A_M_W_2015_05_

50 BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER M k.X

thicker coat, which was useful as

the painted finish was so matt.

Some of the faded effects seemed

to disappear a little under the

sheen, but never fear, as they

reappeared once the final matt

coat was applied.

When the Klear had cured fully

it was time to apply the decals, a

process complicated slightly by

the fact that they were incredibly

thin. As they are wont to do,

these were quite keen to turn

over on themselves if not handled

with the utmost care. They were

also affected by decal solutions,

so time was of the essence.

When all were applied and fully

dry, though, the upside of that

trickiness was apparent since the

carrier film was almost invisible,

even before matt coat application.

Prior to that, though, it was time

for weathering, as the finish on

these aircraft deteriorated rapidly

in service due to the extremely

harsh maritime environment. RAF

Dallachy was situated right on the

coast, and the aircraft operated

at low level over the sea, which

led to faded and filthy paintwork

in very short order. The fading

was dealt with during spraying,

which left just the dirt to add,

with Ammo-mig panel line washes

employed here. A final matt coat

sealed all the weathering work,

and attention was diverted to the

fiddly bits while the model was set

aside to dry thoroughly.

Rocketeers

Much of the work in this area

was concentrated on the rocket

armament, inspired by the

references provided in the decal

sheet. After adding rivet and

fastener detail to the rocket

mounting pads, the rockets and

rails were drilled to accept wiring,

fashioned from Plus Model 0.2mm

lead wire, with Humbrol Clearfix

blobs to represent the plugs on the

end of the wires. The eight rockets

were painted RAF Dark Green with

black warheads, which featured

white bands on their noses, while

the rails were Sky with steel

coloured lowers. According to

references, Dallachy Strike Wing

aircraft most likely operated with

the slimmer armour-piercing (AP)

Mk.II rocket, but the kit rockets

were used for this build.

it was time to apply the decals, a

process complicated slightly by

the fact that they were incredibly

thin. As they are wont to do,

these were quite keen to turn

over on themselves if not handled

with the utmost care. They were

also affected by decal solutions,

these aircraft deteriorated rapidly

in service due to the extremely

harsh maritime environment. RAF

Dallachy was situated right on the

coast, and the aircraft operated

at low level over the sea, which

led to faded and filthy paintwork

in very short order. The fading

Rocketeers

Much of the work in this area

was concentrated on the rocket

armament, inspired by the

references provided in the decal

sheet. After adding rivet and

fastener detail to the rocket

white bands on their noses, while

the rails were Sky with steel

coloured lowers. According to

references, Dallachy Strike Wing

aircraft most likely operated with

the slimmer armour-piercing (AP)

Mk.II rocket, but the kit rockets

were used for this build.

“AIRFIX HAS TAKEN ANOTHER

STEP CLOSER TO THE

LEADERS IN THE FIELD”

Fully masked and ready for paint, the bullish Beaufighter lines were very evident.

The rear canopy was masked internally with Maskol, which was also used to attach

it temporarily.

The upper surface Extra Dark Sea Grey was represented by Gunze H333. This was

lightened progressively with white to replicate extensive fading, before pure colour

was used to represent touch-ups.

46-51_Beaufighter.CC.indd 50 19/03/2015 15:00