Subject: Re: 1:32 Bristol Beaufighter Pt. 1
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:45:31 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
ARC Air - Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.arcair.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [email-masked] 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 4:51 AM
  Subject: 1:32 Bristol Beaufighter Pt. 1

  Gallery Article Template
  "1:32 Bristol Beaufighter pt. 1" 
  by "Ryan Gay"
  Please include your ARC Discussion Forum Name with your submission 
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  I have been building models for a long time, and have been visiting this website for many years. I decided it was time to submit an aircraft. The one I chose is to date the most difficult one to build since I've started building as a kid. I finally decided I had the nerve to undertake the daunting task of correcting it. I knew from the beginning it would require research, time and patients to complete this kit. I'm sure there are resine and photoetch kits I could use to produce a more exact aircraft, but nothing can replace the feeling of accomplishment when one does all the scratch building. 
  I wanted to know how long it took me, and how many new pieces it would take to finish this Bristol, so I kept track of all the data. The moulds were produced in 1974, and this kit was injected in th 90's. Suffice it to say, this is an older kit. I spent 140 hours researching and building this aircraft, using an additonal 557 pieces. I put 96 of them in the engines, 449 in the interior, I had to put 8 cables and breaklines on the wheels, and added the 4 guns to the aircraft.
  I usually start building my aircraft with the first step, afterwards I build how I feel it should go using the directions as a guide as opposed to law. I do this, because I am always correcting and changing my models. Starting with the engines, as the directions said, I already saw the first corrections. I needed to make the pipes (they are always missing) and i believe the two small parts on the front are the governors. I cannot be certain about that. Each "governor" consists of 10 small pieces and a bit of putty to make the form I copied from a picture. Aside from styrene tubes and sheets, I used copper wires, tamyia putty, tissue and extra sprew from the kit as material for the extra pieces. None of the colours I used are direct from the bottles of Tamyia, Vallejo and Hobby Color. I mixed and thinned all of the colours to create the exact tone I required. A few years ago, I discovered a wonderful product by AK interactive, which replicates fuel stains, grease and a number of other problems maschines get from the weather. I used these products to assist me in the process of aging my plane. 
  Even though I show the pictures of the exhaust dampeners with the engines, they were the very last thing I built. I took me a while to figure out what to do about them. I was very reluctant to build them myself. Each dampener consists of 24 pieces. I almost left the original pieces, but after all the work, I couldn't in good consious leave the inaccurate kit parts. The colour is a mixture of copper, steel, aluminum, black, and brown. After I mounted the dampeners on, I weathered a bit more with charcoal. 

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  As it always is with wheels, the cables are missing on the struts. I had to cut and correct them slightly and added the breaklines. I could not find a good picture of the wheel wells online spending lots of time looking. I finally found exactly what I was looking for; after I finished the model. Since I didn't want to just research the wheel wells, and I wanted to finish the model, I just left the original pieces. I knew they were wrong, but there was not much I could do about that without reference. 
  Because I used so many different layers and colours on my parts, I came up with a different approach for weathering. I tried it first on the wheel wells before I did it on the interior. After I painted the base colour, and the main colour, I used a q-tip and with it I rubbed off layers of paint gently with water. I wanted to create a "rub-off" effect that is often visible on older painted objects. I like the effect. It can be powerful to make a realalistic effect when used correctly. 
  Picture number 21 are all of the original interior pieces. There are 11 pieces. They are all wrong. So wrong in fact, I cannot fathom what was going through the die makers mind when building the die of the aircraft. It does't take much to make the interior even slightly more accurate. I believe all these older models were about the same though. Before, the models were toys, and now - artwork. 

          
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  I started with the navigators seat, as i wasn't ready to tackle the pilots seat yet. I scrapped the entire navigators pod, and built everything myself from picture reference and my best guesswork. Control boxes, cables, the radio, seat, navigation controls, com-system, ribbing for the structure, seat belts and instrument pannel were all missing. I tried to envision how the radio operator went about his business, and weathered the area accordingly. 
  In part two of my article I will explain the pilots seat, and the exterior work I had to do along with the painting and weathering of my aircraft. 
  Ryan
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  Photos and text © by "Ryan Gay"