1:48 Bristol Beaufighter VI

A night hunter over the British Isles

The Bristol Beaufighter Mk VI was a heavy twin-engine machine which, thanks to airborne radar and exceptionally heavy armament in the nose, took over the night defense of British airspace. It is at that service that the sheet aims. Three of the five subjects belong to No. 307 Squadron RAF, made up of Polish airmen, the only Polish night fighter unit within the Royal Air Force.

How the subjects are divided

Three different machines of No. 307 Squadron are represented: one from the summer of 1942, the second from January 1943 and the third from the winter of that year. They are completed by a Beaufighter of No. 68 Squadron RAF of November 1942 and finally by an aircraft of the Twelfth Air Force of the US Army Air Forces of August 1943, that is from the Mediterranean front. Anyone building several examples of this type gets in one set both the dark night scheme of the British defense and a machine in a different setting.

Practical notes

• Five marking variants for the Mk VI version
• Three machines of the Polish No. 307 Squadron RAF from different periods
• The British night defense as well as American deployment in the Mediterranean
• Scale 1:48, printing on a thin carrier film

A night camouflage tends to be very dark on a model and a decal easily shows through at the edges if the carrier film does not come into close contact with the surface. A gloss intermediate coat and patient drawing off of the water from under the motif work well. A dark base will also give away every air bubble, so it is worth checking the decal against the light once it is dry. The kit of the aircraft is not included in the delivery.