Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, 1938

[Dizzyfugu]

With some delay, I present what the recent and ongoing discussion in the "Boulton Paul Defiant Ideas" (http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40183.0.html) spawned on my work bench: a light bomber, the Boulton Paul "Reliant".  

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
The Boulton Paul Reliant was a single-engine light bomber, built as an alternative to the Fairey Battle in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force - even though it should eventually only be sold to foreign air forces.

The Reliant was more or less based on specification P.23/35 that had actually been written for the Fairey Battle I production order in 1935, and relied heavily on the same airframe that had been designed for the Boulton Paul Defiant turret fighter (F.9/35). All these aircraft were powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load, the Defiant had to haul a heavy and draggy gun turret on its back, and the Reliant was no small and light aircraft either.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Despite being a great improvement on the aircraft that preceded it (primarily biplanes like the Hawker Hart), by the time it saw action the Reliant and its kin was slow, limited in rangeand payload and highly vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters- The concept of the single engine light bomber proved to be a dead end, but this became only obvious as these aircraft were thrown into operation.

The Reliant (internal code P.81) was an all-metal low-wing design of conventional layout with a retractable main landing gear (and a fixed tail wheel). The crew of two sat back-to-back under a common glasshouse canopy, the radio operator/bomb aimer/navigator also had to cover the rear defence thorugh a manual 0.303" Vickers K machine gun that fired between the twin fins.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Four more fixed Browning machine guns in the outer wings completed the gun armament.
In an internal bomb bay and on hardpoints under the wings the Reliant was able to carry a total bomb load of 1.000 lb (460kg) of bombs. While this load was less than what the Fairey Battle could carry, the Reliant was a more compact aircraft and achieved an overall higher performance. And it was more rigid so that it could carry out dive bombing attacks.  

Even though the Reliant was offered to both the RAF and the RN, it was rejected in favor of the Battle. But this was not the end of this light bomber design and it was offered for export from 1937 on. And the Reliant found takers in Europe: Belgium ordered 30, the Netherlands 18, Turkey ordered 12 (together with some Hawker Hurricanes) and Poland received a single test aircraft, while Latvia and Greece considered the type.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Netherlands were to become the only active operator of the Reliant, though. After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved. With political tensions in Europe increased during the late 1930s, the government tried to rebuild the armed forces again in 1938. But there were many problems, not least the shortage of pilot instructors, navigators and pilots to fly the new multiple engine aircraft. Lack of standardisation and resulting maintenance issues added to the complexity of the rebuilding task.

Reliant deliveries started in early 1938. The Netherlands' Koninklijke Luchtmacht was the first air arm to receive the Reliant, which differed from the standard version through a 20mm Hispano cannon on a hydraulic mount in the rear gunner's position - a unique arrangement at that time.

As war loomed, in July 1939 the Army Aviation Group was renamed the Army Aviation Brigade (Luchtvaartbrigade). In August 1939, the Netherlands government mobilised its armed forces, but due to limited budgets the Army Aviation Brigade operated only 194 combat aircraft of the following types:
• 16 Fokker T.V type bombers
• 36 Fokker D.XXI single-engine fighters
• 35 Fokker G.I twin-engine fighters
• 7 Fokker D.XVII single engine fighters
• 17 Douglas DB-8A-3N light bombers
• 18 Boulton Paul Reliant light bombers
• 20 Fokker C.X light bombers
• 33 Fokker C.V reconnaissance aircraft
• 20 Koolhoven FK-51 artillery observer aircraft

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Within five days the Dutch Army Air Corps was taken out by the German Luftwaffe. All of the Brigade's bombers, along with 30 D.XXI and 17 G.I fighters, were shot down; two D.XXI, eight G.I and most of the Reliants were destroyed on the ground. The Douglas bombers as well as the remaining Reliants were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three more destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict.

In spite of their numerical inferiority, the Dutch armed forces did enjoy success against the Luftwaffe, having 350 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, although many of these were lost to anti-aircraft fire and crashes at improvised landing fields in the Netherlands rather than due to action by Dutch fighters. The cost was high – almost 95% of the Dutch pilots were lost.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


No Reliant in Dutch service survived the attack, and all other continental deliveries were cancelled due to the hostilities. The few aircraft that were ready for delivery were converted into liaison aircraft or target tugs, and used by the Royal Air Force until 1944.



General characteristics:
   Crew: two: pilot, gunner
   Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
   Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
   Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.46 m)
   Wing area: 250 ft² (23.2 m²)
   Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,763 kg)
   Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,781 kg)
   Max. takeoff weight: 8,600 lb (3,909 kg)

Powerplant:
    1× Rolls-Royce Merlin II liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (775 kW) at 3.000 RPM,
          driving a three-blade Rotol propeller

Performance:
   Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 knots, 489 km/h) at 17,000 ft (5,180 m)
   Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
   Range: 1,000 mi (870 nmi, 1610 km)
   Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
   Wing loading: 33.27 lb/ft² (163.0 kg/m²)
   Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg)
   Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 4 min 6 sec

Armament:
   4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the outer wings
   1× 0.787 in (20 mm) Hispano cannon in rear cabin
   Up to 460kg (1.000lb) of  bombs internally and externally



The kit and its assembly:
I had this Pavla Defiant in the stash for some time - I once got it cheap and actually only wanted the turret for my Wellesley conversion. I did not have a plan for the short run IP kit, until a discussion thread for Defiant ideas at whatifmodelers.com popped up. This bore so much inspiration that I gathered some of the ideas and welded them into this fictional Reliant bomber.

At first I thought that this could turn out like a Hawker Henley - a scaled up Hurricane with a bomb bay, another light bomber of the pre-WWII era. But once work started things became more and more different.
One idea was the incorporation of a twin fin, for a free field of fire for the rearward gunner who'd operate a 20mm cannon (à la LeO 451). The tail was taken gross sale from a Matchbox Bf 110, a donation from a friend maybe 25 years ago(!), and now the parts found a good use.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The different crew layout necessitated a different canopy - I had to order a vacu piece, because nothing in the spares box would fit. In the cockpit, the rear cockpit floor and seat were added, the cannon was scratched.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Once the fuselage was mated with the wings I cut open a bomb bay behind the landing gear wells - and it was filled with the front landing gear well from a Hasegawa F-4E, covers scratched from styrene sheet.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Now that the bomb bay was in place I suddenly realized that I did not have any place for the belly radiator to go... A solution was eventually found thorugh a complete engine replacement. This was rather easy because the Pavla kit offers the Merlin engine as a separate part from the fuselage, so that no cutting was necessary.
And I was lucky: I had a set of Merlins from a Matchbox Avro Lancaster in store - outfitted with flame dampers, but also with an integrated chin radiator, and the diameter almost perfectly matched the Defiant fuselage!

A propeller had to be scratched, though, so the spinner comes from a Matchbox Me 410 and the blades were taken from the Pavla Defiant propeller.

The landing gear comes from trhe Pavla kit, too, including the resin wheel; I am not reallyhappy with it, though, I should have replaced the cover parts, because the OOB parts are VERY thick, more than 1mm, and it looks clumsy, if not ugly.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting and markings:
The Dutch pre-war paint scheme is unique, if not odd, and the reliant was a good excuse to incorporate it on a kit. There's much controversy concerning the colors, esp. the chocolate brown.

I eventually settled for Humbrol 168 (RAF Hemp), 172 (Locomotive Green) and a 80:20 mix of 10 and 160 (Gloss Dark Brown and German WWII Red Brown). Cockpit and bomb bay were painted in RAF Interior Green (Humbrol 78) while the landing gear became Aluminum (Humbrol 56).

The kit received a light black ink wash and a shading treatment, trying to emphasize panels and add structure to the surface.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Decals were puzzled together - the Dutch roundels come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the code comes from a Turkish Dewoitine fighter. The fin flashes were improvised with paint, the white field in between is a piece of decal sheet (also from TL Modellbau).

After some exhaust stains were painted the kit was covered with matt acrlyic varnish.

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant', aircraft "302" of  The Royal Netherlands Army Air Corps, De Kooy airfield, autumn 1938 (Whif/Pavla kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Finally, a use for the leftover Defaint parts - and it is IMHO amazing how much the look of the aircraft changes with only minor changes, e. g. the twin fin and the chin radiator. There's some Ju 87 and Fairey Firefly about the Reliant - which, BTW, got its name through Star Trek. Since there is/was a USS Defiant, the USS Reliant was a good reference, too...

[Captain Canada]

Did that ever change the look of it ! Neat idea turned into a lovely aeroplane. I really like the light bomber idea, and it does kind look like a mini Lancaster !

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. I am surprised how good the light bomber idea worked with the Defiant basis. The fuselage is rather wide, a "real fighter" would not look good, but there just enough space for a small bomb bay, and the aircraft is big enough to make the story plausible!

[PR19_Kit]

BRILLIANT Thomas! 

The backstory is as good as the model too, superb work.

Which vacform canopy did you use for it?

[Tophe]

Great transformation, with a result looking like "normal". You are seriously enriching history with dreams, this way, congratulations and thanks

[Dizzyfugu]

Which vacform canopy did you use for it?

Thanks a lot for the feedback - from anyone, highly appreciated.

I used a vacu canopy for a Nakajima C6N1 Myrt; also had one for a Fairey Fulmar at hand, but the C6N1's was a better match - even though the canopy's waterline is pretty high, it looks as if the cockpit sides were armored. But it works... 

[Hotte]

Nice work 


Hotte

[DogfighterZen]

Maybe it's just me but by looking at the pics i would've thought that it's origins were either german or russian...   
Looks good anyway! 

[Weaver]

Very hard to tell it's a Defiant at all without the back story. Great piece of work!

[zenrat]

Brilliant work again.
You produce such complete works - model-story-photos - they are always very well done working together synergistically.

[Dizzyfugu]

Maybe it's just me but by looking at the pics i would've thought that it's origins were either german or russian...   
Looks good anyway! 

Yes, the chin radiator and the canopy remind a lot of an early Ju 87, and the silhouette is pretty Il-2-like, too. Was not planned that way, things just evolved, and our minds play many tricks on perception... 

Again, thanks a lot to anyone! 

[kitbasher]

Excellent. 

[NARSES2]

Maybe it's just me but by looking at the pics i would've thought that it's origins were either german or russian

I can see where you think Russian. There were a couple of Soviet projects which had a similar look

Superb modelling as per normal 

[kitbasher]

Yes, the chin radiator and the canopy remind a lot of an early Ju 87, and the silhouette is pretty Il-2-like, too. Was not planned that way, things just evolved, and our minds play many tricks on perception...  

To me it's more like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKW_C-36 with a chin radiator.

Check this picture out for a better idea: http://s120.photobucket.com/user/deMichu/media/005.jpg.html

[Dizzyfugu]

Maybe it's just me but by looking at the pics i would've thought that it's origins were either german or russian

I can see where you think Russian. There were a couple of Soviet projects which had a similar look

Yes, for example the Su-6 prototype with a VK-107 - similar nose design.
Again, thanks a lot!