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Valom Bristol Buckingham and Buckmaster


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Finally finished these two Valom models, Bristol Buckingham B1 and Buckmaster T1. The Buckingham was originally developed in response to the Air Ministry's request for a bomber version of the Beaufighter but by the time it had been developed the role had very adequately been filled by the Mosquito. 54 Buckingham B1's were built the rest of the order being converted to Buckmasters to be used as training and fast transport aircraft.

Like all Valom kits the panel lines and rivet detail is very good but then they are let down by the fact that the parts don't fit too well, such as wings being thicker than the wing root. They also lack a few details because Valom always try to produce too many variants without changing the basic mould, so both kits have Brigand wings without the correct air intakes for the Buckingham or Buckmaster etc.

Enough waffle, here's some pics.

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Nice uglies... - I remember from my build (transport version of Buckingham) that construction was a bit tricky :)

Cheers

J-W

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An excellent pair of Bristols (I couldn't help it) I have all three of them to build so it looks I should get on with them soon as the clock is ticking. I only hope that mine look anywhere near as good as your efforts when they are done.

Trev.

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An excellent pair of Bristols (I couldn't help it) I have all three of them to build so it looks I should get on with them soon as the clock is ticking. I only hope that mine look anywhere near as good as your efforts when they are done.

Trev.

I was tempted by that title myself but resisted!

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Whatever fit issues you may have had you've produced two superb models. It seems hard to imagine that the MAP persued the Buckingham given the the Mosquito was doing such a fine job. I read that the whole project, including the Brigand, was really kept alive to keep the workers at Bristol in a job. Can you imagine that now? Anyway, it was to our benefit as the whole family are really interesting aircraft.

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Wow they both look superb,......big chunky looking aeroplanes with massive engines,........great stuff!!

Cheers

Tony

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Very, very nice BB - good job that man! :)

You've built two beautiful models from difficult kits and the results are superb. I particularly like the weathering and the finish on the Buck. Bristol envy kicking in...

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Thanks to all for the positive comments. Despite the fit issues I highly recommend Valom kits, they are a great way of doing something a bit different.

Come on then CedB what's your next Bristol project ? A vacform replacement nose arrived in the post this morning for a Frog Beaufort, maybe next... Or a Contrail H P Sparrow...

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After the cancellation of the Buckingham the line was kept going to keep the skilled workforce in place before the Brigand was ready. There was great pressure for skilled workers in the UK at this time. Given the high demand for Mosquitos elsewhere it isn't surprising that the RAF was looking for a replacement light bomber for the Blenheim/Boston: it is worth remembering that the Mosquito losses in the day bomber role were higher than that of the preceding Blenheim! (Source for this is Scott's history of 105 Sq.. - they were of course flying more taxing missions.)

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Great how you've shed light on two relatively unknown aircraft. The models both look very nice but for me the Buckmaster has the edge in that it looks a little more aerodynamic.

Jay

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