Hello All!
This is 1:72 scale Hasegawa's Beaufighter Mk.21.This version was produced by DAP
(Department of Aviation Production) in Australia during WWII. 364 of these
machines were built and served till the late 50's. They usually flew in dark green
color with nice tail or nose arts. Perhaps Aussie Beaufighters were strangest
Beaufighters among all. That is why I picked this kit.
Click on
images below to see larger images
If we should mention about beaufighter; it
wasn't as famous as the Mosquito or Spitfire, but it served in all fronts
successfully; from the coasts of England to the Pacific. Even it was named as
'Whispering death' by the Japanese because of its silent engines.
Mk.21versions
had 2 Hercules CVII engines, 4 20mm cannons in nose and 4 .50 calibre
Browning on wings. Also the plane carried HVAR rockets and various bombs
against
ground targets.
Lets talk about the kit and assembly;
Hasegawa does not surprise us with nice fitting and crispy details but I
must admit cockpit details are a bit weak. As a bonus Hasegawa gives a pair
of metal exhausts that looks pretty realistic (perhaps that was the
best part of the kit). I faced no fit problems and didn't touch my
Vallejo putty. I used Modelmaster Fs34092 dark green as instructions
told. I lightened green with white and sprayed into middle of
panels. For
metal parts I used Gunze chromsilver. Decals went well with Microsol
solution. For gloss coat I used Tamiya X-22 then washed the plane with oil
paint and for finishing I used Modelmaster's matt coat.
Chipping
effects are made by Modelmaster silver.
I can say that I was glad when my
little green Beaufighter land its place on my shelf. It seems nice with funny
tail-art 'A hornet with hat says: You will find no honey here!' and plane looks
cool with metal exhausts. I recommend it to all WWII British (And Commonwealth)
fans..
At the end of my short article I would like to thanks my bro Emad from Lebanon
for his advice and my friend Ayhan for taking these pics..
Happy modelling!
Zafer Yilmaz
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images below to see larger images
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