Bristol Beaufort Mk I 'Bombing Raid'

Following on from the standard kit, a full-build article of which appeared in our Airframe Detail title (No.10) on the type and the tropical version (#48311) and 'British Dominions Air Force' (#48312) versions that we reviewed here online in 2023, ICM have now released the type in Coastal Command 'bomber' configuration.

Inside the box the Beaufort itself comprises the same eight grey-coloured and one clear plastic sprues seen in the previous incarnations, now though, you also have the WWII British Aircraft Armament (#48407) sprue. Whilst the bay and doors remains, you no longer have the torpedo option in the box, instead you have four bomb racks to go into the internal bay in the fuselage, plus one more rack under each outer wing panel. The location of these has to be determined by some precise measurements, so that you can drill the mounting holes, but all of this is clearly show in the instructions, so just take your time. The armament sprue offers both 250lb and 500lb General Purpose bombs, as well as 250lb Semi-Armour Piercing versions. The rearward-facing gun under the chin is an option for one of the schemes in the kit, plus you also have the blanking plate for the other, which does not have this. The turret has the twin guns, whilst the upper nose cupola is without armament. All of the rest of the parts remain unchanged from the initial Mk I release, so see Steve's build of that kit in AD.10 (https://www.valiant-wings.co.uk/airframe-detail-no10-5728-p.asp)
 
Markings
The kit offers the following four decal options: 
• L4449, OA•H. No.22 Squadron, summer 1940 (Dark Earth/Dark Green over Sky)
• L4516, OA•W, No.22 Squadron, December 1949 (Dark Earth/Dark Green over Night)
• L9878, MW•R, No.217 Squadron, autumn, 1941 (Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Special Night)
The decal sheet is beautifully printed and includes all the unique markings a selection of stencils and the dial faces for the instrument panel. The secondary sheet comes from the armament set (#48407) and offers comprehensive stencils for all the bombs, including the coloured banks applied around the nose of each.
 
Conclusion
As with the other versions, this is an excellent kit and one that can be recommended to all RAF/Coastal Command modellers.

Our thanks to ICM (www.icm.com.ua) for the review sample, UK modellers can obtain this kit from Hannants here.