CrankyCrafstman Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Hey all Well here I go again another challenging build. I'm going to try and build the old Revell Bristol Beaufighter using as many aftermarket items as I can find for it. So here's what I have so far. 1) Revell 1/32 Bristol Beaufighter kit # 04756 mk1F. Going to convert it to mk V1c RCAF. 2) Revell 1/48 Bristol Beaufighter [ going to use this to help on the 1/32 one] 3) Model Monkey cockpit set. 4) Model Monkey rear tail planes. 5) Vector Bristol Hercules resin engines (2) 6) Quickboost resin porcupine exhausts. 7) Aviaeology decal set of RCAF Beaufighter. TF.Xs of 404 squadron - early to late 1944. 8) Brengun models British landing lights,intake, grills and gun site. Model Monkey is supposed to be working on the rear observer/gunner's station but nothing as of yet. Ron G 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 Hey all Here are some pictures of what I have for this build 1/32 Revell kit 1/48 Revell kit reference book So here's where I'm at so far on the build. fuselage fits together pretty good. No warps. Model Monkey cockpit set in lower wing center section. close up of cockpit set. view from underneath showing pilot entrance hatch. Had to modify this to line up with the Model Monkey cockpit. view showing hatch sitting in place, loosely. view showing hatch in the open position. view of fuselage and lower wing with cockpit set in place, loosely. there is alot more stuff that goes in here. Here are pictures of the rest of the M.M. cockpit set. lots of small pieces. This set is very delicate and tricky to remove from all the 3D printed support structures. I lost the brake lever on the control column but I may be able to scratch one up. instrument panel and rudder pedals. Well that's it for know, next I will show the engines and exhausts. I checked in my Tamiya Mosquito kit and found that the main wheels are a good fit for this Beaufighter. So now I have to go on Ebay and see if I can round up aset from another kit. Ron G 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Goody !!......harv 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Whee ! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 2 hours ago, harv said: Goody !!......harv 1 hour ago, Martinnfb said: Whee ! What they said!!!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Ron, you’re going to rock this, great to see a Beau build up, to few and far between.......that’s two now on LSM isn’t ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 Hey guys Thanks for the comments. It's definitely a challenge, no cockpit or observer details raised panel lines no rivet detail, no wheel well detail wrong canopy and observer/gunner canopy, etc. I started some work on the engines, the kit engines are ok but I think the Vector resin engines are much better. The challenging part is creating from scratch the inner area of the exhaust cowl ring and the exhaust pipes from the cylinders to the ring, YIKES! Here are some pictures. front view of the kit engine. rear view of the kit engine. front view of the Vector resin Hercules engine. Much better detail of the front gear case. I cut off the resin prop shaft, thought it was too brittle. I made a new one out of brass tubing, and ran it through the center of the engine. Had to add a 1/16" (.0625") spacer to the rear to get the engine to sit in the right place. rear view of engine showing the spacer. resin engine on the left, kit engine on the right. kit engine, cowl and prop. kit cowl ring with resin engine. I made a circle out of plastic card to hold engine in the nacelle. I'll show a picture later forgot to take one, oopps! resin engine with prop. It looks off because it is just sitting together not finally attached yet. this is the whole thing temporarily assembled to show what it will look like. view of the Quickboost porcupine exhaust. Need to add the two pipes in the front of the cowl ring (they were used to bring cool air onto the exhaust) also the pipes coming out of the rear of the porcupine exhaust that go into the nacelle (these lead to the heating pipe in the cockpit. They were only connected to the interior on the starboard side but were on the port side too. These pictures are of the rear tail planes from Model Monkey. They are the latter version that were increased to 20 feet 5 inches, and giving them a dihedral of 12.5 degrees. these are really nice and will help turn this beast into a proper Beaufighter. Well that's it for know I'll have more later, but now it's time to get back to work. Ron G 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Awesome Ron! Love your work buddy! That Model Monkey stuff looks lovely Looking forward to the next installment! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Anthony in NZ said: Awesome Ron! Love your work buddy! That Model Monkey stuff looks lovely Looking forward to the next installment! Thanks Anthony So far it's going ok but the hard stuff is yet to come...lol Ron G 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifter Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 I envy you. I would love a 1/32 Beau, cant source one anywhere here in the Jungle, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Desmond Glazebrook Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 This will be fun. Follow! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 great stuff! I love this kit and now there are some new bits for it from Model Monkey I have been itching to see someone take it on.. looks like you are well on top of it - nice work! Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 Thanks Peter coming from you thats great praise. Ron G 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 Hey guys Just a small update, some work on the nacelles and exhausts. view of the actual Beaufighter exhaust showing cockpit heater pipes. view showing Quickboost exhaust with scratch built heater pipe going into nacelle. another view of pipe going into nacelle. view of the two intake cooling pipes on cowl exhaust ring. close up view of the two pipes. All for now be back when I get more done. Ron G 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Very good !!.....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Sweet as a nut....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 Hey all Another small update on modifying the kit canopy from a MK. 1f to a MK. V1c not easy but I think it's doable. Here are some pictures. this view shows the 1/32 Revell Beaufighter MK. 1f on the left and the 1/48 Revel Beau MK. TF. X on the right. view of 1/48 Beaufighter canopy in place. view of 1/32 Beaufighter canopy in place. I'm going to sand off all of the raised framing and redo it with evergreen plastic strip. Wish me luck. If it don't work I'll be looking for a replacement Ron G 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 I'm back Some more update pictures. view through the starboard side of canopy at Model Monkey cockpit. view through port side of canopy at Model Monkey cockpit. view looking aft through the canopy at Model Monkey cockpit. It still needs more polishing, but I think it's going to work out. Now all I have to do is figure out how to do the rear observer/gunner's bubble...Yikes. Ron G l 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Looking good !!.......harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Some crazy work here Ron, I like it ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Some crazy work here Ron, I like it ! Just trying to keep up with you...lol I'm working on the wheel wells right know, and boy did Revell get these wrong! Way to shallow, the floor, I guess you would call it, needs to move in to the nacelle about an 1/8th of an inch! That's a scale 4". So I'm making all new pieces for the wheel wells, trying to match the 1/48 scale ones I have from Revell, they are alot more complicated made up of 6 pieces. This is going to take a while. Ron G 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidd88 Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed seeing this build. My own father died when I was 5 or so, and one of a handful of clear memories I have of him is building the 1/72 Airfix-kit of the torpedo armed "Beaufighter" ("Beaufort?") variant. I got confused about the instructions, and stuck it on the top wing hard by the nacelle, and was inconsolable, I imagine, at getting it wrong. I can remembers him working with me for hours to remove to the torpedo and remedy the damage with files and sandpaper... I did RTFM more carefully after that, but it's a fond memory all the same. I can also clearly remember the 1:72 Airfix "Lanc" which to me was HUGE, that I received one birthday or Christmas shortly thereafter. Probably chosen for the lack of torpedoes! Incidentally, the "collector ring" is called a "Townend ring", which is different to a normal exhaust collector ring, in that it has an additional aerodynamic shroud surrounding the collector ring, through which cold air is ram-fed. This serves to flame-damp at night, quietens the engine note and heats the faces of the cowl otherwise vulnerable to impact icing. It also provides some drag advantages, and assists cooling of the cylinders. It's a very clever bit of kit. On model instructions, it's often suggested to paint it bronze, but actually it should be an alloy colour with increasing heat discolouration towards bronze brass and blue shades as you move away from the leading and trailing edges of the ring towards the center line. At the lead and trailing edges of the Townend, the metal is rivetted, double thickness, and therefore tends not to heat discolour to the same degree. (Examined a real, HOT one, on the Royal Navies Swordfish when it dropped into the airfield I was flying from one afternoon.) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 Hey Fidd88 I know it's not supposed to be painted bronze/copper because its actually metal, I believe it is stainless steel but not sure. Here is a picture of what you are talking about. this shows the early cowl ring on the left with out the baffle and with on the right. view showing the exhaust pipes going from cylinders to the cowl ring. inside view of the cowl "townend" ring. Thanks for the input. Ron G 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Fidd88 said: the torpedo armed "Beaufighter" ("Beaufort?") variant I think those were called Torbeau. Great story about building with your dad. 40 minutes ago, CrankyCrafstman said: view showing the exhaust pipes going from cylinders to the cowl ring. Ron, any idea how they connected the Townend ring to the exhaust pipes? Just wondering as it doesn't look like it would be easy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 Hey Bir If you look closely at the picture of the inside of the ring you can see a flange attached to the pipe stubs coming out of the ring with two holes in each one. There are 14 of them. In the picture looking into the cowl ring you can see the pipes that go from the cylinders to the ring, there are two different types 7 of each that also have a flange that matches the ones on the rings pipe stubs. They are bolted together I assume with a gasket between them. Ron G 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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