The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early aircraft interception radar without major performance penalties.

Revell came in 1974 with their 1/32 Beaufighter, reboxing it another 13 times ever since, with the last reboxing having taken place in 2014. The specific kit is the 2009 edition, bought second hand in 2018. It comes in a big,oblong, top opening and quite sturdy “Revell Blue” box of good quality, carrying the same very nice 1991 box art by artist Egbert Friedl, depicting 25 Squadron’s “ZK H” example.

The kit comprises only (for an 1/32 kit) 105 pale gray styrene parts, arranged in 5 sprues. Since the kit previous owner had removed the parts from the sprues, I provide a photo of the sprues map, together with a few parts for reference, as well as the transparencies. For a 1974 tooling, molding is pleasantly crisp without too much flash. Panel lines are mostly raised and not that many, with the general shapes of parts looking correct.

Cockpit and observer’s compartment are very simplified, with the three provided good looking instrument decals trying to save the day (one for the pilot’s instrument panel and two for the observer’s side consoles). Unless you decide to use the quite acceptable figures provided to somehow blank the interior sparseness, some expectedly serious extra job will be required to detail that interior, something very true for the other key areas of engines and landing gear, which are also on the simplified side.

Transparencies are thick, but clear with well defined frames. Instructions are typically very nicely done in 90s Revell style, coming in the form of an 8-page b/w booklet,  with the construction spread in 10 concise steps and color callouts given where applicable.

Two schemes are provided, both March 1941, for a 25 Squadron’s dark green / dark earth over sky machine and an all black example belonging to the Air Fighting Development Unit (ADFU). Colors are given in Revell codes and in generic form. Decals are superbly printed, including a full suite of maintenance stencilling and look to be in excellent condition.

Instructions want you to first assemble the engines and props. The interiors are next assembled and, together with the tail wheel, trapped between the fuselage halves. The wings are then built-up and attached to the fuselage, followed by the tail planes, the fin and the transparencies (I would attach the latter at end stages). The main landing gear is next, followed by various antennas (depending on the version built) and finally, fitting of the engines, ending a build that looks very uncomplex for a 1/32 kit.

In absolute terms, this is a decent albeit simplified 1/32 kit of the iconic Beaufighter. On the plus side, molding is quite good, construction is simple, instructions are clear, the decal sheet is excellent and, equally importantly, it is offered at a low price. On the minus side, detailing is not up to modern 1/32 standards, this being obvious at the key areas of crew compartments, landing gear and engines.

It is quite noteworthy that, as of 2024, there is no other option for an 1/32 Beaufighter (Infinity Models had announced a new tool 1/32 Beaufighter in 2021, but it has not hit the shelves yet), so, if you want an 1/32 Beaufighter, this is it.

That said, there is nothing wrong in obtaining such a kit at a a typically low price and building it, either out of the box (which is expected to be a pleasant, straightforward build), or putting some extra effort and detailing it. In any case, make sure that you allocate some serious shelf space, as the completed model will be big!

 Happy Modeling!

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