Boulton Paul Defiant NF Mk-VII

[Logan Hartke]

I swapped out the Defiant's quad .303s for twin .50s on my "Vought Vandal". Those .50s are to scale and would take up considerable space in that small turret.



http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,20962.msg686816.html#msg686816

I originally wanted to use a nice Martin 250CE-style turret because I liked how they looked, but I was surprised at how small that ingenious Boulton Paul turret is. As it so happens, the Boulton Paul turret was actually a originally a French design. The Martin turrets aren't big, but when you're trying to put them on a fuselage that isn't much wider than a Spitfire, it seems huge. This picture of an experimental installation on an Avenger and—while it isn't "big"—it is still a good deal larger than the Boulton Paul turret.



Cheers,

Logan

[Dizzyfugu]

Cool - simple and effective. Makes the Griffiant (or Deffon?) look much beefier. 

An addition for the night fighter role could have been a podded radar under one outer wing or (Firefly style) under the chin?

An option for a bigger 0.5" turret could have been a widened fuselage section, A-20G style? Would be tricky to integrate on a kit, though. I remember the fight with a Vickers Wellesley when I tried to mount a 4x 0.303" turret (from a Defiant...!) into the dorsal gunner position. Fiddly.

[PR19_Kit]

but when you're trying to put them on a fuselage that isn't much wider than a Spitfire, it seems huge.

I beg to differ.

The Defiant fuselage is quite a bit wider than a Spitfire, it's even wider than a Hurricane. I've been trying to make a 'Turricane', a Hurricane with a Defiant turret grafted onto it, for some time and the fuselage needs considerable stretching to make it fit. So much so that I just can't get it too look right. 

[Logan Hartke]

It's a lot closer to Spitfire than an A-20! It all depends on what you're comparing it to. I was looking at aircraft that were actually fitted with the Martin turret like the A-20 and that experimental Avenger and the Defiant was more in the class of the single-engined inline fighters than any of those. That Martin turret looks great in profile and was genuinely small and simple, but it was too big for something like a Defiant. I was trying to integrate it on a Stuka fuselage and I gave up on that. A Defiant isn't that much different in size, but it's impressive how narrow they managed to keep it with that turret. I gained a new respect for that efficient installation.

Cheers,

Logan

[kitnut617]

but when you're trying to put them on a fuselage that isn't much wider than a Spitfire, it seems huge.

I beg to differ.

The Defiant fuselage is quite a bit wider than a Spitfire, it's even wider than a Hurricane. I've been trying to make a 'Turricane', a Hurricane with a Defiant turret grafted onto it, for some time and the fuselage needs considerable stretching to make it fit. So much so that I just can't get it too look right. 

A Hawker Hotspur then ------   

[PR19_Kit]

but when you're trying to put them on a fuselage that isn't much wider than a Spitfire, it seems huge.

I beg to differ.

The Defiant fuselage is quite a bit wider than a Spitfire, it's even wider than a Hurricane. I've been trying to make a 'Turricane', a Hurricane with a Defiant turret grafted onto it, for some time and the fuselage needs considerable stretching to make it fit. So much so that I just can't get it too look right. 

A Hawker Hotspur then ------   

FAR too podgy!