Classic Airframes' 1/48 scale
Boulton Paul Defiant

by John Valo
 

  

Classic Airframes' 1/48 scale Defiant Mk.I and II kits
are both available online from Squadron 
 

For a detailed examination of the kit contents, see Steven "Modeldad" Eisenman's in-box review here on HyperScale.

Classic Airframes has a well-earned reputation for paying attention to their buying public. With the recent releases of the CR.32 and Defiant, CA has avoided the typical manufacturers' approach of re-releasing an old kit embellished with a new decal sheet or a resin bit as a 'new' release.

Both of the recent CA releases are new tools, and vastly improved.

I recently had the opportunity to build a commissioned Defiant Mk.I for a client in England, and the new-tool Defiant turned out to be a real pleasure to complete. (Managed to get it 'across the pond' in perfect shape too - whew!)

All the injected parts have fine, crisp scribing. The resin parts are very well done and are precisely detailed. The new kit also provides injection-molded clear parts.

I built the kit straight from the box with the only exception being the clear areas. At my client's request, I vacuformed the windscreen and canopy to allow it to be positioned open. While I was at it, I also elected to vacuform the turret 'glass' to better show off the nicely detailed interior.

I also replaced the navigation lights with tiny bits of clear plastic.

No surprises were encountered during the assembly of the kit; all the parts fit well.

I finished the model using Polly Scale acrylics.

The Microscale-printed decals went on perfectly as usual, being very opaque and with very thin clear areas that simply disappear into a Future clear coat.

A final eggshell satin finish completed the model.

If you are a modeler looking to venture into limited-run kits, I would highly recommend the Defiant. It's a rather unique subject, and a great build.
 

Thanks to Classic Airframes for the samples

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images: 

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2006 by John Valo
Page Created 07 March, 2006
Last Updated 06 March, 2006

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