Blenheim Mk. I, 114(Hong Kong) Squadron, June, 1937

[Old Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bristol's Blenheim, for better or worse, ranks as an iconic aircraft of the Royal Air Force. It once was seen, and promoted, as the fastest and most modern expression of air power. This was before hostilities with Nazi Germany commenced.

 

Perhaps the true high point of the Blenheim's service career came shortly after its introduction to squadron service, at the Hendon air display of 1937, on the 26th of June, a Saturday. Here the Royal Air Force would show off its most modern aeroplanes, the first fruits of the program of expansion and re-equipment recently embarked on by the Air Ministry, before a crowd of tens of thousands who had paid sums ranging from a pound to a shilling for the spectacle. The program was planned to convey to the public the lesson that England's best defense was the bomber, able to wreak destruction directly on the foe.

 

114 (Hong Kong) Squadron, the first in the RAF to be equipped with the Blenheim, having received its first examples only in March, showed off the type's touted speed with a low level pass over the crowd by a vic of three. For this year's 'set-piece' performance, a 'Port Hendon' had been mocked up to be destroyed from the air. Blenheims of 114 Sqdn put in the first attack, outpacing the Gloster Gladiator fighters set to intercept them in defense of the port, though by script one was to fall out and dive away to represent a machine downed by anti-aircraft cannon. Heavier attacks followed on the port, most by other re-armament and expansion types such as the Whitley and Wellesley and Wellington.

 

This model represents a machine of 114 Sqdn at the Hendon display of '37, with its turret in the retracted position. K7040 was the eighth production Blenheim, and was delivered to the squadron late in March. In February of 1938, it was struck off squadron charge and became, along with several other early arrivals to the squadron, an instructional airframe at No. 1 School of Technical Training. It was scrapped in the summer of 1943. It is a vintage Frog 1/72 kit, with a few small touchings up to give a bit more verisimilitude to the thing. The lower rear corner of the port side glazing is not clipped but square (if short), and a turret of more or less proper diameter and cylindrical shape contrived (by turning the kit piece upside down and capping it with a round of 1mm clear sheet). Decals are from the XtraDecal sheet, with a small hyphen added. This, and the outboard placement of the number, was a feature of the first dozen or so Blenheims delivered.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Old Man

[stevehnz]

A lovely job on that, you've scrubbed the old Frog kit up very well.

Steve.

[RMCS]

Niiiice stuff 

[Wulfman]

Great build on the old Blenheim , I’ve got one in the stash and I’m inspired to do it !

 

Wulfman

[russ c]

Great job on the old kit, your improvements really make a difference

[Old Man]

22 hours ago, Wulfman said:

Great build on the old Blenheim , I’ve got one in the stash and I’m inspired to do it !

 

Wulfman

 

It's a fun kit to build, goes together very nicely. Can't speak to accuracy beyond the turret piece and that clipped lower rear corner of the glazing on the port side. I've read the decidedly conical shape of the turret piece owes to technical limitations, but I expect it could have been managed some other way. Airfix, I'm sure, has it more than beat for interior and such. If you do take yours up, I suspect it will prove best to glue the lower bit of glazing to the main piece, or put it in first. That's not how I did it, mind, but from problems I ran into putting the main piece in place first I don't recommend that.

 

22 hours ago, russ c said:

Great job on the old kit, your improvements really make a difference

 

 

I'm glad they catch your eye. I wanted to stick close as I could to an OOB standard. The corner of the glazing seems a widespread error, the Warpaint number on the Blenheim has it in its Mk. I drawings. The old Profile got it right.

 

Here's a look at the final turret piece (framing is some 1/64" striping tape):

 

 

The white bit you see is the 'touch-up' on the port glazings:

 

 

The glazing should actually go straight back to touch the wing root, but the mating arrangements rule this out without major efforts.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Old Man

[Bertie McBoatface]

Fine work!