1:48 Bristol Blenheim Mk.I - 211 Sqn, Menidi, Greece, 1941

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

My latest completion is Airfix lovely 1:48 Blenheim. Now I did build the Mk.IF boxing of this kit a few years ago, so I did know what to expect, which is a superb, vice-free kit. The build was mostly OOB, albeit with the addition of an Eduard mask set and harnesses. I did scratch build a Wimperis bomb sight, which is a rather curious omission given the quality of the rest of the kit. The subject I chose to model is one of the box schemes, L6670 of 211 Sqn RAF, based at Menidi, Greece in 1941. This aircraft was flown by the squadron's CO, Sqn Ldr JR Gordon-Finlayson (known as 'The Bish'). This aircraft was involved in several raids on Italian forces deep into Albania. Here's quite a nice link to 211 Squadron's history, including a mention of L6670:

 

http://www.211squadron.org/bristol_blenheim_i.html

 

This aircraft is relatively well photographed - here's a selection (all copyright IWM - images for discussion only and will be removed on request:

 

 

 

 

There is much speculation on the correct colour scheme - a pertinent link to the discussion here:

 

For what it's worth I chose to go with Light Earth and Dark Earth over a considerably lightened Azure Bule, which I felt was the most likely combination. Here's a link to the WIP if anybody is interested:

 

And so to the pictures. Here's a WIP shot showing that lovely cockpit detail:

 

 

You can see the bomb sight on the floor - it should be located further forward but the fuselage was buttoned up before I discovered this!

 

Here's the finished article:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a couple of shots along with a DAF Hurricane to show the variance from the later 'standard' Desert Scheme of Mid-Stone & Dark Earth over Azure Blue:

 

 

 

You can see that I've simulated a fading effect by adding a couple of drops of light grey to the flat coat on the Blenheim - I'm not displeased with the overall effect. Finally here's a shot with a Bristol stablemate, from the other side of the Mediterranean (the mighty 'Slippery Ship II'):

 

 

I think this shot shows just how far aircraft design evolved so quickly in the early years of the war. Thanks very much to all those who offered words of encouragement along the way - I'm quite pleased with the result, and it's nice to have this unusual scheme in the display cabinet!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Dunny
Added photo

[28ZComeback]

Beautiful, accurate finish and flawless build. Thank you for posting this. 

[Dunny]

28 minutes ago, 28ZComeback said:

Beautiful, accurate finish and flawless build. Thank you for posting this. 

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Lovely build sir it looks great. I have an old Frog Blenheim I that I want to do in this very scheme. Just need to get the decals from someone. 

[Dunny]

9 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Lovely build sir it looks great. I have an old Frog Blenheim I that I want to do in this very scheme. Just need to get the decals from someone. 

Thanks for the kind words Dennis - much appreciated! When I get the correct material I am quite happy to print out a set of masks for you - PM me if you are interested,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

53 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks for the kind words Dennis - much appreciated! When I get the correct material I am quite happy to print out a set of masks for you - PM me if you are interested,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

 

P/M inbound

[Grey Beema]

Great work Roger.  I like the dusty, faded effect and have used the same technique myself.

 

I also have Mrs GB looking for Cricut cutter bargains (Black Friday my a*&€#) as I regularly build aircraft with no known decal sheet.

[Dunny]

1 minute ago, Grey Beema said:

Great work Roger.  I like the dusty, faded effect and have used the same technique myself.

 

I also have Mrs GB looking for Cricut cutter bargains (Black Friday my a*&€#) as I regularly build aircraft with no known decal sheet.

Thanks very much GB - I suspect we shall never look back! 

[AliGauld]

A stunning build Roger,

A pleasure to see come together and plenty of techniques for me to try to improve my own builds.

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[woody37]

It's come out a treat, lovely paint job Dunny

[wellsprop]

Stunning! 

[Baldy]

That looks really very nice! Looks convincingly dusty and used and you have a great collection there of Mediterranean theatre aircraft. Lovely stuff!!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[Dunny]

6 hours ago, AliGauld said:

A stunning build Roger,

A pleasure to see come together and plenty of techniques for me to try to improve my own builds.

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks very much Alistair - I dare say we'll be learning more together with this cutter malarkey!

4 hours ago, woody37 said:

It's come out a treat, lovely paint job Dunny

Thanks for the kind words Neil

3 hours ago, wellsprop said:

Stunning! 

Thanks Ben - much appreciated

2 hours ago, Baldy said:

That looks really very nice! Looks convincingly dusty and used and you have a great collection there of Mediterranean theatre aircraft. Lovely stuff!!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

You are most kind Malcolm - thank you!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Maginot]

That looks terrific. Great paint.

[Dunny]

6 minutes ago, Maginot said:

That looks terrific. Great paint.

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated!

[Mark]

That is lovely! I do need to get one of these. The canopy framework is particularly good! Did you use pre-cut masks?

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, Mark said:

That is lovely! I do need to get one of these. The canopy framework is particularly good! Did you use pre-cut masks?

Thanks for the kind words Mark. Yes, I did use an Eduard mask set - as the cockpit is so visible both internal and external masks are provided. Good luck with your future build!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[mike c]

Can't see the pictures ☹️

[Dunny]

4 hours ago, mike c said:

Can't see the pictures ☹️

Sorry to hear that Mike - could be something setting related?

[KeithA]

A stunning build.
One which immediately makes you want to build the kit yourself!

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, KeithA said:

A stunning build.
One which immediately makes you want to build the kit yourself!

Thanks very much Keith! Go on, you know you want to...

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Excellent Dunny, you've excelled yourself again!

The cammo you selected looks pretty amazing. Thanks for adding the comparison shot with the Hurricane too. I found that very useful having made the same Airfix Hurricane recently. i used the AK Rea Colours for mine.

I'm liking and appreciating the RAF Desert colours the more i see it on models these days. 

A superb model from your workshop once again! 

Kind Regards, Andy

[georgeusa]

What a wonderful build.  I especially like the contrast in the different schemes shown by the Hurricane and later model Blenheim.  Together they make a superlative examples of the different schemes throughout the war.  I do like your fading of the camo on this build.  I will have to see your work in progress to discover how you built the bomb sight.  I am curious and will probably plagiarize it for my build of the same kit.  Thanks for sharing.

[Biggles87]

Another one I missed! I’ll go back and have a look.

 

John

[Dunny]

8 hours ago, Col Walter E Kurtz said:

Excellent Dunny, you've excelled yourself again!

The cammo you selected looks pretty amazing. Thanks for adding the comparison shot with the Hurricane too. I found that very useful having made the same Airfix Hurricane recently. i used the AK Rea Colours for mine.

I'm liking and appreciating the RAF Desert colours the more i see it on models these days. 

A superb model from your workshop once again! 

Kind Regards, Andy

Thanks for the kind words Andy - much appreciated. I also rather like the LE/DE combo - a little unusual...

5 hours ago, georgeusa said:

What a wonderful build.  I especially like the contrast in the different schemes shown by the Hurricane and later model Blenheim.  Together they make a superlative examples of the different schemes throughout the war.  I do like your fading of the camo on this build.  I will have to see your work in progress to discover how you built the bomb sight.  I am curious and will probably plagiarize it for my build of the same kit.  Thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much George - the bomb sight was nothing special, just some lengths of plastic & brass rod and a spare decal. There is also a resin aftermarket one available, which was kindly pointed out in my WIP. 

4 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Another one I missed! I’ll go back and have a look.

 

John

WIP link in original post John - enjoy!