Mr T Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 (edited) Hi Everyone, I have not posted anything new for ages so I intend to post a few new models over the next week or so. Starting with Magnas' Bristol 146, a kit I do not think i have seen on Britmodeller before. Developed to Specification F5/34 the Bristol 146 was a successor to the earlier Bristol 133 which was a promising fighter design of the early 1930’s and lost in an accident before it could be fully tested. Specification F5/34 demanded a fighter (which in Air Ministry terms at that time meant an aircraft to shoot down bombers) with a top speed of no less than 275mph and an armament of eight machine guns. As well as the Bristol 146 designs aircraft were flown by Gloster, Vickers and Martin Baker, but in in the end they were overshadowed by designs already being developed by Supermarine and Hawker that had their own specifications written around them. The Bristol 146 first flew in February 1938 and demonstrated a top speed of 280 mph and was powered by a Bristol Mercury IX of 830 hp. It was damaged in a taxing accident later in 1938 and not thought to be worth repairing. In truth the 146 was too late, priority being given to the Blenheim and Beaufort by Bristol. The kit is a resin offering form Magna, who have produced all the F5/34 contenders (and I have built them all now). Produced in an off white fairly hard resin with somewhat erratic surface detailing it is not the kit for a novice. White metal is used for undercarriage, prop etc and two vacform canopies are provided The white metal is not up to Aeroclub standards and has a lot of flash on it. You are on your own when it comes to decals. Instructions come on two sheets of A4 including a three view drawing. The main problem with building this kit is a lack of references due to the short life of the aircraft. There are only a handful of photos and no detailed information on interiors etc. that I have been able to find. Construction wise the main structure offered few problems. A somewhat generic cockpit is included that once painted will pass muster at this scale and the wings have big tongues that fit into recesses on the fuselage and the tailplanes and fairly positive location points. The secret of these kits I think lies in preparation of parts. The resin tends to have big pouring stubs that usually need to be sawn off and some fairly prominent mould lines that require removing. Went sanding is a must to cut down on the dust. Parts fit was not too bad given the nature of the kit, not in the SBS or CMR class, but I have made short run kits with worse fit. Fuselage halves need a bit of sanding to provide flat mating surfaces and a mixture of cyanoacrylate and two-part epoxy was used to bond parts together. Magna kits tend to a bit beefy and heavy and I reckon epoxy gives a stronger bond. The white metal undercarriage was a bit bereft of detail and a little was added like brake lines, but it was difficult to tell what is there from the photos I had. The wheels were oversized and were replaced with some meant for a Spitfire They should have a domed cover on them, but my efforts to make some have so far been unsuccessful. The engine and prop looked ok, but when I started work on the engine a big air bubble revealed itself and the one-piece casting was replaced by an engine from a partially finished, but badly damaged, MPM Blenheim, which also provided a very nice resin and plastic prop. The vacform canopy took a bit of fettling to fit as it had quite soft detail, but I managed to get a reasonably close fit and it was held in place with Glue n’Glaze. The resin surface was not the smoothest and a couple of coats of primer was required. The control surfaces had a very unconvincing ‘fabric’ that was filled and I made no effort to replicate it as the photos showed pretty smooth surfaces. The model was finished in Vallejo Metalair White Aluminum sprayed on in thin coats with the same brand Exhaust Manifold for the collector ring and exhausts. Detail paint was done in various shades of acrylic paints from Xtracrylix Aircraft Grey Green to Revell Panzer Grey for the tyres. Decals were a mixture of Modeldecal pre war roundels (Sheet 107) and home printed serials. Not the easiest kit I have built, but not the worst either. Edited March 29, 2017 by Martin T First time adding photos on new board 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Topic edited to now include photos of the model after I made a complete hash of adding the photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristol boy Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Great model, i have one not built but did do a Magna Type 148, posted here somewhere. I agree the resin can be a bit bubbly but they go together quite well. Magna are great for tackling subjects no one else would bother with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 It is great to see another unusual type. Very nice build. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Nicely done. I can visualize a Mk.II fitted with a Bristol Hercules and 4x20mm. cannon, winging over The Channel to shoot up whatever moved on the ground. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Very nice indeed! That is one I have considered buying. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Magna have ceased trading as the owner retired, but they are some kits around. I still have a few to build and have a Marathon well underway but stalled at the moment. Thanks for the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaton01 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Nice model. I have an interest in the Vickers entry to that competition, the 151 Jockey Mk II. I have been selling 1/5 scale model plans of it for a long time but would like to have a 1/48 scale model. Probably a scratch building project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thud4444 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 What the heck is that? That's a cool little bird, that I've never heard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave N Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Very nice work on this rare bird, I enjoyed the backstory too! cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristol boy Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Hi Martin, Here's my build of Magna's 148, competition entry that led to the Lysander... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Lovely result on what must have been a really challenging project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) 43 minutes ago, bristol boy said: Hi Martin, Here's my build of Magna's 148, competition entry that led to the Lysander... Very nice build, I missed out this one. Magna did have an eye for the more obscure British subjects. Edited March 30, 2017 by Martin T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Those are very attractive Martin, I've long fancied a 146 & the Gloster F5/34, maybe missed my chance with Magna ceasing production. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzn20 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Interesting kit, never heard of a Bristol 146 before. I misread and thought I was going to see a BAe 146 ! I Like to learn something new. Good job, well done and thanks for showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I like that a lot . Very nicely made and I like the nice smart paint finish, It's an attractive, charcterful 30's aircraft; almost a very distant cousin of the Polish PZL 50 prototypes. Well, maybe I'm stretching it a bit, but the big Bristol radial here is lovely. It's a little sad to hear that Magna will be no more. I knew he had moved to Spain, but not that production had ceased. I have a Sea Prince to make and as you say; very heavy, lots of white resin, but it looks like it will turn out well with elbow grease. Looking forward to seeing your other builds. TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Excellent model! Martian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) Here's some shots of my 146. It's an old one, did it about ten years back. I'd like to do another one in a mid war training scheme. [/img] Edited March 30, 2017 by The Wooksta! Facebook being cack! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Very nice! She looks good in the camouflage. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Thanks for all the nice comments. It is much appreciated. Your 146 looks very nice Wooksta, camo seems to suit it. Next up will be a couple of OOB builds from Airfix and Hasegawa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 TBH, it was just an excuse to post shots of her again. She's got her own thread somewhere! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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