1/72nd Valom Bristol Brigand & Buckmaster,..... **BOTH FINISHED**

[tonyot]

15 hours ago, VG 33 said:

 

Hi Tony

 

This is well done. The wheel sandwich reminds me when I built my own Brigand.

 

Cheers.

 

Patrick

Cheers Patrik,..... I just don`t understand the faults with the wheels or the engine nacelles,.......  almost as if they are deliberate mistakes to giveus something to do!

[tonyot]

A bit more of an update,.....

                                          I put a watercolour wash on to highlight the panel lines, added some exhaust staining using MiG Pigment Powders and some matt varnish;

 

The spinners look a little short so I`ve added some backplates using laminated plastic card;

 

And this view shows the wheels in place,..... I`ve tried to scribe in a representation of the British cross hatched tyre tread but it isn`t very successful!  

 

Almost there now,.....

                           Cheers

                                        Tony

[Rabbit Leader]

Apologies Tony, I’ve missed a few updates. Now that is really looking beautiful, really pugnacious and menacing like it should be. 
Cheers.. Dave

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Apologies Tony, I’ve missed a few updates. Now that is really looking beautiful, really pugnacious and menacing like it should be. 
Cheers.. Dave

Cheers Dave,..... I even opted for the 45 Sqn option in your honour pal!

[Rabbit Leader]

18 hours ago, tonyot said:

Cheers Dave,..... I even opted for the 45 Sqn option in your honour pal!

 

First thing I noticed! Looks fabulous. 

Cheers .. Dave

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,..... another update,......

                                             Back with the Buckmaster,....... I had a go at improving the engine cowlings,..... the one on the right has been lightly sanded,.... but the one on the left has been sanded down a lot more to reduce the bulkiness of the front cowling;

 

The engine nacelles have both been sanded now and the front of one has had the front opening reduced in size using plastic strip. The Aeroclub propellers have also been cleaned up and the missing bladed will be replaced by a kit item, so I drilled a hole to accept it;

 

The Buckmaster has twin lights below the right hand wing, so I drilled a few,..... the outer wing leading edge intakes were also made wider, as per the real aircraft.

 

 

The Buckmaster also had bomb bay doors but those in the kit end too far from the nose,..... so they were extended to below the windscreen and the kit panel lines have been covered with filler. The engine nacelles are a terrible fit and needed fettling to get them to fit the wing and then clamps to hold them in place while the glue set. There are quite a few resulting gaps and these were filled using plastic card which can be sanded later;

 

The canopy was also fitted and that had to be firmly held down using tape as otherwise the gap under the windscreen would be too much;

 

 

Well that is it for now,..... ready for the football tonight!

Cheers

          Tony

Edited July 7, 2021 by tonyot

[tonyot]

Thanks to my mate Lee,..... an envelope arrived this morning containing some very welcome after market parts including a pair of home moulded resin Brigand/ Buckingham/Buckmaster wheels,..... cheers bud! Here they are,.... and I`ve started engraving a rough cross pattern tread onto them;

 

 

Thanks again mate,

Cheers

         Tony

[tonyot]

On 6/22/2021 at 2:45 PM, The wooksta V2.0 said:

Some good work there, although quite a few of the details in the Valom Brigand are spurious at best - the radio panel is a copy of a Ju 88 one and doesn't go where the instructions tell you as that would block access to the cockpit.

 

The wheels are also too thin.  Somewhere I have a mould for widened ones, so I can cast a set or three when I find some time later in the week.

Hiya Lee,....thanks ever so much for the package which arrived today,...... very very kind of you mate,..... cheers bud! The wheels are now painted and a set fitted to the Brigand!! 

All the best

                 Tony 

[tonyot]

Back to the Brigand,....... sorting out the weapons!

 

Well the kit provides a set of rockets and rail for under the wings which look very much like those from the Hasegawa Beaufighter,..... but there are no guides in the instructions where to fit them apart from a rough indication to place them under the wings! The rails are the mid war type and so unsuitable for the post war Brigand and I got a correct set from a Hasegawa Mosquito kit. Onto these are moulded solid nosed rockets as used against shipping,..... so these would be cut off and replaced by the kit items which are the correct high explosive type.

Brigands were classed as bombers and as such, they could carry bombs. I decided to fit the full load by attaching 2 x 1,000lb bombs under the fuselage and a pair under the wings, which also meant that one rocket rail per wing on the inner station was removed.

Here are some of the bits and pieces that I`ve brought together from th spares box,..... the bomb racks for the under wing bombs come from a 1/48th Tamiya Beaufighter with the racks coming from a Revell Halifax;

 

 

 closer view of the rocket rails with the rockets removed, and the bomb rack fairings with the modified Halifax racks attached;

 

And a closer view of the bomb racks;

 

Cheers for now,

                       Tony

[tonyot]

Got the weapons done,...... three rocket rails and a bomb rack per wing, I decided against the under fuselage bombs;

 

 

Now I know the kit is missing retraction jacks for the undercarriage but they are hard to see anyway as the undercarriage doors cover their location and unless I can find some in the spares box, then I can live with it. For those who cannot,.... here is a pic of the rel thing;

And a diagram;

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited July 9, 2021 by tonyot

[tonyot]

Well I`m calling the Brigand  done,...... it has been built as RH829, OB-M which was flown by 45 Sqn`s OC, Sqn. Ldr. Blythe who`s OC`s standard is emblazoned on the nose. This aircraft joined the unit on 13th January 1949, it belly landed at Tengah on 21st December 1950 but was repaired and served on until 15th February 1952.

 

 

The Brigand was a big aircraft and here it is compared to the aircraft it replaced with 45 Sqn,.... the Beaufighter!;

 

 

So on with the Buckmaster now!

Cheers

          Tony

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by tonyot

[mick b]

Nice Tony, never realised the Brigand was so large! 

 

Mike

[tonyot]

4 minutes ago, mick b said:

Nice Tony, never realised the Brigand was so large! 

 

Mike

Cheers Mike,..... yeah big isn`t it,.... that`s why I included the Beaufighter as a comparison. 

[rob85]

You burnt through that one Tony, great work! Love the scheme and love the ordnance.

 

Rob

[tonyot]

Just now, rob85 said:

You burnt through that one Tony, great work! Love the scheme and love the ordnance.

 

Rob

Thanks Rob. 

[stevehnz]

Beautifully done Tony, nice to see it alongside the Beau, it really was a big brute.

Steve.

[tonyot]

47 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Beautifully done Tony, nice to see it alongside the Beau, it really was a big brute.

Steve.

Cheers Steve,..... yes a big brute of a thing indeed,....... the Beau was big but it looks like a tiddler in comparison. 

[Rabbit Leader]

You don't see many of these being built, so when you do it's certainly something to stand up and take notice. 

Honestly, that's an incredible bit of modelling and all the more rewarding when you consider the level of effort invested to get this so right. 

She's just beautiful Tony and a great WIP to bookmark for whenever I manage to find the strength to build mine. 

Cheers and very well modelled.. Dave   

[tonyot]

9 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

You don't see many of these being built, so when you do it's certainly something to stand up and take notice. 

Honestly, that's an incredible bit of modelling and all the more rewarding when you consider the level of effort invested to get this so right. 

She's just beautiful Tony and a great WIP to bookmark for whenever I manage to find the strength to build mine. 

Cheers and very well modelled.. Dave   

Thanks Dave,.... glad you like it mate. 

[tonyot]

I`ve got  bit more done with the Buckmaster today,...... 

 

                     I`ve got the nacelles fitted and sanded, but then added some filler here and there to smooth it out. The engine cowlings are getting there too,...... the fans are being fitted and and test fitted with the propellers.;

 

A closer view of the engine cowlings with Aeroclub fans and props,...... also,.... I have made some aileron actuator bulges from laminations of plastic strut glued to the wing and sanded to shape;

 

 

Cheers

          Tony

[Max Headroom]

Nice Brigand👍 Another cracking addition to your burgeoning Air Force.

Never seen one next to a Beaufighter - bit of a beast isn’t it!

 

Trevor

[tonyot]

8 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

Nice Brigand👍 Another cracking addition to your burgeoning Air Force.

Never seen one next to a Beaufighter - bit of a beast isn’t it!

 

Trevor

Thanks Trevor,..... yes a beast indeed,..... it takes a lot for a Beaufighter to appear dainty in comparison! You should see it next to the Hornet which replaced it!! 

Edited July 13, 2021 by tonyot

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,....done a bit more,....

                                                  Unlike the Brigand,.... I decided to make an effort with the undercarriage because it would be easier to see on a silver finish,........ so I added some bracing using plastic rod,..... the main part of the undercarriage is actually very Beaufighter like apart from the lower section where the wheels join;

 

Then I added a coat of silver from a rattle can,..... I have also opened up the glazing for the roof hatch,..... I may have cocked up and presumed that it was a full fuselage width hatch rather than a half width hatch,..... ah well!;

 

Test fitted the props,..... I went for the kit props in the end and painted them black, as per pics in the book `The Flying Camels' which has a few photos of RP198 when it was coded OB-Z and used by 45 Sqn;

 

Then I added a further coat of silver;

 

So now to mask off the yellow trainer bands and the black anti glare panel,...... looking at pics of the real thing there is a silver strip running down through this panel,... or it is a quarter light glazed  panel beneath the windscreen sides? You can see it here on RP185;

 

And also on the subject of the model, RP189,.... before it was coded OB-Z with 45 Sqn,.... note the different coloured spinners,..... they do look to be black later in service;;

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by tonyot

[72modeler]

@tonyot

 

What Dave said sums it up for me! I have the Brigand kit, and I have saved your WIP as a modeling guide. Wish the MB Tempest cowlings would have worked, as I've got three or four of  them, but maybe using the front ring suitably sanded would work? Wish now I had had the foresight to get a couple of sets of John's props and cooling fans! I have the Hallam Vac kit, as well, but have yet to work up the nerve to do a vacform. The work  you put in was well worth it, IMHO. That thing was huge compared to the Beaufighter!

Mike

 

Wondering if the undersized wheels on my Trumpeter Wellington XIV would work on the Valom Brigand kit?

[tonyot]

44 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

@tonyot

 

What Dave said sums it up for me! I have the Brigand kit, and I have saved your WIP as a modeling guide. Wish the MB Tempest cowlings would have worked, as I've got three or four of  them, but maybe using the front ring suitably sanded would work? Wish now I had had the foresight to get a couple of sets of John's props and cooling fans! I have the Hallam Vac kit, as well, but have yet to work up the nerve to do a vacform. The work  you put in was well worth it, IMHO. That thing was huge compared to the Beaufighter!

Mike

 

Wondering if the undersized wheels on my Trumpeter Wellington XIV would work on the Valom Brigand kit?

Thanks Mike,...... glad you like it bud,...... and it would be nice if somebody did a new set of resin cowlings for the Valom kit for sure. Rather than using the Wimpy wheels it might just be easier to widen the Valom wheels mate.