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A few too many Bristols


Tweener

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A confession - I love the Bristol Blenheim. To that end I've compiled a number of books, PDFs, and photos, and now I'm starting into the decal collection I've compiled in the last few months.

By collection, I mean this, and this isn't even all of it - 
 

Blenheim

 

The partial sheet is an AML set which I used parts of for Finnish AF BL-117 - to be posted here soon.
 

So far I've completed BL-117 and the previously posted MK. 1f YX*N, and at least 5 more will follow these, if not several more. Currently I'm working on a PDU Blenheim in blue, as was recently discussed. I'm not convinced of the color, but frankly, I like the idea (and look) of a blue Blenheim. Next will likely be a Bolingbroke, though which type I can't yet say. If I can find interior pics of a IVT, I may go with that, but if not I'm leaning towards a IVW if I can source engines and cowls. After that will be YB*N, a MK. 1 with black/white undersides. Yugoslav, Romanian, and Japanese Blenheims round out the list of one's I'm most interested in making at the moment, pending further research into Coastal Command a/c and MK. Vs in SE Asia. An Indian Air Force V may result from that given I already have the MPM kit on hand. 

 

Photos of the PDU machine to follow once some paint dries.
Wish me luck in the ward...
Tweener

 

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The PDU Blenheim, as promised:

 

Bluenheim

 

 

Painting the blue has been surprisingly easy - I started with 2 coats of AK PRU Blue, but felt this was too dark, so switched back to the Vallejo Faded PRU Blue. Good news is that I can use the AK paint for a SEAC Mitchell at some point in the future, should I ever decide on a final paint scheme or find the shelf space for it.

The next steps for the Blenheim are adjusting the Eduard seatbelts, painting something of a map on the navigators table with a 20/0 brush, finishing the exhaust rings and crankshaft mount painting, and attaching the first parts of the canopy. All of that (other than the belts) has to wait until I finish some sanding around the bomb bay doors, which should happen tomorrow.

Best,
Tweener

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For the map, do you have any other Airfix bomber kits that have a map decal, like a Whitley or Lancaster? If so, you could photocopy the decal sheet then cut out the map.

 

Also, DO Not follow Airfix's painting instructions for the engine gear casings. They should be painted Humbrol 85 Semi-gloss Black, The three struts can be painted 56, but not the central casing.

 

 

 

 

Chris

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On 9/11/2022 at 1:27 PM, dogsbody said:

For the map, do you have any other Airfix bomber kits that have a map decal, like a Whitley or Lancaster? If so, you could photocopy the decal sheet then cut out the map.

 

Also, DO Not follow Airfix's painting instructions for the engine gear casings. They should be painted Humbrol 85 Semi-gloss Black, The three struts can be painted 56, but not the central casing.

 

 

 

 

Chris

I have the Whitley, but no means of copying the map. I may just take that one and trim it to fit in the Blenheim. As for the crankcases - thanks for the reminder. I'd been painting them Neutral Grey. 

 

On 9/11/2022 at 4:00 AM, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Tweener

Nice idea for a collection of Blenheims, lovely.   

Crikey painting the map, that will be amazing too. I do love the idea of a blue  Blenheim too.  I will be doing a PRU blue Hudson at some point.

Great start 

Chris

 

I keep finding more and more different schemes, it gets challenging to actually decide which one will come next but the Blue one seemed like a must-have so I set right into it. I've seen a few references to the blue Hudson but the actual color seemed inconclusive - if you find anything interesting I'd be very curious to see it as well seeing as Special Hobby is (supposedly) remaking their Hudson for next year.

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Not much progress on the PDU Blue Blenheim in the last few days, other than small touch ups to interior paintwork and the fitting of some of the canopy. No photos of that, but I do have pics of something that should be more interesting. The other night I got curious about my MPM Blenheim V, and started messing with some parts. I realized that it wasn't a bad kit, but that it wasn't one I thought I'd be happy with building. With that in mind, I decided to take the relevant parts that make a Mark V and splice them onto an Airfix Mark 1.

This started with the turret base - note also the use of Blenheim exhaust gills in place of the PE ones Pavla provide for their Roc. That's back on the bench too!

 

Bisley

 

Before long, I had this -

 

Bisley

 

The modification isn't terribly difficult so I haven't taken any other pics, but I will once I make progress on scratching some of the interior. I think I'm gonna end up making the Bisley prototype with the 4-gun nose but if I don't have any luck with that I can always go with a Mark V, in which case I'll go with Portuguese markings.

More soon,

Tweener

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  • 2 weeks later...

After a few days away I ended up forming the Bisley nose - this went a lot easier than I was expecting. I used parts of a spare 1/48 500 Pound bomb and some plastic sheet to fill in where the clear parts had been on the Blenheim V, and I soon had a convincing Bisley nose.

I added a little bit of filler to round things off, and later some superglue for some of the small scratches. After primer, things looked good - and then something that I can only describe as deeply confusing started to happen. It appears as though the combination of filler (Tamiya Grey) and superglue, despite not initially reacting, caused a lot of melting on a few small parts of the nose, and I've been trying my best to correct that for 5 days. Somehow, the spots simply won't go away, and I'm not exactly sure what I'll try next.

 

Bisley Bisley

 

Despite how things may look, I assure you this isn't the PDU Blenheim!


I also sourced both of these fine works -

Profile


Sure. most of the info in them is found in the Bowyer and Warner Books, but they were $8 and I rather evidently enjoy the Blenheim.
Speaking of books, if anyone knows where I can get the Richard Franks book on the Blenheim, please do let me know. I'll pay *a lot.*

Thanks all,
Tweener

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back to it -

I've made modest progress on the Blenheims in the past few days. The Bisley nose continues to mysteriously shrink, but I have some surfacer 500 on the way that should help in the way of sorting things out, along with a few yellow paints. With any luck that'll come together pretty quick once things arrive.

More immediately, work has been slow on the PDU Blenheim because I keep finding small areas of paint to touch up and because the upper glazing is warped and I can't decide how I mean to fix it.

That leaves this one - 

Blenheim


I (foolishly) thought I was done with major painting when I took this pic, until I felt something seemed off about the left wing and realized I did actually miss a spot of Dark Green. That's since been added but will need another coat or two. In the meantime I'll paint the wheels, props, gear doors, and canopy. I'm still very much loving AK paints and I'm excited to build a Blenheim in FAA colors in the near future, pending the completion of a few others and the possible build of a Breguet 693 arriving tomorrow. 

This bird will be finished as B*YN, with type B roundels and a squadron flash decorating the fin for a chance of pace. Not the most interesting markings but the other option for this paint is one I can't document, so I'll have to come back to that one later.


That's all for the moment,
Thanks all - Tweener

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Though it's a bit late now, the inside of the exhaust collector ring should be the same colour as the outside. It was just a circular tube for gathering the exhaust gases.

 

41278776340_5c9c5128e3_c.jpg

 

46345661462_6bbf39bfe0_b.jpg

 

31457116917_fe7dd133b3_b.jpg

 

 

 

Chris

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On 10/11/2022 at 12:50 PM, dogsbody said:

Though it's a bit late now, the inside of the exhaust collector ring should be the same colour as the outside. It was just a circular tube for gathering the exhaust gases.

 

41278776340_5c9c5128e3_c.jpg

 

46345661462_6bbf39bfe0_b.jpg

 

31457116917_fe7dd133b3_b.jpg

 

 

 

Chris

Funny enough, I've gotten that right on each of the Airfix kits, but I've forgotten both times on the FROG kits... I'll have to write that one down.

 

On 10/11/2022 at 2:48 PM, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Tweener

Great to see the progress on the painted model, shame about the Bisley nose reaction. Hope it settles down  and allows further progress. 

Chris

Each time I think I've got it taken care of, I leave it for a day and discover the same exact sink marks in the same exact places. At this point I'm well beyond trying to figure out why and hoping the soon to arrive Surfacer 500 makes something of a difference...

As for the other Blenheims, YN*B today received most of it's decals - 2 of the remaining 4 will follow once I make some touchups to the paint. The other 2 go onto the canopy and will be among the last things I add. In the meantime I still need to sort out the props, wheels, doors, and tailwheel. With any luck those will all be installed tomorrow. For the moment, here's a late-night bench-top pic - 

Blenheim Decals

 

I have to admit, I rather fancy this one even if the markings are a little dull. The next one will have to be a little brighter. Perhaps a Yugo or Croat MK 1 or a South African MK IV with a 20mm Hispano?
I've only got all of the Xtradecal, SBS, DK and AML sheets, so I suppose I can't complain I don't have options. That said, I'm learning the hard way that there actually can be too much of a good thing.

More soon,
Tweener

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re Bisley nose.  I had a similar problem some years back when converting a Hasegawa Mig-17 to the day fighter.  There the cause was packing the nose with lead weights and using superglue to hold them in place.  You now just have to wait until the reaction has completely finished so I wouldn't expect a solution too soon.

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16 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

re Bisley nose.  I had a similar problem some years back when converting a Hasegawa Mig-17 to the day fighter.  There the cause was packing the nose with lead weights and using superglue to hold them in place.  You now just have to wait until the reaction has completely finished so I wouldn't expect a solution too soon.

I've gone and cut off the nose entirely, leveled things out with a plastic sheet, and aim to retry with a new cap in the morning.

 

12 hours ago, Blackcat2020 said:

One can never have too many Bristols!! 

Personally, I'd really love to see a Blenheim V in kit form. 

MPM did have a Mark V but that hasn't been produced for some time. I believe Classic Airframes also did the Mark V in 1/48. Ideally Airfix would have made one in either scale but given they declined to make a Mark IV in 1/48, I don't expect that to happen...

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What a project!

I am more a Beaufort man, but it is still Bristol.

I love what you are doing. Have fun.

 

JR

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On 10/15/2022 at 10:37 AM, jean said:

What a project!

I am more a Beaufort man, but it is still Bristol.

I love what you are doing. Have fun.

 

JR

I've considered the Beaufort a few times now and have a Beaufreighter in the stash, but for whichever reason can't bring myself to buy or build one. In time I'll be sure to get to it, being as I want to build a Buckingham and possibly a Brigand as well - it wouldn't make sense not to leave one member of the family out.

Not much in the way of progress yesterday or today - YN*B received the last few parts other than a gear door and the PDU Blenheim is now on it's legs, but elsewise I haven't had the motivation for paint touchups, adding flaps to the PDU, or finishing the turrets for each. Being as I go in for an unexpected op on Tuesday, I'll be out of commission until at least next Saturday. Hopefully I can get YN*B sealed before then.

More soon,
Tweener

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Hi Tweener,

 

I am pretty much in the same boat.

I love the F4U Corsair and the Beaufort, and yet I have never built one of them! I am sure a good shrink would be able to shed some light...

And I have both in the stash. Go figure.

I have stopped rushing my builds. If I can, I work on them, if I cannot I try not to stress. Not worth it.

Good luck with your surgery. Hopefully nothing serious.

 

Cheers.

 

JR

 

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On 10/17/2022 at 4:53 AM, jean said:

Hi Tweener,

 

I am pretty much in the same boat.

I love the F4U Corsair and the Beaufort, and yet I have never built one of them! I am sure a good shrink would be able to shed some light...

And I have both in the stash. Go figure.

I have stopped rushing my builds. If I can, I work on them, if I cannot I try not to stress. Not worth it.

Good luck with your surgery. Hopefully nothing serious.

 

Cheers.

 

JR

 

A similar case for me is the Breguet 693/695. I've just gotten and built most of the AZUR kit and I'd happily do 4-5 more if they were readily available. The Heller Kit simply doesn't cut it unfortunately, and I'm probably best sticking to one obsession, at least until I start writing a book I've been pondering on for a bit.

 

On 10/17/2022 at 5:08 AM, Blackcat2020 said:

Thanks for the info.

I'm not a 1/48 fan so, I would prefer the one true scale to go with my other 1/72 Blenheims. 

😉😊

I do Incidentally have the 1/48 Airfix Blenheim 1. My partner presented me with it as a birthday present. Bit on the pricey side for me but, lovely kit nonetheless. 

 

I'm not much a fan either, but at least one of the Blenheims will have to be made in time, as a centerpiece for the collection. In that sense at least, I'm grateful 1/32 kits don't exist!

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After some work tonight, YN*B will be finished tomorrow and headed to RFI on Saturday, assuming the sun comes out. 
 

Blenheim



Do please excuse the exceptionally poor late night photo.

More soon,
Tweener

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  • 1 month later...

I'm back to it -


Only a quick update tonight. The Blue PDU Blenheim is 95% painted and decals will be going on tomorrow, with any luck.
 

Blue Blenheim

 

As per usual with the Airfix kit, the engine Nacelles were a pain and don't look good. I should've used the 2 sets of SBS replacements I have... Oh well.

More soon,

Tweener

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