The Beaufighter was developed from the twin-engine Bristol Beaufort bomber, adopting that plane's main wing, tail assembly and landing gear without significant modifications.

This model was built straight out of the box.  The model goes together quite easily, and almost no filler was used.  I build with super-glue, so once the glue dries, I go right to the sanding stage.  The model can be built with the additional horizontal stabilizer fillet, or the regular tail.  I decided to go with the regular tail, as the aircraft would be posed without a torpedo.

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Painting was done with Model Master Enamels.  I started by pre-shading with flat black.  I then sprayed the white bases for the wing and fuselage invasion stripes.  Once these were dry, I masked off the white area, and painted the two-color fuselage colors.  After the paint had fully dried, I removed the masking and painted the black wing stripes.  I opted to use the kit decals for the fuselage stripes.  It should be noted that the kit comes with a complete set of wing and fuselage stripes in decal form.  I painted the collector rings with Humbrol Copper mixed with Model Master flat black, and military brown to achieve a worn look.  Once all the paint had fully dried, I applied several coats of Future floor polish.  Future is the best acrylic gloss I've ever used.  I've been using it for several years, and it's never gone bad...knock on wood!  I apply my Future in several light coats, building up to a glass-like finish.

Once the Future was on, I set the project aside for two days.  Future usually takes about a day to fully dry, but I had finals during this time, so I wasn't able to get back to it until later. 

The decals were applied over the course of two days.  I use Solvaset on my decals, and usually have no problems.  This project was no exception, as the decals went down perfectly, and in some cases I didn't even use the Solvaset.

After the kit was dry, I started to apply the wash.  I use Model Master enamels mixed with airbrush thinner applied with a fine brush to the panel lines.  Once the wash is complete, I soak a Q-tip in airbrush thinner and wipe away the excess wash in the direction of airflow.

I set the kit aside to dry, and after a few hours under the fan, I applied the Testors Dullcote.  Testors knocks the shine down quite nicely, and can be applied in thin coats to achieve the desired effect. 

After another 24 hours, I weathered the aircraft with chalk pastels.  I added exhaust stains, carbon stains from the guns, and general wear and tear.   The Hasegawa Beaufighter is a great little kit.  It's light years ahead of the Airfix Beua, and would even give a Tamiya Beaufighter a run for it's money.

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I highly suggest this kit.

Josh