kkarlsen Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) Diorama: Bristol Beaufighter Mk 1C - No. 30 Squadron RAAF ( A19-15 'O') - Australia I tried to Catch the Atmosphere of Ward's Airstrip, Port Moresby 1942, in the Diorama. Model Kit: 1/32 Revell Bristol Beaufighter with a lot of scratchbuilding. My good old Revell 1/32 (1975?) was taken apart and had a complete overhaul, inside and out. The project took around a year or so, reworking all of the model until i was happy with it: Complete interior rebuild, wheelbays, gunbays & removeable panels. Sanding and rescribing of panel lines & rivetting. Diorama: British built Bristol Beaufighter Mk IC undergoing maintenance at Port Moresby, Ward's Airfield, during the Kokoda Trail Campaign, Papua New Guinea, November-December 1942. From early 1941 the roles of the Beaufighter diversified as it was adapted to carry out anti-shipping strikes and ground-attack missions, and in these capacities gained its fearsome reputation. In the Asia-Pacific theatre the Beaufighter was nicknamed "Whispering Death" because of its quiet engines and heavy firepower. The origin of this nickname is generally attributed to Japanese troops, but there are also accounts that it began with British pilots in Burma. Royal Australian Air Force 30. Squadron Beaufighters attacked Japanese boats, airstrips, and supply dumps in Lae, on Goodenough Island, Buna, and Gona. The unit also played a major part in supporting army operations between Buna, Kokoda, and Sanananda by regularly attacking supply and communication lines. By November 30. Squadron had begun a series of strafing missions against Japanese infantry retreating from Kokoda towards the north coast. The squadron's Beaufighters maintained an armed reconnaissance searching for troops escaping the bombing offensives on Buna, Soputa, and Gona. They also made a series of successful strafing attack on grounded aircraft at the Lae aerodrome. The Kokoda Trail fighting was some of the most desperate and vicious encountered by Australian troops in the Second World War. Victory on the Kokoda Trail ensured that Allied bases in Northern Australia, vital in the coming counter-offensive against the Japanese, would not be seriously threatened by Japanese air attacks. This Photo from AWM, Inspired me to do the Project: "Ward's Airstrip, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 1942" Had to try another one... enjoy Diorama: 1/32 Revell Beaufighter + Ford 3000s Converted. Airfix Multipose Figures converted with Ultracast Heads... Edited July 5, 2017 by kkarlsen Daniel Leduc, Big Tony, Whitey and 25 others 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Welcome aboard! Your Beaufighter is fantastic! I'd love to see some more photos. That first photo is just brilliant. Kev kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mz826 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 ............Awesome!!!! Never see these built and certainly not to this standard! Very nice! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunda Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Superb! Really- spot on- Bravo!! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted January 16, 2016 Author Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) Thanks! Here some details of the Build... Complete "overhaul" of the Interior... Rivetting and panel lines... Edited July 5, 2017 by kkarlsen Uncarina, red baron, etendard and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrov27 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 very cool - awesome build of that old kit and great diorama presentation! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Wow, that's really impressive. One of the best dioramas I've seen. The figures are more real than almost any I've seen. First shot of the dio is the business, would love to see more. Cheers Jim kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 outstanding job on this beaufighter... I ( we) rarely seen such detailed interior , it's a crazy job , .this diorama is a "living" moment ...I like Alain ...... kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprm Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Wow! Great subject .. I thought it was a real photo in the beginning (for a few seconds...) My Dad was at Wards strip at that time (could even be in B/W photo?) as he told me a lot of Beaufighter pilot stories. Fantastic diorama! Phil Edited January 17, 2016 by Piprm kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Up North Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Beautiful! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Amazing! Beautiful diorama! I am the same as Ernie: look at the kit, mumble, put it back...a lot of work in there! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Indeed, that first picture looked real to me also. Perhaps you could re-post it in black & white ? kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Excellent Idea! Thank You. Edited July 5, 2017 by kkarlsen joe, Dave T, mywifehatesmodels and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Added some dust and scratches + color filter... Edited July 5, 2017 by kkarlsen dicas, Big Tony, Piprm and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunda Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Thats uncanny- could easily be a real subject in the photo. Youve totally brought that old kit to life- congrats! Dave T and kkarlsen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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