lasermonkey Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) In the churchyard of St Edmunds or St James, Blunham, Bedfordshire, is a heavily worn gravestone. These days it is barely legible but back in 2005, it was much easier to read. We were hosting an American friend in November of that year and she was eager to take some photos in the churchyard. She got to one gravestone and said, "Oh, he died in the war!" I looked, and amongst the many names on the stone was a Pilot Officer Alan Dunn Hopkin, who died on the 10th July 1940. I have to confess that it was several years later when I thought of the young man whose name was carved into the gravestone. I remembered the date. The first day of the Battle Of Britain. I wondered how he was lost. Research revealed that he was with No. 59 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheims from Thorney Island, West Sussex. At 22.20 hrs on the night of the 9th July 1940, Hopkin, along with Sgt T.J Rowles (observer) and Sgt J.W. Falconer (WAG) took off on a Hach patrol (anti-invasion reconnaissance) to Cherbourg. Another Blenheim, R3881 left for a separate patrol a couple of hours later. For some reason, both aircraft appeared to get lost on the return journey, both being plotted by RDF but neither acknowledging the calls from the plotters. At 3am R3637 exploded over Cardiff. None of the bodies were recovered. It has been suggested that Hopkin and his crew may have been the victims of friendly AA fire. The other Blenheim, R3881, flew into an electricity pylon near Cleehill, Shropshire, with the loss of all on board. These six men must have been among the first to lose their lives during the Battle Of Britain. I decided that I had to build Hopkin's aircraft as a way of commemorating one of my Village's fallen sons. I had the serial number, but precious little else. It took several years of digging before I finally found the individual aircraft letter on the 59 Squadron website. Photos of contemporary 59 Sqn machines gave me a good idea of how the aircraft would most likely have looked like and study of photos revealed that R3637 almost certainly would have worn the B scheme. I chose the new Airfix 1/72 kit to represent R3637. Mine was the bomber boxing and this was moulded in the UK. Although the plastic "felt" a little strange, it was much, much nicer to work with than the awful, soft but still brittle, made in India plastic and the fit was markedly better than I anticipated. It was only the bomb bay area that really let the kit down. Otherwise, the build was straightforward. Paints were Colourcoats and Humbrol, whilst decals were a mixture of Xtradecal, Modeldecal and Aeromaster, plus a few of the kit's stencils. The code letters were from an Aeromaster sheet and were the only ones in my stash that replicated the style seen on other 59 Sqn machines at the time. I also used some Peewit paint masks for the glazed areas. While they were a bit cheaper than the equivalent Eduard product, I felt that they weren't as precise as the Eduard masks I've used so far and the edges curled up after a relatively short amount of time, meaning a fair bit of overspray had to be removed. The retracted turret option was only used as the extended one was ropey to say the least, covered in deep gouges and having several moulding flaws. I'm sure I have heard others report that they encountered the same issue. I have to apologise for the quality of the photos but I only just finished the model in time. I am actually away from home at the moment and had to take the photos last Friday, the night before I left. My SLR is unserviceable at the moment, so I had to make do with my phone camera. So, my first completed build in years. I say completed, but it isn't *quite*. There's a not quite finished decal repair on the starboard side (hence no photos) and I haven't added the wireless aerial as yet either. Once done, I'll try to take some better pictures but otherwise, thanks for looking. Cheers, Mark. This model is humbly dedicated to P/O Hopkin, Sgt Rowles and Sgt Falconer. Edited July 16, 2020 by lasermonkey 42 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Great back story and beautiful build Mark,it's always a great incentive in modelling to mark these airmen's passing this way, we often forget the stories behind the model's we make 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 A great story and a nicely done model. Full points from me. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Excellent model and dedication Mark. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 That looks lovely, and it's a kind tribute to P/O Hopkin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 6 minutes ago, jackroadkill said: That looks lovely, and it's a kind tribute to P/O Hopkin. I wholeheartedly agree! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 A fine model, and a lovely tribute. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigbeale Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 1 minute ago, John Laidlaw said: A fine model, and a lovely tribute. Couldn’t have put it better myself 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff G Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Excellent. Love the history with it, great to learn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 A wonderful tribute to a crew who gave their all defending their country. It adds extra meaning and poignancy to your excellent build. The unusual nose contours on this variant clearly were no problem for you. Well done! 👏👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Juliet Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 On 10/07/2020 at 18:01, stevej60 said: Great back story and beautiful build Mark,it's always a great incentive in modelling to mark these airmen's passing this way, we often forget the stories behind the model's we make I agree with steve60. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasermonkey Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 Thanks for the kind comments, chaps. An interesting development regarding P/O Hopkin's gravestone: my wife is part of a village Facebook history group and there are now plans to restore the gravestone. Apparently the stone was originally for Hopkin's mother, with his name being added later, there being no body recovered to warrant a separate grave. Once I get more information I'll add it to this thread. Cheers, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluffer77 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Great build with a tragic but fascinating back story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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