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1/72nd Special Hobby Blenheim Mk.V- Finished Late!


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Hiya Folks,

                     I`ve built a few of these now as I like the Mk.V variant of the Blenheim which was also known as the Bisley. I`ll probably paint it in the markings of 16 Sqn SAAF who used the type for coastal recce duties over the Med;

DSCF9068_zpsfyxehsmi.jpg

Here is one which I built a while ago wearing the desert scheme;

DSCF5381_zpstnbagkdf.jpg

DSCF5409_zpsvduizgqq.jpg

Cheers

            Tony

 

Edit,.....I`ve added the WIP Thread for the above as it will come in handy as a reference for myself to remind me what I did!

 

Edited by tonyot
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Cheers Steve........glad you like the first one,....... and Charlie,.......sorry mate, I do have another but I`ll be building that one too. Just keep your eyes open,....I found this one at a model show for £5!! 

 

Well I have made a bit of progress,......last night I did a bit of whittling in front of the telly with a tray in front of me and marked and opened out the windows on the right side of the nose which were missing from the kit. As can be seen here the bulkhead behind the pilots seat is too far forward with the box section of the wing centre section behind the pilots seat protruding too far forward and into the side window opening,.......  so this would have to be sorted out;

DSCF9091_zpszpr1sy8r.jpg DSCF9090_zpsvccwivne.jpg

 

To move the bulkhead futher back the bulkhead itself was reduced in size and the front of the bulges inside the fuselage for the wings were cut back, with the resulting holes covered by sections of plastic card;

DSCF9097_zpssfcvded3.jpg

DSCF9096_zpszkqtrnru.jpg

Here is the fuselage ready for the nose to be added; 

DSCF9095_zpsgw8j4cyf.jpg

And here is the fuselage with the nose and taiplane fitted,....with the mainplanes ready to fit too;

DSCF9099_zpsnkuivsq7.jpg

 

All the best for now,

                              Tony 

Edited by tonyot
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Hello Marcel........thanks, glad you like th e Blenheim so far ,..... but my hands are very busy at the moment!!  For my previous Mk.V I did mix some of the left over parts from the Airfix kit with the Special Hobby parts and may do the same with this one?

Here is my latest update with the main airframe assembled;

DSCF9106_zpstcswmahh.jpg

DSCF9105_zpsiy5czdyz.jpg

 

I`m just researching a scheme for this one now,......it is either going to be a 16 Sqn SAAF aircraft or one from 8 or 244 Sqns RAF, most likely wearing the Temperate Sea Scheme as my previous model wore the desert scheme,

 

Cheers

          Tony.

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7 hours ago, JimmyZ said:

Great progress Tony, and I'm curious about which scheme you will choose.

 

Cheers

Jimmy

Cheers Jimmy,

                      I`m planning on doing the TSS with Sky undersides,.......or maybe TSS/ White ........just double checking some RAF options before I fully decide on whether it will wear RAF or SAAF markings,...... the Greek 13 Sqn also flew Mk.V`s before receiving Baltimore`s,....... so I have a few irons in the fire.

 

Cheers

           Tony 

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Cheers Pat,.....glad you like it mate. The SH kit comes with a separate nose as they also have a Mk.I & Mk.IV in the range using the same basic parts. I was quite tempted to try the SH nose on an Airfix kit. As the SH wheels are too small I`ll probably be using a set left over from an old Airfix Blenheim kit,..... the Blenheim used the same wheels as the Typhoon.

 

Tony. 

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Thanks Tony

 

As I think the saying goes " Every day is a school day"

 

The more I seem to think I have an understanding of a subject the more there is to learn, no complaints I might add :smartass:

 

cheers Pat

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16 hours ago, tonyot said:

I was quite tempted to try the SH nose on an Airfix kit.

 

I hope to do just this, as I crushed the clear parts to an Airfix Blenheim I by accident and so had one surplus.

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I have been pondering buying one of these for a while, albeit the Mk. I.

 

Tony; what is the surface detail like compared to the recent Airfix kits (they're currently not in the Airfix catalogue, no idea why). I'm not the worlds biggest fan of Airfix recent panel lines.

 

Theres something a little too 'CAD' about them for me.

 

I wondered if MPM/SH may be a little more restrained?

 

Superb job on modifying the rear cockpit bulkhead Tony. Was much filler needed for overall construction?

 

All best regards

TonyT

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3 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I have been pondering buying one of these for a while, albeit the Mk. I.

 

Tony; what is the surface detail like compared to the recent Airfix kits (they're currently not in the Airfix catalogue, no idea why). I'm not the worlds biggest fan of Airfix recent panel lines.

 

Theres something a little too 'CAD' about them for me.

 

I wondered if MPM/SH may be a little more restrained?

 

Superb job on modifying the rear cockpit bulkhead Tony. Was much filler needed for overall construction?

 

All best regards

TonyT

 

Cheer everybody!

Tony,....the surface detail of the SH Blenheim`s  are very restrained and smooth,...very nice indeed. I know what you mean about the CAD like appearance of some Airfix kits......but I have to say that the Airfix kits do look the part when built and I filled in the panel lines on my last one. The SH kit of the Mk.I/IV seems a bit `dainty' in comparison and you`ll need new larger wheels and cut outs in the rear fuselage behind the turret. Some filler was needed along the wing roots as there was a gap here, but some `elbow grease' was also required elsewhere too!

As a comparison,...here is my built up Airfix Mk.I;

DSCF2067_zpsa7f91bdb.jpg

and my Airfix Mk.IV converted into a Canadian Bolingbroke;

DSCF4926_zpspkcrsuhy.jpg

 

I was really happy with both Airfix kits,....although the nose glazing of the Mk.I was quite a challenge and mine snapped. 

Good luck with yours,....whichever kit you choose,

All the best,

                  Tony

Edited by tonyot
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hiya Folks,

                 I`ve now decided which scheme to replicate,.......the Mk.V will replicate BA539, ZP-C of 15 Sqn SAAF with white undersides and TSS upper and side surfaces,.....this was quite a common scheme in the Med as the white sides could prove very conspicuous to roaming enemy fighters over the Med and many crews preferred to extend the upper surface camouflage down the sides. Here is the model with the undersides sprayed white using a rattle can.....life is just to short to brush paint colours like white and yellow these days!;

DSCF9278_zpsotakeafg.jpg The fuel dump pipes have also been painted ready to add later. The wheels seen here are the old Airfix wheels which are bigger than the Special Hobby wheels,

 

Cheers

            Tony

 

Edited by tonyot
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I`ve added a coat of paint to the upper surfaces and like my Marauder I chose Aeromaster US Dark Green to represent one of the colours of the TSS locally applied in the Middle East;

DSCF9280_zpsthkdbmfm.jpg

DSCF9279_zpsikolnmc6.jpg

A few more brushed on coats and it shouldn`t look so wishy washy!

 

Cheers

            Tony 

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Cheers Patrice,.......well it looks better with a few more coats of Green,......here is the model along with photos of the real aircraft from the superb book `The Aegean Pirates' by Stefaan Bouwer and Dr. Gerald Thompson,.....for which I must thank my good friend Colin,.....cheers pal!

DSCF9284_zps4bpbdnxz.jpg

DSCF9285_zpswtoci2qt.jpg

Just need to add the dark grey disruptive pattern now,

 

Cheers

            Tony

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Cheers Jimmy,.......here is another update;

The EDSG has been applied;

DSCF9292_zpsevwgwffc.jpg

 

Then a coat of gloss varnish ready for the decals, which were made up from the spares box and Xtradecal, the orange centred SAAF roundels and fin flashes were quite hard to source, especially the upper wing rdls which came from a Frog Maryland (My thanks to Graham for sending me some SAAF decals as the fuselage rdl came from these);

DSCF9307_zpsfgo14uqh.jpg

And here are the decals in place, along with the excellent reference book;

DSCF9311_zpsp67qsibc.jpg

 

Cheers

           Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Hiya Folks,

                 Not the best photo ever as I`d run out of natural light,.....but the first coat of matt varnish has been applied, even though it has dried with more of a satin sheen...... I`ll start weathering it soon,

DSCF9365_zps6e60reav.jpg

 

Cheers

           Tony 

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The green scrubbed up rather nicely Tony. You have obviously got this brush painting down pat. Well done on choosing a SAAF aircraft and the reference of the Aegean Pitrates gives you the edge. Chracking book.

 

As you say white and yellow form the rattle can, no other way. Lifes too short.

 

Colin

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