The Defiant IV, the scourge of the Panzers.

[PR19_Kit]

I've run into the same problem with this Defiant as I did with my recent Barracuda IV, which was fitted with an Airfix Defiant trurret and upper rear fuselage. The turret is just too large to fit into the hole in the fuselage!

The turret max dia is 15.2 mm across and the hole in which they expect you to fit it is 13 mm dia. It just won't work!

So how have other Defiant modellers overcome this problem? With the Barracuda I filed flats on both sides of the turret ring and cut away part of the two 'prongs' that stand up in front of it, bit I can't see how it would ever fit normally.

To make matters worse all four guns have snapped off in my attempts to get the darn thing to fit, so they're going to be replaced by fuse wire evetually! 

[PR19_Kit]

I've faired the engine into the fuselage now, and it's not 100% perfect but the errors won't show after I've added the cooling exhaust gills. (I hope....)

It does look a tad ungainly with that MONSTER nose grafted onto it, but hopefully it will come together visually when it's all done.

[buzzbomb]

Another nice take on a classic

[tigercat]

As long as she's not in the FAA .

Would hate   to have to land her on a carrier

[zenrat]

So what do they expect you to do?
Are you supposed to trap the completed turret between the fuselage halves?

[The Wooksta!]

I'm on my third and the turret fits fine - leave the guns off, ditto glazing and it'll fit in with little or no difficulty: drop into place, angle it slightly and add gentle pressure and it'll slot right into place.

Just done that now several times without any issue at all.  And that's with the fuselage assembled and the piece behind the turret in place.

[PR19_Kit]

That's very odd then, there's NO way mine will go in the hole, with or without the guns. With over a millimetre of interference it's just not possible.

Does it make any difference if you use either one of the rear fairings? For both the Barracuda and this Defiant I've used the retracted version.

[The Wooksta!]

Maybe - mine's the one that's raised.  The one that's to hand anyway.  I did the other two five years ago but can't remember having any trouble at all.  In fact, I was so pleased that they were trouble free builds.

[NARSES2]

I've had no trouble fitting the turret in mine either Kit. Can't remember how I did it, but if I'd have had a problem I would have remembered. Just read my build on here and I actually praise it as one of Airfix's best kits.

[Knightflyer]

I can't remember any issues either, infact I can rember being pleasantly pleased with how it all went together (which doesn't happen all that often with me!) 

[PR19_Kit]

Dear, oh dear.

I must have screwed up TWICE then. 

[Doug K]

I'm on my third and the turret fits fine - leave the guns off, ditto glazing and it'll fit in with little or no difficulty: drop into place, angle it slightly and add gentle pressure and it'll slot right into place.

Just done that now several times without any issue at all.  And that's with the fuselage assembled and the piece behind the turret in place.

That's pretty much what I did on mine

IMG_1456 by doug_alba, on Flickr

[Caveman]

I've faired the engine into the fuselage now, and it's not 100% perfect but the errors won't show after I've added the cooling exhaust gills. (I hope....)

It does look a tad ungainly with that MONSTER nose grafted onto it, but hopefully it will come together visually when it's all done.

Thats been really nicely done. It looks like a seamless part of the kit!

[Doug K]

I've faired the engine into the fuselage now, and it's not 100% perfect but the errors won't show after I've added the cooling exhaust gills. (I hope....)

It does look a tad ungainly with that MONSTER nose grafted onto it, but hopefully it will come together visually when it's all done.

Thats been really nicely done. It looks like a seamless part of the kit!

Yeah, that is great work

[PR19_Kit]

It's got cooling gills and exhausts now, just some intake filters to add at the front end.