Dirk's 1/72 Frankin Defiant

[dirkpitt289]

This is my first attempt at this and I have no clue how its going to turn out but I gotta give it a try. No resin parts here. I'm going to do it old school and graft the nose from another kit. In this case a Spitfire Vb.

Airfix The Kit

As you all know this kit is pretty old and this one shows it. There isn't a lot of flash but the details such as the rudder have softened and lost some detail. There is also some warping of the parts.

The Donor kit

The parts I will be using from the Spitfire will be the three pieces make up the nose

As you know there is no cockpit but I want to make this in flight with the aerials deployed so I will have to scratch something together.

 

[dirkpitt289]

Pre-op

Post-op

While the patient was still on the table we made a few cuts to the back end as well.

Here's a comparison of the two nose sections

Profile

Nose on (Scuse the pun)

Seeing how the remaining pieces fit together

I will need to do a little more work before i will be able to get the new nose to fit. For starters I will need to thin down the fuselage.

Before

After

Thanks for looking

 

[T Bolt]

Some more major surgery from Dr. Pitt. Looking forward to it.

 

[dirkpitt289]

That makes one of us.

 

[T Bolt]

A year or so ago I saw a profile of a Defiant in Clave's Fantasy Aircraft Full Series thread. It was done in Rebel Alliance colors and had R2D2 instead of a turret. I've had doing that in the back of my head ever since. I'll have to pick up the Airfix kit one of these days and get started on it. Should be fairly simple.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Dirk. Didn't the article I sent suggest using a Hurricane nose? I can't remember, but it's probably nearer in shape than the Spit.

 

[destrozas]

good stuff dirk

 

[dirkpitt289]

Good stuff Dirk. Didn't the article I sent suggest using a Hurricane nose? I can't remember, but it's probably nearer in shape than the Spit.

I haven't read the article yet so I can't say. What I've read in the past and have planed out was a Spitfire Vb nose. THe Hurricane nose is interesting

 

[Airframes]

I would think the Hurricane nose might be better, or alter the kit nose. The Spit front had a 'flatter' top and sides, and more 'bulbous' lower cowling. I'd have to dig out the article again, but I think it mentions extending the kit nose, and altering the intake. Might be a good idea to check the article before proceeding.
Incidentally, the 12 models covered in the book were made for display in the RAF Museum and, for the time, were probably as accurate as one could get, with materials available then.

 

[dirkpitt289]

Thanks Terry

 

[T Bolt]

Didn't realize this was an actual aircraft. What's the background on it?

 

[Airframes]

Dirk is wanting to build an accurate Defiant, as far as I know. The Airfix kit was originally issued in the late 1950s or early 1960s, when access to the only complete Defiant (currently being re-restored, was in the RAF Museum) was not possible, and the kit, although passable for the time, is woefully in-accurate.
Dirk, apologies - I've just read the article I sent you, and a Spitfire MkV nose was adapted.

 

[Crimea_River]

The only major kit-bash I've attempted to date is my CF-5A and it stares at me every time I go to the work bench. It seems to be saying in a fly-like voice "finish me, finish me!!!"

 

[dirkpitt289]

Moving forward with the Defiant we all know she has no interior whatsoever. In my opinion going crazy without some sort of vac-form canopy would be silly but then again I've been known to be quite silly at times. I will do my best to keep such interior details at a minimum. Here is where I am.

I cheated a bit with the interior. I started by painting the interior walls RAF Interior green. Instead of scratching the bits I stole them from a Me109 parts kit. What I used was the instrument panel, the pilot seat and the cockpit floor.

The pilot

The pilot finished with a wash. In order to get him to fit into the cockpit I had to spread his legs a bit. That's why he looks a little goofy

Here's how it looks. Note the IP has not been installed yet. I'm having a hard time mounting it but I think I found a solution. I scratched a bulkhead wall behind the pilots seat. The issue with that is now the uber thick canopy wont fit. If I was to shave down the bulkhead to fit the canopy it will look REALLY silly. I'm going to table that issue for the time being.

Here you can see where more surgery took place. I removed the radio and the shelf behind the pilot. I am planning on making this in flight so I want to lower the rear part of the fuselage. Here are some photos of the area.

Here is where we are. After looking at the photos I need to widen the area a little more

 

[Capt. Vick]

Why not use the MPM/Special Hobby kit? Is THAT inaccurate also?

 

[dirkpitt289]

Part of the fun is taking this old and wanting kit and turning it into something worth wild. Anyone can do a shake and bake kit. THe challenge is half the battle

 

[Wayne Little]

Part of the fun is taking this old and wanting kit and turning it into something worth wild. Anyone can do a shake and bake kit. THe challenge is half the battle

Well said Dirk! Nothing wrong with a good challenge..

 

[Capt. Vick]

Anyone can do a shake and bake kit.

Untrue! I have plenty but can't seem to start, much less actually do one!

 

[meatloaf109]

Well said Dirk! Nothing wrong with a good challenge..

That's the truth!

 

[dirkpitt289]

The time has come to attach the Spitfire nose.

Here is the new Spitfire Vb nose. The lips on the new nose will need to be trimmed down to get a proper fit due to the differences in the shape of the nose and the fuselage

This gaping hole will be filled with two part putty

Two part Putty for filling the holes

It appears I forgot to take a photo of the after shot. Oh well as the putty was drying I moved on to the wings. Note the poor fit

New rear shelf and radio installed

Installed the rear fuselage. Its hard to see in these photos but according to the photos of this area the piece does not drop down flush. It hinges down from the farthest point near the tail of the aircraft and lies slightly below the main fuselage. So at the black arrow its flush, at the blue arrow its slightly lower forming a lip.

Thanks for looking