1:72 BEAUFIGHTER TF.X

The Torbeau of RAF Coastal Command

The Beaufighter started out as a heavy night fighter, but its greatest fame came from the anti-shipping TF Mk.X version. A pair of Hercules radial engines gave it the power to carry a torpedo under the fuselage or eight rockets under the wings, and British crews used it to attack German convoys along the Norwegian and Dutch coasts. In the nose there tended to be a radome, from the shape of which the machine took a nickname derived from a thimble. The crew consisted of the pilot and the navigator, each under glazing of his own, so a model of this type means far more work on the cockpit than a single-seat fighter.

Why reach for masks

The die-cut film covers the pilot's canopy and the navigator's rear dome and adds the small fields of the side windows. The shapes are derived from the clear parts of the newer Airfix mold in 1:72 scale. That does away with measuring, cutting tape and repairing edges that did not come out well.

Step by step

First clean the glazing of mold residue and grease. Take the parts with tweezers in order from the largest areas to the corner pieces and press each one down with a blunt point, above all where the glass curves. Before spraying we recommend laying on a thin covering coat of the interior color and only then the top shade. Remove the film while the finish is only touch-dry.

Box contents

The package consists exclusively of masks. The kit, paints and the torpedo are not in it. For builders of British equipment from the period of the Second World War it is a quick way to get the cockpit into a state that stands up to a close look.