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Bristol Blenheim MkIV


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This is a placeholder for the moment until I proceed a little more with my other builds which are a bit more challenging. I got this not longer after it was released and I have an Xtradecal sheet with at least one FAA version on it so I should be able to slip a Navy Blenheim into the GB. 

 

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Ooh, lovely, another Blenheim, you can't have too many of these. It will be interesting to see with a naval scheme. With a bit of care it's a really nice kit, good luck with it!

 

Matt

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Here are the sprues. A fair old number but nicely moulded. I think there are parts for a MkI as well as all versions of a MkIV. 

 

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And a set of clear parts and a nice set of transfers for two versions. 

 

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Though I'll be using these and producing a Blenheim in the Temperate Sea Scheme of. 771 NAS at RNAS Twatt using this Xtradecal sheet. 

 

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Usual modern Airfix instructions.

 

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Another popular choice, actually I'd be very interested to know how many of each of Bristol's famous twins are being built here. I might have to do a count? 

Cheers and all the best.. Dave 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 7/10/2021 at 12:05 PM, Rabbit Leader said:

Another popular choice, actually I'd be very interested to know how many of each of Bristol's famous twins are being built here. I might have to do a count? 

Cheers and all the best.. Dave 

The Blenheim is seriously iconic. And the latest Airfix releases are very good. So it's no surprise a lot of us are using this GB to reduce the stash. 

 

I've hurled a fair Amount of paint on but I knew I had to sort out the front of the cowlings as the intake parts are definitely Bolingbroke. I've looked at tons of photos on the 'net. And every Blenheim has smooth cowlings. So out with the sanding sticks. 

 

Before

 

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and after

 

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looks OK. And I can live with it. 

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A lot of paint on, which is taking the time. I built a Mk I a while back and found the fit of the wings very good, so as prepainted wings where the fit is good means that you get a really crisp demarcation between the upper and lower colours, I'll prepaint them. 

 

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The building starts with the rear fuselage, which actually looks like a fighter's fuselage. 

 

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And then the inner parts of the upper wing. 

 

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Internals built up. The seat belts for the pilot are Eduard, they are beautiful but an absolute pain to use, they bend and twist but when you want them to get them fixed they spring out. And for some reason they don't like glues, and I've lost one of the lap belts! The lap belts on the other seats are off cuts from a sheet (unfortunately finished) of Eduard 'Super Fabric' belts which are. Brilliant but for some reason no longer available 

 

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A replacement seat belt sourced and glued on. A dry brushing over the parts and the glazing glued in, followed by the interior parts glued into place. The next stage is to glue the two halves together but I'll let the glazing firm up somewhat. 

 

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On 8/12/2021 at 5:36 PM, rob85 said:

Those seatbelts look the business, very nice addition. Coming together very nicely!

 

Rob

 

They do add the finishing touch Rob. Although the etch ones are nice, once everything is closed up the slivers of tape don't look at all bad either. 

 

Front fuselage sides glued together. The instructions suggest now adding the top and front glazing before sliding onto the rear fuselage/wing assembly. I think I might wait until the front is fixed on, in cas e there's some fettling involved. 

 

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Wings glued together. A bit of persuasion was required. 

 

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Wings on and front part slid on. Except it didn't slide well and doesn't fit that good. I found this on. MkI I did some time ago but it wasn't this bad. 

 

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The underside isn't great either but easier to deal with, and pretty well hidden. 

 

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I read through Tony O'Toole's MkI  build and found he's got a different approach, learnt after a number of builds. I wish I'd read it first, which might have saved a bit of angst.  My solution was to fill the gap with Krystal Klear, paint it interior green and then add thin layers of Perfect Plastic Putty. The first stage was so a thick white line wouldn't be seen inside. I also put some masking tape over the transparencies to prevent them getting marked. 

 

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Engines built up as well. There's a little bit of filling and polishing needed before I move on. 

 

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that's annoying. it’s frustrating when you make something permanent but hasn’t gone how it should, then you see how other have done it to avoid it but it’s too late. I have had that happen so many times. That all said looks like you have it all under control! Sign of a quality modeller! 
 

great work.

 

Rob

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On 8/15/2021 at 11:51 PM, dogsbody said:

Looking good!

 

 

 

Chris

Thanks Chris, overall it's a nice kit but the front end is a bit overengineered. Presumably to enable both MkI and MkIV versions to be made. 

 

On 8/16/2021 at 3:45 PM, rob85 said:

that's annoying. it’s frustrating when you make something permanent but hasn’t gone how it should, then you see how other have done it to avoid it but it’s too late. I have had that happen so many times. That all said looks like you have it all under control! Sign of a quality modeller! 
 

great work.

 

Rob

I think it's a great example of Murphy's Law always applying. If I'd read Tony's thread first I would probably had a less fraught time. But as you say it looks like I've managed to play my get out of jail free card. 

 

Here we are tidied up a bit and smoothed off

 

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Canopy masked and fixed on. The mask set was from Eduard and although it took a bit of time I think trying to do it on my own would have taken days. Getting the glazing on took three hands and a lot of wiggling. Then let to go sôlid before adding the final nose part. 

 

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Engines on, and some interior grey green onto the frames. 

 

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Theres a little bit of work needed in smoothing in the canopy so the PPP came out along with the wet finger. I used some Krystal Klear to fill any gaps initially and then painted it with the interior colour. The main challenge is the gap at the rear of the canopy which will need a bit of attention. Once that's done then it's time to finish masking and paint the remainder of the upper surfaces. 

 

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Engines on, and some interior grey green onto the frames. 

 

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Theres a little bit of work needed in smoothing in the canopy so the PPP came out along with the wet finger. I used some Krystal Klear to fill any gaps initially and then painted it with the interior colour. The main challenge is the gap at the rear of the canopy which will need a bit of attention. Once that's done then it's time to finish masking and paint the remainder of the upper surfaces. 

 

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A bit more cleaning up and some more paint on. I'll look to mask the rest of the underside later and start to get the upper works painted. 

 

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Somehow I managed to miss this build.  I have this same kit in my stash and am considering a Malta (possibly 105 Sqn) build - I wasn't aware of the issues you've encountered with your build, so thanks for the heads-up.

 

Your build is looking great and I shall enjoy seeing the finished result.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/28/2021 at 11:03 PM, AdrianMF said:

Looking good. I like your choice of paints for the dish and EDSG, nice contrast between them.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thank you Adrian, kind words. They are Xtracrylix thinned with Flow Improver and brushed on in thin coats. I've used them for a while and find them usually quite decent to use. 

 

I've been proceeding bit by bit on the painting and keep finding annoying little seams to fill. Maybe I'm becoming more demanding, so it's probably a good thing. Doing something about them, not having them. First overall coats. 

 

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Then the masking off. I've taken to brushing a line of Kleer along the tape after pressing it down and it does seem to reduce the number of places where paint bleed through. Takes a little extra time but probably saves on that painstaking effort to sort them out. Also added on the fuel dump pipes and the air intakes under the cowlings. They'll need a coat of Sky

 

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And now most of the transfers on. Just a couple of stencils. Getting close to adding the matt varnish coat, but I'll wait till the undercarriage is fixed on I think. 

 

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Undercarriage on, a bit fiddly getting it into place but quite strong once the glue dried. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wheels on, Townsend rings fixed on, turret masked, affixed and painted, and some matt varnish on. 

 

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The props are painted and ready to go on but I thought I'd remove the masking first in case they got in the way. Getting close to finish which is just as well as I have a mega busy week next week with little time to sit down and model. 

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On 9/26/2021 at 5:55 PM, jackroadkill said:

She's looking absolutely cracking - what a lovely job!

Thanks, the Blenheim was a lovely aeroplane and although it has its foibles the Airfix kit builds up nice. It also suits the Temperate Sea Scheme quite well too. 

 

The masks are off and the glazing looks not at all bad. It was a good move to leave the props off until the masks were removed as it was quite fiddly to remove them. 

 

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Apart from some irritating dust dust on the inside, which I've no idea where it came from. I can't remove it so I'll have to live with it.

 

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Now all the final sticky out bits added along with the props. Some particularly the propeller bosses and the klaxon took a fair amount of time. And I nearly lost the klaxon to the carpet monster after it flew off into the air from the forceps. 

 

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I'll leave everything to firm up before painting. There's a couple of butt joins so a bit of time will be a good thing. 

 

 

 

 

 

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