1/72 Blenheim Mk.IV in Free French markings

Looks like a good one! New tool?

rocker286

I guess I can’t keep away from the workshop these days! Even with no room left for these kits at the moment, I just keep building them..........

Man, I WISH I had that problem! Great to know someone is immensely enjoying the hobby!

Gary Mason

Mike- yes sir it is indeed a new tooling! Quite an improvement over the old tooling so I hear!

Gary- It’s a darn good hobby, one that takes up a whole day in fact! And I’m not complaining! 

I spent the afternoon working on the Blenheim, as well as another kit. The wings sections of the Blenheim are currently being held together with numerous clamps while the glue dries. It’s coming along nicely! 

I've been hard at work on both of the models in my workshop. The Blenheim is coming along nicely. One interesting thing that I found out from one of my books pertained to Blenheim squadrons in North Africa and in the Middle East. Apparently, British and free French squadrons made it a habit to remove The bomb bay doors On their Blenheims. The reason for this is unclear, but there are several photographs confirming this. I'm thinking about leaving the doors off of my Blenheim as well, seeing as how it will be marked as one of the Free French planes operating in North Africa. Here are some progress shots!

The Finns removed the bomb doors from some of their Blenheims, too.

Chris

I build that kit earler in the year. The fuse is in two parts so Airfix can include both the Mk I and Mk IV noses in the box, I did not like the canopy assembly and the gap that's left afterward. I was able to adapt, improvise and overcome though. Other than that, I loved the kit.

Modelcrazy- yeah I wasn’t a fan of that canopy fit either !!

Happy new year, everyone! I was able to finish up my Blenheim on New Year’s Eve, and it looks fantastic. This was the first time that I have used an airbrush as well. And after a bit of practice, I was able to do a decent job on the camouflage pattern. The Dark Earth/Middlestone/Azure Blue were all Vallejo Model Air paints.  Other smaller sections were hand-painted with model master enamels or acrylics. I used testors  gloss before applying the decals, and weathered with craft acrylics. The model got a final coat of testors dull before it was complete.

I could not believe the difference an airbrush makes, this is a game changer for me! This Blenheim is done up in Free French markings and was stationed in North Africa in 1941. Another interesting tidbit that I found out while researching Blenheims in this theatre was the removal of bomb bay doors. British and Free French squadrons would often remove the bomb bay doors from their planes, though there is no definite reason why this was done. Regardless of the reason why, I opted to leave the bomb doors off of my Blenheim for authenticity. Overall I had a blast with this kit, my only gripes were - like Modelcrazy said- the tricky fit of the cockpit on the fuselage, and having to alter the fin flash decal to get it to fit onto the rudder. Otherwise, I loved it. Hope you all have a great rest of your week in this new decade!

Very nicely done!!!

That free French livery is really nice! 

Nice.  Interesting subject.  That's not a scheme I've seen before.  

Thanks for the kind words everyone!