Bluesteel's Blehneim Strike Force - Airfix 1/72 **FINISHED**

[bluesteel]

Name: Julian
Screen Name: Bluesteel
Model: Bristol Blenheim Mk IV x3
Scale: 1/72nd
Manufacturer: Airfix
Aftermarket addons: None

I'm going to attempt to build three Blenheims from the same Squadron (either 254 or 235) out on an anti-shipping strike in early 1940.

Gun pack Blenheims were borrowed by Coastal Command from RAF Fighter Command in early 1940 mainly to act as a stop gap before the introduction of the Beaufort. These often carried small bombs on an external rack just behind the gun pack. In practice these small bombs were found to be virtually useless, often jut bouncing off the decks of German shipping.

I'm just having a look at the sprues prior to the August start to make sure all is OK. There's one older moulding in blue plastic that seems very clean and a good fit. But the two more recent moulds are not so great as far as flash and fit are concerned. The top Blenheim is the worst and the fuselage fit is very bad. I remember I rejected this one a while ago when selecting a Blenheim for the Blenheim GB. But I'll have to have a go at it now.

[Martin R]

Julian,

Aft of the wing on the L fuselage half of all 3: are those steps? I thought they were sink marks to start with . . .

regards,

[bluesteel]

Julian,

Aft of the wing on the L fuselage half of all 3: are those steps? I thought they were sink marks to start with . . .

regards,

Yes, there are four steps on the port side of the fuselage to allow access to the turret, presumably for maintenance of the guns and cleaning of the glass. Also there's an access hatch in front of the turret, where the gunner would get out if the Blenheim had to make a belly landing, and possibly to bail out. It's possible that the turret gunner climbed aboard that way too, as I have seen a few photos of gunners getting in an out of the hatch on the ground.

[Dirkpitt289]

Nice choice. The Airfix kits are a beast but they can still look good with some effort. I look forward to seeing how they come out.

[bluesteel]

The Blenheim production line has begun. Not sure how much extra detailing I'll be doing, with three on the go it'll probably be mostly OOB.

Main cockpit floor and accessories cleaned and primed and legless pilots primed in RAF blue. Some work was necessary on the injector marks in the fuselage sides too:

[Dirkpitt289]

Ah, brings back memories of our group build last year on the old forum.

[MerlinJones]

Agreed...and at least Julian now knows how to build one!

Regards,
Bruce

[bluesteel]

I wasn't sure how much extra cockpit detail I should put in, given I'm building 3 this time rather than one. SO I thought I'd have a close look at the cockpit for the super interior detailed Blenheim IV I made last year for the Blenheim GB and anything I could make out I'd put in.



If you ignore the awful canopy frame painting (it was after this I started using painted tape) and the dust flecks that only show up in the camera flash, the only extra detail I could see through the distorting plastic canopy was the map on the front table! I even used a magnifying lamp and still couldn't make out any of the detail I know I put in there. So just the map it's going to be.

Painted the cockpit parts interior green and worked on the crew again:

[IrishAir]

Good work so far Julian,

Cheers,
Paul

[Dirkpitt289]

What the heck, you ain't done yet Julian? What's taking so long?

[bluesteel]

Crew painted and installed. Now working on the turrets, and the transparencies are receiving the Klear treatment. I must remember to drill out the flare chutes before closing the fuselages:

[bluesteel]

What the heck, you ain't done yet Julian? What's taking so long?

I have a day off on Friday, so perhaps I'll get them all finished then

[Martin R]

What the heck, you ain't done yet Julian? What's taking so long?

I have a day off on Friday, so perhaps I'll get them all finished then

Julian,

If you're trying to keep busy over the whole build period, why don't you give them all a geodetic interior?

regards,

[bluesteel]

Julian,

If you're trying to keep busy over the whole build period, why don't you give them all a geodetic interior?

regards,

Oh don't remind me or I'll start the whimper.... I've had enough of scratch-built full geodetic interiors for a lifetime!

[Martin R]

Oh don't remind me or I'll start the whimper.... I've had enough of scratch-built full geodetic interiors for a lifetime!

Sorry, couldn't resist!