Tail-Dragon Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I'm about to dive into my1/48 Classic Airframes Blenheim Mk IV, and I'm wondering, has anyone come up with a good way to add the teardrop blisters on the canopy side windows that are missing in the kit (other than vacuforming new side windows)? Other than that issue, and the missing triangular window on the windscreen, are there any other issues that may arise with that kit? Thanks, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) Colin, Not my scale, thank goodness! Fortunately, for those of use who build in God's Own Scale, there are vacform canopies with the blisters. I would think making a balsa master of the blister would be fairly easy- just be sure to fill the grain with primer, sand, and repeat until you get a smooth surface. If you don't have a vacform machine or a buddy who does, you can plunge-mold a pair pretty easily. There would be two ways to approach making the master; one way would be to make a master for just the blister, then cut and sand the mating edge carefully and attach to the canopy side panel with a very small amount pf PVA; another possibility would be to make a master that had the blister and the flat perspex panel it is attached to and use this to replace the plastic panel on the kit canopy, which you would need to remove; this might be an easier configuration to vacform. It's puzzling that no aftermarket source hasn't done this canopy or has made vacform blisters of different styles and sizes for different aircraft. I hope this makes sense and is helpful. To help, I have attached a link to a preserved Blenheim/Bolinbroke that has detail photos of the canopy. IIRC, Arba did a resin 1/48 Blenheim Mk IV and I think the vacform canopy transparencies included side panels with blisters; possibly you could contact them and inquire about the possibility of purchasing a set of transparencies from them, but I think the kit is OOP. Good luck! Mike https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/1-48-bristol-blenheim-mk-iv-defense-of-britain-atlantic.43917/page-3 http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/aviation/199809-arba_blenheim.php Edited January 8, 2020 by 72modeler added text Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 31 minutes ago, 72modeler said: I would think making a balsa master of the blister would be fairly easy- just be sure to fill the grain with primer, sand, and repeat until you get a smooth surface. There are much better woods than balsa for this sort of thing , which will be easier to carve finely, require a lot less filling and stand up to the moulding process better. The model railroader's favourite, strangely known as bass in the USA, actually the wood of the lime tree, is very good indeed for canopy masters from tiny up to a few inches across, and is reaily available all over the internet https://www.wood-database.com/basswood/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welkin Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I have the same problem as Tail-Dragon; I have the CA Blenheim IV in my stash, waiting to be built. I also have a couple of Airfix 1:48 Mosquito XIV kits, which have optional blisters - could I use those, with white PVA glue, for my Blenheim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 4 hours ago, Welkin said: I have the same problem as Tail-Dragon; I have the CA Blenheim IV in my stash, waiting to be built. I also have a couple of Airfix 1:48 Mosquito XIV kits, which have optional blisters - could I use those, with white PVA glue, for my Blenheim? Not being familiar with either the 1/48 Blenheim or Mossie kits, I would suggest looking at the Mosquito kit blisters and comparing to photos of the Blenheim blisters. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushBrit66 Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Arba made some vac blisters for their resin kit, sold seperatly if you can track them down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 I've made a master out of a wooden dowel and a piece of tin and vacuformed my own window panels with blisters. The panel taped in place is just to check the arc ... 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 On 2/5/2020 at 12:03 AM, Tail-Dragon said: I've made a master out of a wooden dowel and a piece of tin and vacuformed my own window panels with blisters. The panel taped in place is just to check the arc ... If you are willing to make some extra could I request 3 sets please? I suspect I won't be the only one with stalled projects waiting on somebody to make these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welkin Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 10 hours ago, SleeperService said: If you are willing to make some extra could I request 3 sets please? I suspect I won't be the only one with stalled projects waiting on somebody to make these. I would second that - please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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