Airfix Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.1

What is it

Complete Airfix plane modelling kit.

The Boulton-Paul Defiant was the only ‘turret fighter’ to enter service with the RAF. The Defiant used the philosophy that a fighter aircraft, armed solely with a turret bristling with machine guns would be able to enter a bomber stream causing havoc and the turret would also enable it to defend itself from enemy fighters.

During its first few engagements during the Battle of Britain in 1940, enemy pilots were taken by surprise and the Defiant fared well but soon the Luftwaffe pilots worked out its weaknesses, especially the lack of forward firing guns and the Defiant was soon relegated to night fighting duties were it fared better.

What our experts think

This Airfix kit encourages children to follow instructions and logically assemble their very own WW2 replica. Our testers were keen to lay everything out and get started – they enjoyed taking it in turns to paint and glue the different parts.

The kit did get a little fiddly at times, but the children kept going and didn’t give up which is great for developing their perseverance. There was a real sense of achievement once they had completed the plane which was lovely to see. We think that younger children would need adult assistance to complete the kit, however, our younger testers did enjoy helping the older ones to paint the plane and put the stickers on.