A Pair of Bristols

[Acklington]

Just finished the Airfix Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV, but not without difficulty. This was due to trying a new (to me) make of acrylic matt varnish, which reacted badly to what was underneath it. I did some test paints on spare plastic beforehand, but the problem didn't show up till the real thing.

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (1) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (2) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (6) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (9) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (11) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (12) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, Ouston, c 1943 (15) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

The aircraft is a Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV of 289 Squadron, a target facilities unit headquartered at Turnhouse, Edinburgh in 1943, but with many detached flights at various northern airfields for anti-aircraft gunnery training. Aircraft Z5880 (Rootes built) was chosen for the model because it was delivered new to 7 AACU at RAF Ouston, Northumberland, before joining 13 Group AACU at the same airfield. That unit morphed into 289 Squadron, and Z5880 remained at Ouston as part of a detached flight. It eventually went to 410 Squadron (nightfighters) at nearby RAF Acklington, before becoming a maintenance training airframe in late 1943.

An eminently suitable subject for my 'RAF Ouston Research' website project, and also to illustrate the continuous role of Anti-Aircraft training. However photos of 289 Squadron aircraft are rarer than 'hen's teeth', and all that I could find were a Miles Martinet in standard tug markings, and a Hawker Hurricane with a striped rudder. Records also state that 289 Squadron was such a large unit, that they used numbers as well as letters for their codes. So in a complete 'flight of fancy' I have combined these scant facts into a colour scheme for the aircraft.

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, L1525, 3 RSS, RAF Ouston (4) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Z5880, 289 Sqdn det, L1525, 3 RSS, RAF Ouston (11) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

Also, I foolishly decided to 'improve' my earlier Blenheim Mk.1 (L1525, 3 RSS, RAF Ouston, 1940) with a coat of the new matt varnish, and this time the roundels decided to part company from the model! So another rescue job, and both Bristols were finished together today. I think I need counselling!

[Booty003]

'A Pair of Bristols' - no way that I was passing on that....!

 

A lovely pair they are too.  Nice one.

[jackroadkill]

As mentioned by @Booty003, who can ignore a title like that?!

 

A lovely pair, Matron!

[stevehnz]

I knew you meant Blenheims, really I did, & would have been well disappointed if it were anything else.   Happily no disappointment, a truly lovely pair of Bristols.  I do like the nice clean finish you give them.  

Steve. 

[Wulfman]

Lovely pair of Blenheim's, nice work !

 

Wulfman

[Vinnie]

Very nice Blenheim. Sorry to hear about your problems with the varnish but you seem to have recovered it well. 👍

[binbrook87]

Lovely work on both. Nothing worse than having unforseen problems at the eleventh hour. Enough to make you want to throw them in the bin sometimes! Glad you persevered though. 😁 Interesting to see the later roundels on the earlier green / earth camouflage. Very nice indeed 👍

[stevej60]

Great job on both,beautiful finish.

[TonyW]

A fine pair, very cleanly built. There will be no critical comments from me, although it's always possible there will be knockers.

 

...I'll get me coat.

[tonyot]

Very nice indeed and I love the scheme,...... I want to build a Hurricane in similar markings.... depicting Z4048 which was said  to be attached to  No. 4 Observer Advance Flying Unit at West Freugh, Scotland ;

 

Nice one and lovely job again,

                                                Tony

[Michael51]

Fine work indeed.

 

You seem to have gotten the nose bits very well mated to their respective fuselages.

 

I understand that is quite an issue - it resulted in two failed builds for me.

 

How did you manage such seamless joins?

 

Michael

[Acklington]

Many thanks for the fulsome comments, it has been an uplifting experience! 😉

 

The two Hurricane photos are the ones I used, as the aircraft wears the 'YE' codes of 289 Squadron.  However I'm not convinced that its serial number is Z4048, which has a different official history?

 

Mating the two noses I had been warned about beforehand.  So I took a lot of care to make sure all the internal and external parts were cleaned of flash.  There doesn't appear to be much flash on modern Airfix kits, but the fit of parts is so precise that even the smallest ridge of flash along a seam will affect the fit.