1/72nd Airfix Blenheim Mk.I, 45 Sqn, Middle East, early 1940 wearing temporary desert finish.

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,..... well the 45 Sqn theme continues with another Bristol twin,..... this time a Blenheim Mk.I from early 1940 before Italy entered the war in the Middle East, wearing a short lived temporary desert finish comprising of a temporary covering of Light Stone over the Dark Green areas of the standard Temperate Land Scheme. It is thought that the codes `might' have been applied in opposite camouflage colours and the squadron history claims as much,..... though grey and red cannot be ruled out. 

Here are some photos from my own collection depicting Blenheims wearing this scheme including the subject of the model;

 Here is the subject of the model;

Note the dark ring round the roundel where the original yellow has been overpainted while the aircraft was wearing its original Temp. Land Scheme and the fact that the codes encroach upon this. The rudder serial is also painted out too,..... both requirements brought in during 1939,.... although some retained the serial into the early war.   

 

Here is the WIP;

 

And here is the model,..... mostly brush painted, but the Light Stone was applied by rattle can using Tamiya Light Sand. The codes were brush painted and I tried to make them look temporary and roughly applied;

 

 

I have a 45 Sqn Wellesley in the same scheme almost finished too,..... just being held up by a canopy issue,

Cheers,

             Tony

Edited August 15, 2021 by tonyot

[binbrook87]

Very unusual camouflage there Tony.. beautifully modelled and painted. I really like non standard schemes like this and you've done a fine job.  Always good to learn about new subject matter... one of the great things about this hobby 👍

[tonyot]

1 minute ago, binbrook87 said:

Very unusual camouflage there Tony.. beautifully modelled and painted. I really like non standard schemes like this and you've done a fine job.  Always good to learn about new subject matter... one of the great things about this hobby 👍

Cheers mate,.... I do like researching these lesser known schemes. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Nice one Tony. 

[28ZComeback]

This is brilliant! The light stone has the look that I envisioned when I saw the Squadron 45 photos over the years. By coincidence I was researching Blenheim fighters of Squadron 30 and their scheme in Crete. Not sure what the color scheme was there. Perhaps mid stone by May, 1941? Would love to know your opinion. 

Edited August 15, 2021 by 28ZComeback

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Bertie Psmith said:

Nice one Tony. 

Thanks Bertie,

 

35 minutes ago, 28ZComeback said:

This is brilliant! The light stone has the look that I envisioned when I saw the Squadron 45 photos over the years. By coincidence I was researching Blenheim fighters of Squadron 30 and their scheme in Crete. Not sure what the color scheme was there. Perhaps mid stone by May, 1941? Would love to know your opinion. 

Thanks mate,...... yes by 1941 Mid Stone was being used,.... here is a WIP of a 30 Sqn Blenheim that I`ve built if it helps;

 

[Jeff G]

Really makes you wish they would've stuck with these colours, a beautiful Blenheim. Good work on the codes!

[StarWarsModeler]

Wonderful weathering job. I'm looking forward to the next entry into the 45 Sqn theme.

[Ed Russell]

Very nice job. Good research on something unusual.

[kapam]

Beautifully done!

The high contrasts (evident in your B&W pics) have been accomplished exceedingly well.

A lovely build!

[Dunny]

Lovely work Tony - the overpainted roundels look great!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Looks fantastic Tony,  I like the ares of green showing through as wear and around the markings,  a nice and unusual scheme. Great work. 

Chris

[russ c]

Excellent Blenheim there Tony, love the scheme you chose

[Old Man]

Tried to make the codes look roughly applied, hey? Well you failed, they look like crisp new decals....

 

Seriously, great work, Tony. That's a lovely little beast, and a fascinating scheme.

 

You did a wonderful job of brush-painting those code letters.

[2996 Victor]

Superb finish, Tony, the early temporary desert scheme looks excellent!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[28ZComeback]

Not to belabor the point, but I love it when authentic color schemes are preserved by way of thoughtful research and interpretation through plastic models. We go from toy kit enthusiasts to historians, and some future historians may thank us. 

[tonyot]

14 hours ago, Jeff G said:

Really makes you wish they would've stuck with these colours, a beautiful Blenheim. Good work on the codes!

Thanks Jeff,...... yeah it is a nice scheme,........ they re introduced it onto RAF Transports like the Beverley, Argosy, Andover and Hercules in the 1960`s. 

 

14 hours ago, StarWarsModeler said:

Wonderful weathering job. I'm looking forward to the next entry into the 45 Sqn theme.

Thanks mate,..... yeah the Wellesley shouldn`t be too long,..... then I have a couple of Vampire`s planned and maybe a Hunter and a Jetstream?

 

12 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

Very nice job. Good research on something unusual.

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

 

12 hours ago, kapam said:

Beautifully done!

The high contrasts (evident in your B&W pics) have been accomplished exceedingly well.

A lovely build!

Cheers mate,.... thats very kind of you. 

 

5 hours ago, Dunny said:

Lovely work Tony - the overpainted roundels look great!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger,.... well done for noticing them! I didn`t see them on the reference pics for ages,... but it would be rude to leave them off.

 

4 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Looks fantastic Tony,  I like the ares of green showing through as wear and around the markings,  a nice and unusual scheme. Great work. 

Chris

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

 

2 hours ago, russ c said:

Excellent Blenheim there Tony, love the scheme you chose

Thanks Russ,.... like you,.... I do like the more off beat subjects! 

 

1 hour ago, Old Man said:

Tried to make the codes look roughly applied, hey? Well you failed, they look like crisp new decals....

 

Seriously, great work, Tony. That's a lovely little beast, and a fascinating scheme.

 

You did a wonderful job of brush-painting those code letters.

LOL,.... Thanks Old Man,..... glad you like it mate. When you post these photos at twice the scale they do tend to show up every blemish and off brush stroke!! 

 

1 hour ago, 2996 Victor said:

Superb finish, Tony, the early temporary desert scheme looks excellent!

 

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark,.... glad you like this little known scheme,...... it made a resurgence in the 60`s on RAF Transports too.

[tonyot]

5 minutes ago, 28ZComeback said:

Not to belabor the point, but I love it when authentic color schemes are preserved by way of thoughtful research and interpretation through plastic models. We go from toy kit enthusiasts to historians, and some future historians may thank us. 

Thanks mate,..... yeah I like to think that some of our research is preserving history and I`ve written some magazine articles over the years regarding schemes that appear to have been forgotten or mis interpreted over the years..... like the scheme applied to some Vampires, Meteors and Hornets which also appeared on early Canberra`s,..... of PRU Blue with Light Slate Grey and Medium Sea Grey on the upper surfaces. 

[StarWarsModeler]

On 8/16/2021 at 9:36 AM, tonyot said:

On 8/15/2021 at 6:50 PM, StarWarsModeler said:

Can't wait to see how you do the Vampire's.

Thanks mate,..... yeah the Wellesley shouldn`t be too long,..... then I have a couple of Vampire`s planned and maybe a Hunter and a Jetstream?