In Box Review of Revell 1/32nd Scale
British Bristol Beaufighter Mk.IF
Kit no. H-251
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1974-75
Out of production
Available 3 places overseas on the web in the 2014 reboxing.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1974-75
Out of production
Available 3 places overseas on the web in the 2014 reboxing.
HISTORY:
As the evening skies began to darken into night, the citizens of the British Isles began preparations for a rain of death and destruction from the blackness above.The date was the early 1940's.
The German Air Force had been rebuffed in its attempt to smash England by day, so now the bombers came under the cover of night. But even the night could not conceal the enemy raiders from a determined Royal Air Force.
One of the very same weapons which forced the Luftwaffe into the darkness was waiting somewhere in that same black sky for the German bombers, the Bristol Beaufighter.
With radar-eyes and painted a dull soot-black, the powerful Beaufighter could see but not be seen in the skies above London.
On the night of November 19, 1940, the first radar-equipped Beaufighter to score a kill downed a Junkers Ju-88. This was also the first victory for John Cunningham, who was to earn the nickname "Cat's Eyes" in the months to flow.
By the end of the war, Group Capt. Cunningham had been credited with 20 kills, 19 of them at night. Cunningham's markings are provided in this Revell Beaufighter kit.
The Beaufighter served well in both Europe and the Pacific. To the Japanese it was "the Whispering Death", because of the muted sound of its engines, but to those who flew it she was the marvelous "Beau". With a torpedo she was the "Torbeau" and with rockets they called her "Rockbeau".
The Bristol Beaufighter actually began as a hybrid development of an earlier Bristol bomber, the Beaufort. Designed as a private venture, the Beaufighter was to be a large, cannon-armed fighter which could be built on the Beaufort jigs.
The short, blunted nose of the new fighter was necessary because of the large diameter (12' 9") of the propellers, but this resulted in an excellent forward view for the pilot.
The prototype Beaufighter made its maiden flight on July 17, 1939, and initial deliveries to the Roya Air Force began a year later.
The Battle of Britain was at its peak when the Beaufighter arrived on the scene. The big fighter rapidly gained popularity among its pilots for its fighting abilities, although it did display some trick characteristics during take-offs.
Demand for the fighter was so great that many of the planes were assembled by Fairey in addition to Bristol.
An interesting feature of the Beaufighter was the system for emergency exit from the plane. Two hatches were located in the belly of the fuselage which balanced and pivoted horizontally.
A quick-release opened the hatches which slipstream locked them in place creating a dead-air zone through which the two crewmen could safely drop at speeds up to 400 mph.
Six machine guns were mounted in the wings, four in the right wing and two in the left. In addition, four 20 mm cannon were carried under the nose giving a combined firepower of 780 lbs. of bullets per minute, thus making the Beaufighter the most heavily armed fighter in the world then.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Wingspan: 57 feet 10 inches
Length: 41 feet 4 inches
Powerplant: two Bristol Hercules X1, fourteen-cylinder sleeve-valve, air-cooled engines of 1,400 hp.
Max speed: 321 mph at 15,800 feet
Range: 1,170 miles
Service ceiling: 20,500 feet
Armament: six .303 Browning machine guns, four 20 mm Hispano cannon.
As the evening skies began to darken into night, the citizens of the British Isles began preparations for a rain of death and destruction from the blackness above.The date was the early 1940's.
The German Air Force had been rebuffed in its attempt to smash England by day, so now the bombers came under the cover of night. But even the night could not conceal the enemy raiders from a determined Royal Air Force.
One of the very same weapons which forced the Luftwaffe into the darkness was waiting somewhere in that same black sky for the German bombers, the Bristol Beaufighter.
With radar-eyes and painted a dull soot-black, the powerful Beaufighter could see but not be seen in the skies above London.
On the night of November 19, 1940, the first radar-equipped Beaufighter to score a kill downed a Junkers Ju-88. This was also the first victory for John Cunningham, who was to earn the nickname "Cat's Eyes" in the months to flow.
By the end of the war, Group Capt. Cunningham had been credited with 20 kills, 19 of them at night. Cunningham's markings are provided in this Revell Beaufighter kit.
The Beaufighter served well in both Europe and the Pacific. To the Japanese it was "the Whispering Death", because of the muted sound of its engines, but to those who flew it she was the marvelous "Beau". With a torpedo she was the "Torbeau" and with rockets they called her "Rockbeau".
The Bristol Beaufighter actually began as a hybrid development of an earlier Bristol bomber, the Beaufort. Designed as a private venture, the Beaufighter was to be a large, cannon-armed fighter which could be built on the Beaufort jigs.
The short, blunted nose of the new fighter was necessary because of the large diameter (12' 9") of the propellers, but this resulted in an excellent forward view for the pilot.
The prototype Beaufighter made its maiden flight on July 17, 1939, and initial deliveries to the Roya Air Force began a year later.
The Battle of Britain was at its peak when the Beaufighter arrived on the scene. The big fighter rapidly gained popularity among its pilots for its fighting abilities, although it did display some trick characteristics during take-offs.
Demand for the fighter was so great that many of the planes were assembled by Fairey in addition to Bristol.
An interesting feature of the Beaufighter was the system for emergency exit from the plane. Two hatches were located in the belly of the fuselage which balanced and pivoted horizontally.
A quick-release opened the hatches which slipstream locked them in place creating a dead-air zone through which the two crewmen could safely drop at speeds up to 400 mph.
Six machine guns were mounted in the wings, four in the right wing and two in the left. In addition, four 20 mm cannon were carried under the nose giving a combined firepower of 780 lbs. of bullets per minute, thus making the Beaufighter the most heavily armed fighter in the world then.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Wingspan: 57 feet 10 inches
Length: 41 feet 4 inches
Powerplant: two Bristol Hercules X1, fourteen-cylinder sleeve-valve, air-cooled engines of 1,400 hp.
Max speed: 321 mph at 15,800 feet
Range: 1,170 miles
Service ceiling: 20,500 feet
Armament: six .303 Browning machine guns, four 20 mm Hispano cannon.
THE KIT:
Revell is an old prolific model company that was based in Venice, CA in the 70's.
This kit comes in a long (21") tightly packed, shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows 2 Beaufighters flying above the White Cliffs of Dover.
Both are overall jet black, with sky colored bands around the cowling noses.
The Beaufighter in the foreground has white "3" on the sides of the cowlings and a white fuselage code of NG roundel R and a yellow serial no. R2101 under the elevators. This serial no is in red on the decal sheet and the fuselage code is grey there.
The Beaufighter in the background has a white fuselage code NC roundel B and a red serial no. R2192 under the elevators. Again, on the decal sheet the fuselage code is grey and the serial no. is black.
One side panel begins with a small color repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Beaufighter and kit features: Highly detailed instrument panel, two detailed Bristol Hercules engines with removable cowlings, two crew figures in authentic flight gear, movable propellers and wheels, clear cockpit canopy with radio operator, radar antenna, official markings of Flt./Lt. John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham, RAF.
Revell is an old prolific model company that was based in Venice, CA in the 70's.
This kit comes in a long (21") tightly packed, shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows 2 Beaufighters flying above the White Cliffs of Dover.
Both are overall jet black, with sky colored bands around the cowling noses.
The Beaufighter in the foreground has white "3" on the sides of the cowlings and a white fuselage code of NG roundel R and a yellow serial no. R2101 under the elevators. This serial no is in red on the decal sheet and the fuselage code is grey there.
The Beaufighter in the background has a white fuselage code NC roundel B and a red serial no. R2192 under the elevators. Again, on the decal sheet the fuselage code is grey and the serial no. is black.
One side panel begins with a small color repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Beaufighter and kit features: Highly detailed instrument panel, two detailed Bristol Hercules engines with removable cowlings, two crew figures in authentic flight gear, movable propellers and wheels, clear cockpit canopy with radio operator, radar antenna, official markings of Flt./Lt. John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham, RAF.
This is followed by 5 color walk around type photos of the model made up.
The other side panel has 4 color box arts of other 1/32nd scale aircraft kits that Revell manufactures: A German BF-110C-4/C-4B, a F-4E Phantom, a Mirage III and a Harrier.
No kit numbers are given for these 4 kits.
Kit was made and printed in Japan.
The other side panel has 4 color box arts of other 1/32nd scale aircraft kits that Revell manufactures: A German BF-110C-4/C-4B, a F-4E Phantom, a Mirage III and a Harrier.
No kit numbers are given for these 4 kits.
Kit was made and printed in Japan.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
The kit holds 8 jet-black parts trees and a clear tree in 2 large clear cello bags, the large decal sheet and 2 sets of instructions.
The first instructions consist of 8 pages, printed on just one side each and stapled together in one corner. The instructions are all in English.
Page 1 has the history of Beaufighter and its specifications, along with a 3 view of the Beaufighter in the cover art scheme as a marking and painting guide. The number 3 on the sides of the cowling shown here was on the aircraft at one time and not when it was flown by John Cunningham it says. It is therefore optional.
Colors are listed with FS (Federal Standard numbers) provided and the address in Washington, DC to get a listing of these numbers for $2.25 is given.
Page 2 begins with BEFORE YOU BEGIN instructions and helpful hints, over the first 2 assembly steps.
Page 3 through 8 gives a balance of a total of 9 assembly steps.
The second instructions is all in Japanese. It is a large staple-bound booklet of 8 pages in 15 3/4" x 11 3/4" page format, printed in color on slick coated paper.
Page 1 has a very inky color photo of the Beaufighter made up. Because it is so dark, no markings can be made out, other than the sky bands around the cowlings.
Below it is a large color side view of the Beaufighter in the box art scheme (already described above).
Page 2 begins with a large black and white wartime photo of a Beaufighter that is in a wave pattern of 2 shades of grey. It is too light and you cannot make out the fuselage code. A second smaller black and white photo shows a beaufighter in flight.
It too is in a wave pattern of two greys and has a white fuselage code B roundel PN and a serial no. R2192 under the elevators. There is a lot of Japanese text on this page also.
Page 3 has a 3-view line drawing of the Beaufighter with B roundel PN fuselage code.
Page 4 through 7 gives a grand total of 8 assembly steps.
Step 8 is the marking and painting guide, showing a Beaufighter with fuselage code NG roundel R.
Below it is a black and white photo of Revell's 1/32nd scale kit no. H-250, a German Bf-110G-4 and kit no. H-251 (this kit) both shown made up.
Page 8 is the parts-trees illustrations, over a listing of all the names of the parts in the kit in Japanese.
The trees are not alphabetized. They do have part number tabs next to the parts on them though.
The first jet-black tree holds: the propellers, landing-gear legs, engines, wheels, dashboard etc. (51 parts)
The kit holds 8 jet-black parts trees and a clear tree in 2 large clear cello bags, the large decal sheet and 2 sets of instructions.
The first instructions consist of 8 pages, printed on just one side each and stapled together in one corner. The instructions are all in English.
Page 1 has the history of Beaufighter and its specifications, along with a 3 view of the Beaufighter in the cover art scheme as a marking and painting guide. The number 3 on the sides of the cowling shown here was on the aircraft at one time and not when it was flown by John Cunningham it says. It is therefore optional.
Colors are listed with FS (Federal Standard numbers) provided and the address in Washington, DC to get a listing of these numbers for $2.25 is given.
Page 2 begins with BEFORE YOU BEGIN instructions and helpful hints, over the first 2 assembly steps.
Page 3 through 8 gives a balance of a total of 9 assembly steps.
The second instructions is all in Japanese. It is a large staple-bound booklet of 8 pages in 15 3/4" x 11 3/4" page format, printed in color on slick coated paper.
Page 1 has a very inky color photo of the Beaufighter made up. Because it is so dark, no markings can be made out, other than the sky bands around the cowlings.
Below it is a large color side view of the Beaufighter in the box art scheme (already described above).
Page 2 begins with a large black and white wartime photo of a Beaufighter that is in a wave pattern of 2 shades of grey. It is too light and you cannot make out the fuselage code. A second smaller black and white photo shows a beaufighter in flight.
It too is in a wave pattern of two greys and has a white fuselage code B roundel PN and a serial no. R2192 under the elevators. There is a lot of Japanese text on this page also.
Page 3 has a 3-view line drawing of the Beaufighter with B roundel PN fuselage code.
Page 4 through 7 gives a grand total of 8 assembly steps.
Step 8 is the marking and painting guide, showing a Beaufighter with fuselage code NG roundel R.
Below it is a black and white photo of Revell's 1/32nd scale kit no. H-250, a German Bf-110G-4 and kit no. H-251 (this kit) both shown made up.
Page 8 is the parts-trees illustrations, over a listing of all the names of the parts in the kit in Japanese.
The trees are not alphabetized. They do have part number tabs next to the parts on them though.
The first jet-black tree holds: the propellers, landing-gear legs, engines, wheels, dashboard etc. (51 parts)
The second jet-black tree holds wing halves (2 parts)
The third jet-black tree holds: the radar antennas, cowlings, elevators, rudder, tailwheel etc. (29 parts)
The fourth jet-black tree holds the fuselage halves (2 parts)
The fifth jet-black tree holds: the pilot, navigator, cockpit floor and walls (11 parts)
The sixth jet-black tree holds: the upper center wing panels etc. (5 parts)
The seventh jet-black tree holds the lower center wing panel (1 part)
The eighth jet-black tree holds the other wing halves (2 parts)
The clear tree holds the canopy and light lenses (7 parts)
A number of parts came loose from the trees.
The decal sheet and the 2 instructions complete the kit's contents.
This is one highly detailed model. Highly recommended.