1:72 Bristol Beaufighter vacuform canopy

Whispering Death with its Hercules radial engines

The Bristol Beaufighter grew out of the torpedo-carrying Beaufort as a stopgap, and even so it became one of the most useful British machines of the Second World War. The two-seat heavy fighter with its pair of Hercules radial engines carried four 20 mm cannon in the nose and six machine guns in the wings, so a single burst settled the fight against an aerial or a ground target. As a night fighter it received airborne radar, and later it made its name attacking shipping in the Mediterranean and over Burma, where Japanese soldiers gave it the nickname Whispering Death.

The formed canopy replaces the cockpit part from the kit. Compared with an injection-molded part the sheet is considerably thinner and clearer, so the interior can be seen through it instead of disappearing under a thick layer of plastic.

• A vacuum-formed part — clear sheet with the frames legibly drawn out
• 1:72 scale — the shape suits the usual Beaufighter kits
• A thin wall — the view into the cockpit is preserved
• An open-cockpit option — the part can be divided and fitted slid back

The procedure is simple but calls for a calm hand: cut the canopy out with plenty to spare, mark the seating line with a felt-tip pen and then sand the edge on fine paper laid on a glass plate until the part seats with no gap. The frames are masked with strips cut from tape or with masking fluid. Anyone who dares can form a second piece from sheet as a spare in case the first attempt does not come off.