Rabbit Leader Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Time to attempt another GB and this one ticks plenty of boxes for me. Firstly, I’ve not long finished Airfix’s excellent new Bristol Beaufort so I’ve still got a small craving for Bristol’s twins, and secondly…. its a GB that actually starts on my Birthday, so I should be allowed plenty of time this Saturday to crack open a new kit and make a start! If I recall correctly the good Mrs RL purchased this kit for me a couple of years ago and she told me how she called a few local hobby shops and asked if they had the Bristol Blen-Heim. Her bad pronunciation of ‘Blenheim’ has always made me laugh so its time I made an attempt to add this lovely kit to my modelling cabinet. Bristol subjects are quite prominent in my stash. There’s the Bristol 138A (1 x Novo - awaiting Rising Sun decals??), Blenheim (2 x Airfix 1/72, 1 x 1/48 and 1 x Frogspawn), Beaufort (1 x Airfix 1/72 + HPM conversion), Beaufighter (3 x Airfix 1/72 and 1 x Tamiya 1/48), Bombay (1 x Valom), Brigand (1 x Valom), Superfreighter (1 x Airfix), Bloodhound (1 x Airfix).. so there’s plenty of choices there and who knows if all goes well I may add another as time goes on? I won’t dwell too much of this kit as there’s plenty of good online reviews available. In addition to the sound base kit, I’ve purchased a set of Eduard canopy masks, PE seat belts and the Xtradecals sheet which unfortunately has a few errors on the instruction sheet that has resulted in (at least) two well made online kits being spoilt by their choice of upper wing roundels. Like all modelling projects good photographic references are essential so out come some well used RAF Bomber books from my aero library that have inspired my modelling genre since as long as I can remember. So here’s to wishing all current and future GB participants the best of luck and looking forward to playing my part in honouring this iconic British aviation manufacturer in model form. Cheers and regards.. Dave 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Well done Dave. Good to see another 1/48 on board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Chair pulled up! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 This will be great, really enjoyed your Beaufort build. Also love the little Bristol posters you have, where are they from? I’ve been looking for things like that for some time. great to have you along. Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 10, 2021 Author Share Posted June 10, 2021 Appreciate the kind words Rob and it’ll be more than a pleasure to take part. PM just sent about the posters. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Hi Dave, It will be great to see one of these built in 1:48 scale. I built this kit a few years ago and found it quite easy to build - much easier than Airfix's 1:72 version. Even so I'm sure you'll do a much better job than I did so I'm looking forward to seeing this! Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 Nice one Dave,.... I built one recently and was VERY impressed by this kit,..... you`ll love it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 I made a small start to this kit yesterday and have got to say I’m really impressed with it so far. I decided up front to just stick to cutting parts off the sprue, cleaning up and glueing as much as possible, leaving paintwork till another day. The cockpit components go together really well and the fit is neat and precise. I appear to have a slightly warped forward fuselage, but am confident it will all come together once all the internal parts are added and glue is applied. Now although my kit is the ‘fighter’ boxing, I’m building this one as a pre-war bomber. The instructions suggest to fix the two internal bomb bay doors nice and early in the build, but doing this will result in some tedious paint masking later on. To overcome that and use the closed bomb bay door part as a paint mask, I chopped the two locating tabs off at either end of these inner door parts. It will then be a simple process of cementing these doors in much later on in the build. Unfortunately, I can’t see an easier way to leave the undercarriage off until later, so these will have to be built up and attached a little earlier than I would normally like. So just a small update, however enough to confirm that @tonyot was right to suggest I’m going to enjoy this build. Cheers.. Dave 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Looking good Dave. The sticking together before painting is the way I did the last two Beaufighters. It was much easier than the first one which was painted first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 Another quick update, not much more to show, just the various bits above with a splash of colour - Grey Green, Silver and Semi Gloss Black. There’s a few questions regarding the Blenheim's undercarriage colour, however I’ve gone for a slight modification to the kits instructions and opted for silver framing and predominately black undercarriage struts. A number of pre-war Blenheim photos show black front main struts, so that’s where I’ve deviated from Airfix’s Hu56 Aluminium suggestion. I’l apply some fine brown and black wash in various areas then paint up the cockpit seats, instruments and knobs to pick out all the nice detail. Cheers.. Dave 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Looks terrific Dave Must be a nice big kit in 1/48, can you pop something in one of your next pictures for scale please. Best of luck Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 It’s been way too long between updates, however this Blenheim has been worked, although nothing large enough that deserved a post in my opinion. I’ll also admit the modelling mind has also wandered between Falklands war Canberra’s and Airfix’s Vulcan, so that’s taken up some energy of late. OK, here’s a small update. The undercarriage parts have been assembled and they build up beautifully. All the various parts fit well and once glued are extremely strong. The assemblies fit into small recesses inside the lower wing and are perfectly aligned once installed, yet another happy modelling moment! The cockpit is partially assembled and fully painted up. I’ve still got the instrument panel, rudder pedals and two other parts to squeeze in up front. I decided to cement the nose glass to each fuselage half quite a bit earlier than Airfix suggest, I’m glad I did however as they were a little tricky to glue in place. Eduard seat belts help to furnish the pilots seat, however the sash belts that go over the two ‘Dickie’ seats are way too wide and look really silly. I’ll either leave these bare or find some other option. And just for @JOCKNEY, yes she’s a large kit with lots of lovely detail throughout. I was racking my brain to find a suitable comparison then thought of something quite obvious! This is a kit that seems to require a bit of tedious work up front, but I’m hoping it will quickly come together once these stages are complete. Cheers and thanks.. Dave 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Nice neat work as usual. I'm interested on how you get the shading on the seats that gives the worn look. When I get to the Blenheim I will be able to put it up against my Frog built Blenheim. That will be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted July 7, 2021 Author Share Posted July 7, 2021 4 hours ago, Greg Law said: I'm interested on how you get the shading on the seats that gives the worn look. Must be the lighting playing tricks here Greg. I've just slapped on a coat of Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown, that's it mate. Glad you think it gives off a different effect. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 That's interesting Dave my red brown always looks redder. Must be the lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Looks like an awesome kit .Looking great so far Martin H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Great start Dave the internals look superb painted and detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 How did I not get around to even looking in this GB yet? Anyway, I'll be following this build as it looks blooming fantastic. I love the Blenheim and have one that might (might) make it into the GB after the Beaufighter gets built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 On 06/07/2021 at 14:15, Rabbit Leader said: The cockpit is partially assembled and fully painted up. I’ve still got the instrument panel, rudder pedals and two other parts to squeeze in up front. I decided to cement the nose glass to each fuselage half quite a bit earlier than Airfix suggest, I’m glad I did however as they were a little tricky to glue in place. Eduard seat belts help to furnish the pilots seat, however the sash belts that go over the two ‘Dickie’ seats are way too wide and look really silly. I’ll either leave these bare or find some other option. Lovely work, Dave, and such clear pictures. I'm roving about looking for pics of the cockpits in the New Tool Airfix kits so I get some ideas on how to modify the 'basic' set up in the Old Tool Mk IV version. The undercarriage assemblies above look fantastic as well so maybe I'll have to do something there as well! Good luck with the rest of the build. All the best. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now