder setup?





I would like to sling a torp underneath as i don't have a torp armed model yet. I have to decide today as i will need to fill the rocket mount locations before painting underneath.

I don't *know* but the trunking of all the exhausts together and down under the wing suggests a night flying modification - to keep the exhaust out of the line of sight of the pilot and crew, to preserve night vision to allow looking for marine phosphorescence? (e..g around U boat snorkel or periscope?, or for night operations from relatively small grass fields, and navigation by visual orientation over unlit countryside/coasts.)

The exhaust is for flame dampening. They can also be seen on the Wellington and Halifax..

236Sqn was Coastal Command.

Filler finished and the white down, it all looks a bit over exposed at the moment, especially under the lights.

It's going to be amazing...

Some years ago, my staff caught me playing EAW during a lunch break.
Highly amused by this they proceeded to run round the studio arms outstretched, making 'takka' noises.
My receptionist Kay resembled a Beaufighter, with a fine pert pair of nacelles on her.

I cannot reminisce on the plethora of fine nacelles that inhabit office environments, makes me feel too old and slow, like a Camel amongst Spitfires.

Plenty of little things done in the last little bit. I always feel like i am doing things back to front or in the wrong order..but i suppose it keeps me busy. The wheel bay sides needing a spray of colour, that i should have had done prior...required more funding to the Tamiya tape division.






Wheels test fit.






The wing landing light, i'm going to make up two better looking lights to sit over the raised lamp areas instead of just painting them.









Torpedo, seams filled and ready for prime and paint.







Engines.





Checking out how it all looks so far test fitted up.

Those are some nice nacelles.

Seriously, when I see clear parts, I think of the ones I messed up with my sloppy gluing as a kid. I may be traumatized...NURSE!!!!

I wish a nurse would traumatise me


Torp sprayed and just waiting to be slightly scuffed up






Yagi Array from some left over pieces. Going to be fiddly to clean up i think.

Fuselage and wing fairing red dope colour applied, Tamiya red with some hull red mixed in to darken.














This pic shows the true colour




even Citino approves

Vintage Anglepoise lamps....very sought after now!
Next project; seat cushion re-upholstery?

I just put a towel on it in summer, it's my lads old gaming chair. Maybe it will get a cushion one year

Wow just excellent work

Ajay is really too talented for us...

Thanks for letting us enjoy your work man.

Thanks guys, really Wait until you see the weathering though. I said i wanted dirty, but i may have gone a tad overboard. I'll grab some shots tonight and see what you think so far.

Still more to do, the white really is a mongrel to photograph.

Fantastic weathering job.

Still a madman, but becoming a very, very skilled madman.

Love the engine cylinders most, it looks utterly as if 3d-popping out of my screen. But the rest is equally amazing.

He's also getting really good at photographing his little beauties.

Yeah, the weathering is over the top Ajay.

[quote=Nixer

Yeah, the weathering is over the top Ajay. [/quote]

If my fellow virtual squadron mate Bounder who died recently was still alive, he would probably say not enough oil leakage residue.

He used to pilot Bristol Freighters across the English Channel which shared the Hercules power plant as did the Beau, which were notorious for oil leaks!

It seems our cat works for ze Germans! My daughter sent me this pic while i was at work when she was wondering where he had got to. Of course, straight after this he moved and the Beau was knocked and fell, with (no) style, to the floor.

Couple of things to remedy before i can complete the weathering. Glad i had not attached the yagi array yet, i've already had to refix it once myself due to fat fingers.

It is said that conclusive proof of the earth not being flat is that if it was, cats would of knocked everything off the side by now.

True that!

Very nice! I’ve built the Tamiya Mk. VI kit, it is wonderful. Mine ended up in desert camouflage.

Lovely work Ajay!

Cheers Goon, long time see mate, need some modelling adventures and expertise from yourself!


Been busy, changing jobs (upgrade) and cat attack part two...i gotta learn to close the modelling room door when i'm at work.

Is that cats name Jerry?

Ajay, what did you change in your photo hosting ?

Dave...my son named him years ago


Just used the default SimHQ attachment Grog as the last couple were only single pics.

The size is so different.

Mind boggling was what I was going to post about it.

Holy smokes!

We are so Lucky to have Goon and Ajay here.

I just love their skills and attention to detail.

Quick update, finally. Fixed the cat damage, finished all of the glass framing plus wingtip lights and main wing light. Added the torp and touched up some weathering. Managed to get crook this week, my body doesn't do winter apparently, so i've been watching WitE 2 tutorials this weekend while modelling to get the full effect of my sickness

She looks glorious!

She's getting there

Decided she needed a base so i thought a runway section would be cool. Just going to do it very basic, plaster, colour it, weather it up and maybe add a section of grass.



First is my box section so i can pour the plaster. Feel free to knock my absolutely atrocious woodwork skills. I still have a ton of the old bed frame left that i have been hacking up for over a year now to do plenty more bases. After that...i guess i'm sleeping on the floor.






Water and some grey acrylic paint






Plaster, $4 at the local hardware store or $25 for a smaller packet at the local craft shop.






Potato masher does the mixing trick






Poured and drying within minutes






Watched two episodes of Monkey on Netflix and it is dry enough to release. Man, that show is a cack, so many not so subtle sex jokes i never picked up on as a kid.






Only a couple of million years of evolution and in a single morning i can build my own tile. Amazing.






I'll let it cure properly overnight and clean it up in the morning. I need to get back to watching the best show of my youth through an adults eyes

Scribed out and added some cracks, did an acrylic wash consisting of a few layers of very watered down grey and black followed by some wet and dry. Letting it sit overnight again and will dirty it up some more tomorrow and add some tonal variation.

That's clever.....bit of 'dirtying up' and it'll resemble my patio

I've had similar thoughts BD the slabs are probably too small and the the lines too deep but it does look cool once the plane is on it.

Ajay, have you tried a cookie pan for making bases?

Not yet...it has to be easier though lol.

Another question Ajay. Does the base dry out over time and crack?

Can't quite decide if the quality work pictured or your oneliners are more entertaining. It's going to look brilliant, and I loved the part about evolution

Very cool Ajay.

Hoping not I did 2:1 plaster:water which was recommended and it hasn't warped and feels really solid so should be good. I'll seal it this weekend as well. I was wondering if i should have added some reo for longevivty, next one i will.

Used a paperclip bent around a paintbrush for the fuselage DF loop. First attempt was too big, second one will do.

Calling her done. I ditched the yagi array, first one was a bit wonky after a couple of breaks and fixes and the second one frustrated me no end so i gave up on it. Sometimes you just gotta bin things I've also ditched the cheap oil paints i was using for my weathering as it really turned into hard work cleaning this one up regards reacting with the clear. Next kit i will be trying VMS clears for the first time and i will waiting for some Florys model wash to arrive from the UK. Expecting better results with those two products.


Into the pic box, which really needs a revamp, it's turned into the cats hideaway box in the shed judging by the amount of cat hair i had to dust out of it...is nowhere sacred!






I'm using a different program than normal for my pics and they seem darker on this monitor but looked fine on my other one.

That is fantastic!

Your weathering on the plane and on the base is above top shelf and all that in spite of the feline interference.

Bulged tires should have been included in the kit, Tamiya missed one.

That's the 'dog's bollocks' that is mate!

Super sharp work Ajay!

Superb !

The work some of you do is humbling to us ham-fished, no talent, no patience, clods.

What's humbling is the appreciation, thanks all. She does look pretty good in the cabinet though, of which i now need a fourth expedition to Ikea.

Cheers!

Beautiful model mate. Very well done.

Regarding "is nowhere sacred", the answer is NO!!!!

Cats regard everything that exists or will exist to have been put on this earth for their use or amusement.

May as well accept it 'cause they won't change, so you need to. I know this from years of personal experience.

Cheers,

Andy

Hard to believe it's a small 1/48 scale, by the amount of detail you gave it.

Also, whether it's the new software or your always growing skills, the pics look awesome.

Its...It's...

It's amazing!

Wasn't real thrilled with the choice of paint scheme, but she turned out beeUtifull!

Thanks for letting us watch and pretend we could have once been that good.

I really liked her when she was clean, but she was too clean...but she wasn't. It's a weird transistion from freshly sprayed to dirtying up. Like, did i pick the right rocker covers or should i have left on the factory ones...more like tweaking your timing and getting that point gap sweet really and then having to tweak more after a quick run...and then you gutta pull the carby apart and check the float and change the valve...maybe i'll change the jets as well...oh shi't, the inside of the manifold looks a bit cast and yuk, maybe if i just debur it a bit, sand it and give it a quick polish. Where does it end.

I've been thinking i need to do more airbrush weathering by thinner and muckier shades/more layers so i can end up lighter on washes to rely on depth/scale/life of the model. Getting there with every kit though, slowly slowly, learny learny.

great job

Smashing work as always
Any chance to get a few pics of your IKEA cabinets with your private Air Force? Just curious about it.

Cheers,
Slug

I'll post a pic when i start the next kit mate

Ajay, if you did an AJ-37 Viggen, how would you do the camouflage?

They do mask kits but because i seem to like the hard way to do things so i would more than likely paint the lightest colour all over first, draw the splinter scheme on that and then use Tamiya tape and mask away.

After masking i would spray a thin clear coat to stop any bleeding under the tape of the colour coat. Four colours so three mask sessions overall.

Being 1/48 she is going to be decent sized which wouldn't make it too painful. It would be a cool project as she is a great looking jet.

Ikea cabinets? I bet Ajay doesn't have problems like the rest of us, putting them together judging from his work displayed here!

Thanks AJ, err Ajay.