Airfix – A04021A – Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA

Description:

Unassembled scale model kit in 1/72 scale of a Bristol Beaufort Mk.1 British World War II torpedo bomber aircraft, a type introduced during 1940 and remaining in active service till 1942. Total production reached almost 1800 units, with around 700 of them being built in Australia, which ended up being the longest operator of the torpedo bomber variant during all the war.

Kit consists of about 159 parts and include decal sheet with two markings detailed below. The kit is based on Airfix – A04021 – Bristol Beaufort Mk.1, tooled in 2020. The original tool already included in the sprue the parts for the Mk.IA sub-variant, mainly the Bristol B1.Mk.V turret with two .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, a feature also seen on the Mk.II series and the late Mk.Is. Though these parts were issued in the original sprue, the first release did not use them, as the two markings were for early Mk.I variants, so this can be considered as an updated kit with new parts.

Markings:

• Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA, No.2 Torpedo Training Unit, Royal Air Force Castle Kennedy, Scotland, September 1943.
• Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA, No. 217 Squadron, Royal Air Force, South East Asia Command (SEAC), Vavuniya, Ceylon, April 1944.