1/72nd Valom Bristol Buckmaster T.1, 45 Sqn, Tengah, Op Firedog, 1950.

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                 Another one of my 45 Sqn Op Firedog builds,.... this is the 1/72nd Valom Bristol Buckmaster T,1,...... representing RP198 which was used to help convert 45 Sqn from the Beaufighter to the Brigand and then retained as a continuaton trainer. Like the Brigand, the Buckmaster is a brute of an aeroplane and like the Valom Brigand,.... this one needed some alterations to the engine cowlings too in order to better represent the rel thing!

Here is the WIP;

The Brigand was indeed a brute of an aeroplane, as this photo depicts;

And here is RP198 soon after arrival at Tengah, before it adopted the OB-Z codes with 45 Sqn;

 

An here is the model;

 

Here are the Buckmaster and Brigand that I have been building alongside ech other,..... both wearing 45 Sqn markings;

Here they are with the 45 Sqn Beaufighter and Hornet for comparison;

 

And here is my 45 Sqn collection so far,..... Mosquito, Beaufighters, Brigand, Buckmaster and Hornet;

 

Sorry for so many photos,.... hope you stuck with it!! 

Cheers

          Tony

 

[Head in the clouds.]

You were not wrong, next to the Beau it is massive. I like the scheme too, usually clean as a whistle but yours has some grime for added interest...nice build Tony. 

[tonyot]

34 minutes ago, Head in the clouds. said:

You were not wrong, next to the Beau it is massive. I like the scheme too, usually clean as a whistle but yours has some grime for added interest...nice build Tony. 

Thanks mate,.... yes it was a brute,.... and those engines kicked out some muck for sure,....... this was a hard working aircraft out in the Far East on a fully operational airfield,...... no time for cleaning. Pics of the real thing wearing its codes show it to be a tad mucky!

[AliGauld]

Yet another cracker Tony.

Very classy work.

Colour me impressed yet again.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[tonyot]

3 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Yet another cracker Tony.

Very classy work.

Colour me impressed yet again.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair,..... very kind mate and well done with your new Lizzie!

[AliGauld]

Just now, tonyot said:

Thanks Alistair,..... very kind mate and well done with your new Lizzie!

Thanks Tony,

Very kind of you.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[2996 Victor]

Superb as always, Tony! And a fantastic collection of 45 Sqn aircraft. The Buckmaster certainly has Beau' lines about it, but the size difference is staggering! Great work

 

Cheers,

Mark

[tonyot]

22 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Superb as always, Tony! And a fantastic collection of 45 Sqn aircraft. The Buckmaster certainly has Beau' lines about it, but the size difference is staggering! Great work

 

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark,..... this 45 Sqn thing is starting to get out of hand,.... I`m looking at a Blenheim and Vampire next!! Yes the Buckmaster and Brigand are monsters aren`t they?

[2996 Victor]

36 minutes ago, tonyot said:

Thanks Mark,..... this 45 Sqn thing is starting to get out of hand,.... I`m looking at a Blenheim and Vampire next!! Yes the Buckmaster and Brigand are monsters aren`t they?

They're certainly that! I think the Brigand had a bit of a reputation, didn't it? What scheme will the Blenheim be in?

 

I'm guessing the Mossie is late-WW2? It looks very special in the SEAC camouflage and markings - may I ask which kit it is?

 

Cheers,

Mark

[tonyot]

1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said:

They're certainly that! I think the Brigand had a bit of a reputation, didn't it? What scheme will the Blenheim be in?

 

I'm guessing the Mossie is late-WW2? It looks very special in the SEAC camouflage and markings - may I ask which kit it is?

 

Cheers,

Mark

Hiya Mark,.... the Blenheim might be a Mk.I in the pre war temporary tan and brown desert scheme,..... using Light Stone which is lighter than the later Mid Stone. 

 

Yes the Brigand had a reputation amongst crews and it was because 45 Sqn had a phase of wings folding up in flight and main spars being over strained, while 84 Sqn had a lot of propeller failures in flight. 

 

The Mosie is a Hasegawa kit if I remember right,...... I did it with Azure Blue undersides but I wish that I had done Medium Sea Grey undersides now as looking back, they were more likely. Quite a few had the DE/DG camo in SEAC from 1943-44,.... before they were re finished silver due to the glue failures.

 

Cheers

          Tony

[2996 Victor]

Thanks, Tony!

 

The Blenheim scheme sounds unusual and very interesting - I'll keep an eye out for the WiP!

 

I'm not sure I'd have wanted to fly a Brigand, strange though that the two squadrons had such differing issues with them.

 

Thanks also for the extra info on the Mossie. I knew they were subject to problems in that theatre, but didn't know what. I think I'm right in saying that some ex-Beaufighter units re-equipped with Mossies, and then went back to Beaus?

 

I've fancied an SEAC Mossie since reading HE Bates' The Purple Plain, and of course seeing the movie with Gregory Peck.

 

Thanks again and kind regards,

Mark

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Wow!  This is a beautiful job, Tony, though I would hardly characterize the type as beautiful!  I'm impressed with so much of this, including your diligent and very realistic finish, and the home-made tread pattern on the main wheels.  I was afraid to try fashioning a tread pattern on my Valetta, so it probably won't meet spec.  BTW: it looks like #1 engine made contact with a small tropical bird, because some of the fan blades came off!  We'll put the crew chief and his tradesmen on that straight-away.

[tonyot]

53 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Wow!  This is a beautiful job, Tony, though I would hardly characterize the type as beautiful!  I'm impressed with so much of this, including your diligent and very realistic finish, and the home-made tread pattern on the main wheels.  I was afraid to try fashioning a tread pattern on my Valetta, so it probably won't meet spec.  BTW: it looks like #1 engine made contact with a small tropical bird, because some of the fan blades came off!  We'll put the crew chief and his tradesmen on that straight-away.

Cheers mate,.... yea I tried hiding that bird strike damage with a propeller blade,... there is another bird strike dent on the top of the cowling too,..... pesky things! Maybe I should add some blood trails? If it were in a dio I`d have a ladder up there! 

These kit were very hard work to be fair,..... I just wish that there was a resin engine set available,..... then I`d crack on with the other two!

[bigbadbadge]

Great job Tony, looks absolutely lovely, an impressive looking machine and I can't believe how small the Beaufighters look next to it and the Brigand.  Talking of impressive,  the 45 Sqdn collection looks splendid fella.

Chris

[tonyot]

23 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great job Tony, looks absolutely lovely, an impressive looking machine and I can't believe how small the Beaufighters look next to it and the Brigand.  Talking of impressive,  the 45 Sqdn collection looks splendid fella.

Chris

Thanks Chris,.... glad you like the model and th collection bud. 

[Navy Bird]

What a great collection! And more to come - super work Tony. By the way, how many models do you produce each day?    

 

Cheers,

Bill

[RMCS]

Outstanding work 

[tonyot]

19 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

What a great collection! And more to come - super work Tony. By the way, how many models do you produce each day?    

 

Cheers,

Bill

LOL,.... Thanks Bill,..... I`ve got quite a few on the go at the same time and they just seem to pop up quite often,...... especially if I flog the elves when they start slacking!! 

 

3 minutes ago, RMCS said:

Outstanding work 

Thanks mate,.... very kind. 

[Antti_K]

What a lovely collection Tony! They look really great.

 

My former boss started his "operational" career at Tengah with 45 Squadron flying Beaufighters. Ron would have loved these models. Sadly he passed away back in 2007...

 

Cheers,

Antti

[tonyot]

18 minutes ago, Antti_K said:

What a lovely collection Tony! They look really great.

 

My former boss started his "operational" career at Tengah with 45 Squadron flying Beaufighters. Ron would have loved these models. Sadly he passed away back in 2007...

 

Cheers,

Antti

Thanks Antti,..... glad you like them and sorry Ron didn`t get to see them,...... massive respect. RIP.

[TheOxley]

Totally smashing job on a not often seen kit!👍🏻👍🏻

[binbrook87]

Fabulous build as always Tony. The two 'Big Bs' makes the Hornet almost appear in a different scale altogether! Great collection with all the 45 sqn machines together.

Keep em coming......

All the best.

Graham

[Dunny]

Tony,

 

Beautiful finish - I'd echo @2996 Victor Mark's comments about the lineage to the Beaufighter. You've certainly developed a very impressive Firedog collection,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, TheOxley said:

Totally smashing job on a not often seen kit!👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks mate,..... yeah quite a rare one,.... I have a Magna Resin kit too and might finish it in camouflage?

 

1 hour ago, binbrook87 said:

Fabulous build as always Tony. The two 'Big Bs' makes the Hornet almost appear in a different scale altogether! Great collection with all the 45 sqn machines together.

Keep em coming......

All the best.

Graham

Thanks Graham that is very kind of you. Yeah they are huge aren`t they....... they must have been impressive to see flying with those huge Centaurus engines,  

 

19 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Tony,

 

Beautiful finish - I'd echo @2996 Victor Mark's comments about the lineage to the Beaufighter. You've certainly developed a very impressive Firedog collection,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thnks Roger,....  you can see the lineage from the Blenheim, through Beaufort to the big B`s,..... I might just line some models up and see how they look together? Glad you like the Firedog models,,,,,  quite some way to go as there were so many types used,.... I have  Venom part built but I`d love to add an Aussie Lincoln to sit next to my RAF one.

 

Thanks Fella`s

                    Tony

[kapam]

A totally excellent build!

The metallic finish and subtle griminess really look the part.

👍👍

I know nothing about the type but it "looks" very balanced and airworthy, by my superficial assessment. 🤔