1/48 MkI Blenheim - Completed!

[Quiet Mike]

Thanks Chris, that's the same reference I'm working from to make the struts. They don't show up too well but it was fun stretching the sprue and adding them. When I expand my meagre paint selection I'll darken the cylinders, but leave the heads aluminium. I wonder if I could add a few steel bolts too ... I'm not sure I have a brush that fine though!

 

Engine details by Mike, on Flickr

 

And the propellers turned out OK. I lost a little of the black from the mask but not enough to trouble me. I'm still undecided how much weathering and wear to add to this build. (Something I'm new too)  It will be in prewar RAF livery, not factory fresh, but not worn out on campaign either. I've yet to attempt any form of chipping, but I don't think it's right for this build.

 

Adding yellow tips by Mike, on Flickr

[Tail-Dragon]

If it's of any help to you, here are some reference photo's I took of Blenheim IV engines at our local (and, sadly, now gone) museum ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and the original

 

 

 

Hope this is of some use.

 

(for some idea's on painting the exhaust rings, I tried it with Tamiya acrylics here ...)

 

 

Colin

Edited July 9, 2020 by Tail-Dragon

[Quiet Mike]

Thanks guys, some excellent reference there. I'm tempted to go over these struts in silver now, just as much ref showing them painted silver as in black.

 

I noticed your MkIV Colin, a delightful build!

 

[bigbadbadge]

Very nice work Mike

All the best

Chris

[dogsbody]

Just to clarify Colin's posting, this is a restored Mercury, from an RCAF Bolingbroke, that was recovered from a farm somewhere in Western Canada. Those two extra intakes at about the 10 and 2 o'clock positions were added during the war to provide additional heating for the cockpit, etc.

 

Any light coloured areas that you see between the cylinders would be the unpainted air baffles, that helped direct cooling air to the rear side of the cylinder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

 

 

[Quiet Mike]

New batch of paint successfully purchased from AC Models. (And it wasn't raining this time.) The only thing they didn't have was Tamiya X-20A thinner, but my Ultimate seems to be doing OK so far. Flat Aluminium, Bronze, Gun Metal, Flat Black, Nato Black, and X-9 Brown. My Tamiya collection now fills margarine tub, so I may have to rethink my storage solution soon.

(I popped by Hobbycraft on the way home, but their modelling section seems to be scaling back, about half of what was available last year. Not helped by CV19 of course ... either way AC Models are my first choice, far better selection and cheaper to boot. #supportyourlocalmodelshop )

 

Another first for me, actually practicing on something other than the kit. I'm finding the thought of getting the collector ring and exhausts right quite daunting. My first practice went better than expected. XF-16 Aluminium base, then X-33 Bronze on top. I tried the X-10 Gun metal, but didn't think there was enough contrast. I did like the blue tinge it gave though. I did spray a little Royal Blue on as well but it was too strong. I'll bank that if I ever do a jet exhaust though. And I stuck a roll of bluetack on the end to mask the brighter edges. That worked well in places. Not so well in others.

Off course my late night photography doesn't cut the mustard, who knew snapping a spoon would be so hard? It looks much better in the plastic. I'm afraid I feel bad modelling when the Sun is shining, so pick it up in the evening. Then I get stuck in and work far later than I should ... No flash and one spotlight make it tricky to capture.

 

Very much enjoying modelling right now, especially as my ancient airbrush and compressor seem to be working well finally. I'm not sure why it is all starting to click, maybe the experience and knowledge I am picking up on here is starting to sink in.

 

New paints! by Mike, on Flickr

 

*edit - another first, I'd pinched some disposable gloves from the bike workshop and started using them in the model cave. Fed up with seeing greasy fingerprints appear when I paint stuff!

 

[rob Lyttle]

12 hours ago, Quiet Mike said:

AC Models are my first choice, far better selection and cheaper to boot. #supportyourlocalmodelshop )

Hear hear! 

 

[Quiet Mike]

Right, I couldn't put it off any longer, this thing needed a coat of paint on it. My usual debilitating procrastination had to be parked. I spend a lot of time looking at other peoples builds, and seeing all these countless new methods (to me) of achieving realism. There obviously isn't one way of building, but that's my problem. I see all these new techniques and have no idea which is right or wrong for me or the build!

Anyway, as this will represent a fairly new peacetime aircraft I decided not to overstretch my fledgling skills with adding chipping layers just yet. I'll think about adding paint chips after I've put some paint down this time round. I did know I didn't want a perfectly flat coat of paint though, so I've had a go at what I think is called marbling? I've seen it done with and without masks, and I like the effect, and that by adding several layers of thin paint you can control how subtle the effect will be. Also, it seems almost idiot proof, which was a big plus for me!

 

 

First 'pass' doesn't sound right, it makes the process sound much quicker than it is. Initially I was painting lots of little dots, and it was more like sending morse code.

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

The homemade extractor seems to be working well.

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

Getting there ...

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

Quiet a few paint splats, but on the whole the Aerograph Super 63 behaved itself, and it was immensely satisfying when finger pressure and paint flow clicked and you could slowly fill panels with swirley worms.

 

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

First coat of black on the undersides by Mike, on Flickr

 

That's not bad for an evenings work for me! Now I am stuck what to do next though ... I do have the lighter NATO Black, and I was going to go over it in this next. I'm not sure the best way to proceed yet though. Very thinned down coats? More wiggly paint worms? Just painting the middle of panels and leaving the outer edges black? Advice and opinions as always welcome.

 

[bigbadbadge]

Very nice indeed Mike, great work. 

All the best

Chris

[Quiet Mike]

1:1 scale distraction today. Starting with gluing back on the bootlid after it decided it didn't want to be attached to the kombi anymore. Old repairs from 2004 were very agricultural, but then this is a farm truck. My repairs are equally crude ... nearly 15 years since it was put back on the road it's overdue an overhaul again. (It was on the road in Oz from '59 to '91, then laid up.)

 

Fixing the boot lid back on after it fell off ... by Mike, on Flickr

[Quiet Mike]

Playing fast and loose with the instructions came back and bit me on the bottom!  Assembling the engine and cowlings today, and felt pretty chuffed at this stage getting all the bits to marry up, with the help of a few clamps. First the motor and collector ring on the front, then the cowlinsg and gills and exhaust pipes. I assumed the motor would slip inside the cowlings once both bits were dry. I was wrong! My neat cowlings had to be prized apart to fit over the motor, and of course paint got scratched. Lots of touching up to do 🙄

 

Always test fit first! by Mike, on Flickr

 

But, some better news, gave my 40th pint Wednesday, and the little pipettes they use to test the blood sample from your finger looked useful ... I asked the nurse if I could take a couple, and it was all I could do to stop her giving me the whole box! Already proving useful with mixing up the RAF dark earth.

 

Blood donor haul by Mike, on Flickr

 

Keep wanting to have a go at some very light chipping on the walkway and hatch, as I think even a fairly new aircraft is going to have a few chips. And I figure, if it doesn't look right, I can paint over it. What didn't hit me until I was laying paint down, what happens to all the pre shading??  So, maybe not one of my better decisions 🧐

 

How it this going to work? by Mike, on Flickr

 

But of course, all my pre shading gets smothered by the top coats anyway, so all's well that ends well 😂   (One day I will learn to put down thinner and fewer coats!)

 

First few coats of dark earth by Mike, on Flickr

 

Now, time to mask the Dark Earth ...

[Quiet Mike]

Just trying to work out how to get the fairly hard line between the dark earth and dark green camouflage. I really like this effect just using a paper mask, but this is on a nice flat part of the Blenheim, and not a curved fuselage or engine cowling, or where the the wing joins the fuselage ... I may have shot myself in the foot (again 😂)   I think a bit more effort spent on masking tape masks is the way ahead ...

 

Experimenting with masking by Mike, on Flickr

[bigbadbadge]

Looking good fella, I am sure you will be able to overcome

[Gordon J]

I always use paper masks as I feel it provides a nicer edge to the finished paint job than just using masking tape directly onto the surface. Yes it is much trickier and more time consuming to apply but the end result is superior.

 

Despite this sounding like a total contradiction I like the soft hard edge that paper masks provide.

 

Your Blenheim looks great.

[Marklo]

I’m a big fan of blue tack and maskol.

Gives a nice diffuse edge.

 

Otherwise it’s tape and patience  

Edited July 26, 2020 by Marklo

[Quiet Mike]

Sorry, they are phone snaps, which is awfully lazy of me. In my defense its unusual for me not to get distracted from the actual task in hand, like spending more time photographing a model instead of knuckling down and building it! I really enjoyed getting stuck into putting some colour on the Blenheim today. (Helped by having the house to myself for most of the day!)  And the masking took a fair bit of concentration.

 

20 hours ago, Gordon J said:

Despite this sounding like a total contradiction I like the soft hard edge that paper masks provide.

 

Gordon, I am with you on this one. I don't think it is technically correct for this particular finish, but it does look good. You can see I used paper masks and tape. Where I used tape I tried to tease the edges away from the model slightly. You can still tell where I have used each technique, but I hope it's not too offensive. I can happily live with it I think. I'm just happy I haven't ripped off massive chunks of paint with the tape.

There are several bits that need attention, which I'm itching to crack on with as soon as I've posted this. Please forgive any bad grammar in my haste!

 

 

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

This proved a rather tricky area. Not helped by me forgetting to paint the top of the rudder on this side in the dark earth first. Also, I made mistake in not laying down the dark green heavy enough in a few places, and then having to try and refit the paper masks in exactly the same place again!

 

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

One of the places I had to revisit. It turned out far better than it should have!

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

The masking here is a little scruffy, and you can see I used tape, and it wasn't lifted proud of the model. As this is where I am going to chip the paint slightly I'll leave it for now. If the chipping goes west I'll address it when I repaint.

 

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

Painting the pre war Blenheim MkI by Mike, on Flickr

 

A few spots of paint lifted underneath. Not bad for cheap Lidl masking tape.

 

A little paint loss after removing the masking tape by Mike, on Flickr

 

A little paint loss after removing the masking tape by Mike, on Flickr

 

Overall I'm very happy with this, my first attempt at RAF camo since the 1980's ...

 

 

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Looking very good! Not bad at all

 

[The Spadgent]

What a great build. A little late to the party

but I will tag along if I may. I have been thinking about this aeroplane all day and reading this and a few others has forced my hand To add it to my new build albeit at a smaller scale. Excellent work.👍🙌😇

 

Late again but I can recommend “Gators grip” for canopy glue. Tamiya tape for masking is in my opinion a must. (But each to their own) Tape or blutac worms and tape for tight camo lines. And if you want a nice metallic in acrylic I love the Vallejo metal colour range. 
 

good luck with the rest of the build sir.

 

All the best.

 

John.

[Shark444]

On 7/8/2020 at 8:58 PM, Tail-Dragon said:

If it's of any help to you, here are some reference photo's I took of Blenheim IV engines at our local (and, sadly, now gone) museum ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and the original

 

 

 

Hope this is of some use.

 

(for some idea's on painting the exhaust rings, I tried it with Tamiya acrylics here ...)

 

 

Colin

The black intakes stacked vertically on the left of the engine are for the oil cooler.  The two silver ones (there should be 4 - you can see the other two holes missing the intake cone) lead directly into the collector ring and were a later modifcations as the collector rings would get too hot and tended to crack.  I haven't seen any in-service RAF or Free French examples with the collector ring cooling intakes, but these were fitted to most all of the Fairchild-built Bolingbroke Mk.IV W and T variants in RCAF service.

[dogsbody]

1 hour ago, Shark444 said:

The black intakes stacked vertically on the left of the engine are for the oil cooler.  The two silver ones (there should be 4 - you can see the other two holes missing the intake cone) lead directly into the collector ring and were a later modifcations as the collector rings would get too hot and tended to crack.  I haven't seen any in-service RAF or Free French examples with the collector ring cooling intakes, but these were fitted to most all of the Fairchild-built Bolingbroke Mk.IV W and T variants in RCAF service.

 

Those extra, silver-coloured intakes were added to Fairchild- built Bolingbrokes to provide more heat for the cockpits to keep the crew from freezing to death during our nasty Canadian winters. They also provided heat to other systems that needed it. There were some variations to the extra intakes.

 

 

 

 

As most if not all Blenheims/Bolingbrokes and Mercury engines that are out there in the world have come from WW2 leftovers scattered around western Canadian farms, then you can see why there are these little extras added to them that were not on Bristol-built Blenheims used by the RAF.

 

 

 

Chris

[RichieW]

First camo scheme since the 80's? You hold be very pleased with it, it's come out beautifully.

[Dunny]

Coming along nicely Mike!

[Shark444]

19 hours ago, dogsbody said:

 

Those extra, silver-coloured intakes were added to Fairchild- built Bolingbrokes to provide more heat for the cockpits to keep the crew from freezing to death during our nasty Canadian winters. They also provided heat to other systems that needed it. There were some variations to the extra intakes.

 

 

 

 

As most if not all Blenheims/Bolingbrokes and Mercury engines that are out there in the world have come from WW2 leftovers scattered around western Canadian farms, then you can see why there are these little extras added to them that were not on Bristol-built Blenheims used by the RAF.

 

 

 

Chris

Great photo showing the dust filters mounted on the cowlings.  Those are pretty rare to hand these days.  I've only seen two sets: the one on the Bolingbroke at the Reynolds, AB museum and the pair we have in the parts store at Canadian Warplane Heritage.

 

BTW, anyone have a line on where I can lay hands on a real set of cowlings for a Bolingbroke?  Will save me from having to make them from scratch.  Can you believe it?  Started with 8 complete airframes and not a single cowling between them...

[Biggles87]

Also late to the party, I have been following, off and on,  but not commented. I haven't been able to decide wether I want one or not, but your build is persuading me to go for ' want '. I'm also a fan of the paper mask method of achieving a soft edged camouflage demarcation.

Keep up the good work and stay safe.

 

John 

[AdrianMF]

The camouflage is looking great. FWIW I do my exhaust collectors with a mix of sliver+dark earth+a touch of dark grey, with the front and back edges having a bit more silver to reflect the uneven heat discolouration.

 

Regards,

Adrian