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

[bluesteel]

Oi Julian,

How can you (and it seems everyone else in this GB) build so quickly! You're much further ahead with your 3 than I am on my 1!

regards,

Ah but mine are just flung together out of the box production line style. Where as yours looks like it's turning out to be a mini-masterpiece

[Justin1980]

Dont worry Martin I am not of the speedy club! I prefer a more leisurely pace too!

Awesome Julian ships beware the strike group

Justin

[bluesteel]

Engines now all on the Squadron and the first coat of grey. I've decided to go for grey/green camo, although if they were delivered from Fighter Command they might have been in brown/green and could theoretically have gone on Ops before changing to the CC scheme. At least that's my theory. But I'm going for convention now:

[bluesteel]

Top camo on today. Undersides next.

[Dirkpitt289]

Nice progress on the squadron. Looking good

[kruaxi]

What a factory ! Seem good so far.

[Desert_fox]

Good grief, slow down or you'll put us all to shame! Well, me at least
Looking good though. Are you doing these on a production line type arrangement, ie doing all the wings at once or painting a few steps ahead on one aircraft before moving onto the next? I ask because whatever you are doing certainly seems to be working like a charm.

[bluesteel]

Good grief, slow down or you'll put us all to shame! Well, me at least
Looking good though. Are you doing these on a production line type arrangement, ie doing all the wings at once or painting a few steps ahead on one aircraft before moving onto the next? I ask because whatever you are doing certainly seems to be working like a charm.

Yes, very much a production line. I had some experience of it when I built 3 Ansons simultaneously last year. I could build more at a time, but it's limited to 3 Blenheim sized aircraft by the size of my cutting mat and table.

[bluesteel]

They've gone belly up now




The one snag I've found with the Airfix Blenheim is the wheel attachment is not very good, the fork prongs aren't long enough to hold the wheel properly, and in in the up position half of them fell into the engine nacelle! After fishing them out with tweezers, I've superglued them in place now, so hopefully they will stay put this time

[PaulBradley]

Awww - tickle, tickle, tickle.......

[novokits]

What a factory ! Seem good so far.

+500! good working process here!

[Dirkpitt289]

Greazt work, these are going to look sharp as heck in flight together

[bluesteel]

Presumably, you'll apply weathering differently on each to further individualise them?

I've masked varied top camo patterns to individualise them. I'll put on some weathering but it should be roughly in the same places on the same aircraft type, so although some minor variation it won't be that great. But I am going to have to work out how to do the light grey Squadron codes when I print two sets of the decals, never an easy job...

[bluesteel]

Touching up around the nose and canopy joins done today. Not as good as I'd really like, but any more work on it and I risk damaging the canopies, so it'll have to do. The engine cowlings have been painted and the canopy framing will be next:

[bluesteel]

The first of the Blenheims got the tape canopy framing treatment tonight, it takes a while, but it seems to be the only way I can get a decent straight canopy frame without the possibility of seepage from conventional masking:





The turret is next. I've also got to sort out the inside of the cowlings too.