Airfix 1/72 Bristol Blenheim Mk IV

[ManCupboardModels]

Greetings all. My entry, the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV, is part of the Airfix Victoria Cross Icons 4 kit gift set:





The reverse of the box:



Instructions:





Sprue shot:



Even though the kit seems fairly simple with few steps, its not the greatest. Quite a bit of flash and some of the parts seem welded to the sprue! Some care to be taken me thinks!

I'll be building this straight out the box, no fancy extra's, and all painted with the hairy stick.

Looking forward to seeing everybodys builds come together. Have fun!

[ManCupboardModels]

Specifications of the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV

General characteristics

Crew: three
Length: 42 ft 7 in (12.98 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)
Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m)
Wing area: 469 ft² (43.6 m²)
Empty weight: 9,790 lb (4,450 kg)
Loaded weight: 14,400 lb (6,545 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Mercury XV radial engine, 920 hp (690 kW) each
Propellers: Three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller
Performance

Maximum speed: 266 mph (231 kn, 428 km/h at 11,800 ft (3,597 m))
Cruise speed: 198 mph (172.25 kn, 319 km/h)
Range: 1,460 mi (1,270 nmi, 2,351 km)
Service ceiling: 27,260 ft (8,310 m)
Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min[citation needed] (7.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 30.7 lb/ft² (150 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (.21 kW/kg)

Armament


Guns:

1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in port wing
1 or 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns in rear-firing under-nose blister or Nash & Thomson FN.54 turret
2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns in dorsal turret

Bombs:

1200 lb (540 kg)
4 × 250 lb (113 kg) bombs or
2 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs internally and 8× 40 lb (18 kg) bombs externally

[ManCupboardModels]

A little Operational History:

On the day that war was declared on Germany, a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast and the following morning 15 Blenheims from three squadrons set off on one of the first bombing missions. With the rapid advances in technology which had taken place in the late 1930s, by then the aircraft was already obsolescent. The Blenheim was regarded as a pleasant aircraft to fly, although it did have some characteristics which could catch even experienced pilots by surprise. It had become heavier as extra service equipment was installed; much of this was found to be needed through operational experience. This, coupled with the rapid performance increases of fighters, had eclipsed the Blenheim's speed advantage.

The light armament of one .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers VGO in the turret and one .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the port wing was seldom able to deter fighter opposition. Squadrons were forced to use several different improvisations in an attempt to provide better defensive armament, until officially sanctioned modifications were able to be introduced in early 1940. The Blenheim also proved to be vulnerable to flak, especially around the rear fuselage. Flexible, self-sealing liners had been fitted to the fuel tanks but they were still not fully protected against the 20 mm MG FF cannon carried by the Luftwaffe's Bf 109s and Bf 110s.

After France fell to Germany in June 1940, the Free French Air Force was formed at RAF Odiham in the form of Groupe Mixte de Combat (GMC) 1, consisting of a mixed bag of Blenheims and Westland Lysander liaison/observation aircraft, which eventually went to North Africa and saw action against the Italians and Germans.

[Jamesday1998]

I have built this kit before out of this same set and I found out the fit wasn't the best! Good look!

[T3hGuppy]

Nice choice of subject dude.

This one will be a challenge.

[ManCupboardModels]

Cheers fellas. I'll do my best

[ManCupboardModels]

A couple of pics showing how bad the flash is. Not just on this kit, but on all kits included in this set:





And the problem of removing the fuselage when its attached to a plastic tree trunk!





But soldier on we must.....

[ManCupboardModels]

The very basic cockpit assembly, with pilot, and painted:







The simple Instrument Panel decal added....

[ManCupboardModels]

The Bristol Blenheim in The Battle of Britain

The Blenheim units operated throughout the battle of Britain, often taking heavy casualties, although they were never accorded the publicity of the fighter squadrons.

The Blenheim units raided German occupied airfields throughout July to December 1940, both during daylight hours and at night. Although most of these raids were unproductive, there were some successes; on 1 August five out of 12 Blenheims sent to attack Haamstede and Evere (Brussels) were able to bomb, destroying or heavily damaging three Bf 109s of II./JG 27 and apparently killing a Staffelkapitän identified as Hauptmann Albrecht von Ankum-Frank. Two other 109s were claimed by Blenheim gunners.

Another successful raid on Haamstede was made by a single Blenheim on 7 August which destroyed one 109 of 4./JG 54, heavily damaged another and caused lighter damage to four more.

There were also some missions which produced an almost 100% casualty rate amongst the Blenheims; one such operation was mounted on 13 August 1940 against a Luftwaffe airfield near Aalborg in north-eastern Denmark by 12 aircraft of 82 Squadron. One Blenheim returned early (the pilot was later charged and due to appear before a court martial but was killed on another operation), the other 11, which reached Denmark, were shot down, five by flak and six by Bf 109s.

Blenheim-equipped units had been formed to carry out long-range strategic reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-occupied territories, as well as bombing operations. In this role, the Blenheims once again proved to be too slow and vulnerable against Luftwaffe fighters and they took constant casualties.

[Russ72]

This'll look great finished up.

[ManCupboardModels]

The assembly, and painting, of the Power Operated Dorsal Turret:



This fitted together quite nicely.......but.....



The canopy was a bit of an iffy fit....




On the actual aircraft, the turret could be partially retracted in flight to reduce aerodynamic drag.




Also painted up the third crew member, so all ready to crack on!



Thats all for now folks!

[DC87]

Nice little turret Karl, I didn't know it could partially retract British engineering - going the extra mile

[ManCupboardModels]

Nice little turret Karl, I didn't know it could partially retract British engineering - going the extra mile

Cheers Dan. Jolly good show what?!!

[ManCupboardModels]

While still on the subject of turrets, I came across an interesting blog page all about Air Gunners. A good read and very apt for this GB

http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.co. ... nners.html

[Daishi12]

I can remember building this in the early 70's... the fuselage sprue was as thick then

Good luck with the kit and have fun mate

[ManCupboardModels]

I can remember building this in the early 70's... the fuselage sprue was as thick then

Good luck with the kit and have fun mate

Cheers mate!

[T3hGuppy]

Great work on this older kit dude.

And some very interesting info

[ManCupboardModels]

Great work on this older kit dude.

And some very interesting info

Cheers mate. The research has been more fun than the build,

[ManCupboardModels]

Let the assembly of the fuselage commence! The fit of the cockpit and crew was snug. Unfortunately, the fuselage halves were not, and I had to use filler. I hate using filler

Just out of interest, is there a 'liquid filler' available? Might be easier for me to use.









Next, the assembly of the wings and landing gear. I had every intention of building this 'wheels down', but as the landing gear was in such a terrible state and literally disintegrated when i tried to assemble it, I had no choice but to go for 'wheels up'.

Luckily, I managed to scratch build out of the resulting pieces, a contraption to hold the wheels in the raised position. A plus side of having to go wheels up, is that the gouge that was created when removing the fuselage pieces off the sprue (see earlier pics) can be now used as a gap for the display stand to go into


Landing gear flaps glued in place:


Wheels painted:


Tiny cut offs from the landing gear were threaded through the wheels and glued in place to catch onto the inside of the wheel housing....




The wings assembly are a very snug fit. One extreme to the other with this kit!




Be back soon with another update.

[EasyEight96]

Nice update cant wait to own the newly tooled blenheim

[ManCupboardModels]

Nice update cant wait to own the newly tooled blenheim

Cheers mate. Hope its better than this one!

[ManCupboardModels]

Just to add to the History of this aircraft, the cockpit design actually changed between the Mk I and the Mk IV......

A Mk I at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, showing the original cockpit:



And the Mk IV at the RAF Museum, London, with the new one:




Another interesting snippet of this Aircrafts History:


The Cologne Power Stations Raid

The action on 12 August 1941 was described by the Daily Telegraph in 2006, as the "RAF's most audacious and dangerous low-level bombing raid, a large-scale attack against power stations near Cologne." The raid was a low-level daylight raid by 54 Blenheims under the command of Wing Commander Nichol of No. 114 Squadron RAF. The Blenheims hit their targets (Fortuna Power Station in Oberaußem-Fortuna and the Goldenberg Power Station in Hürth-Knapsack) but 12 of the Blenheims were lost during the raid, 22% of those that took part, which was far above the sustainable loss rate of less than 5%. The England cricketer S/L Bill Edrich was awarded the DFC for his part in the raid.

[ManCupboardModels]

Just a small update on my progress. Have added the tail assembly and the 'under nose turret', and given the old gal a lick of paint.....

The complicated 'under nose turret'





A lick of paint and she's looking a bit better! Camo pattern will be added later:








Back soon!

[Johni044]

Very good so far. Take care with the canopy, it was a royal PITA on mine.

[FokkerDXXI]

I like that Blenheim, its a cool plane. Nice model.

Jos

[ManCupboardModels]

Very good so far. Take care with the canopy, it was a royal PITA on mine.

Cheers mate. I've done a quick dry fit of the canopy, and its a tad iffy! That's why I'm leaving it till the very end!

[ManCupboardModels]

I like that Blenheim, its a cool plane. Nice model.

Jos

Cheers dude

[T3hGuppy]

Really cool with the cockpit information never knew they changed it so much.

Really coming together.

Hope the canopy fit issue isn't too bad.

[ManCupboardModels]

Really cool with the cockpit information never knew they changed it so much.

Really coming together.

Hope the canopy fit issue isn't too bad.

Cheers mate As for the canopy, by hook or by crook, I'll make it fit!

[ManCupboardModels]

Greetings all. This will be quite a long update as I've only gone and finished the thing while intending to just 'do a bit'!

First up, the engines being assembled, painted and attached:











I then moved on to painting the camo. After adding the brown, I then realised I had totally used the wrong green!!! A darker green was called for, and I used the pot included in the kit:



Better!!



Next up, the dreaded canopy! Legend has it, that the canopy in this kit is nothing short of horrific ...... Let's have a gander:



Doesn't look TOO bad..... but wait!! Looks can be very deceiving.....

Not only is it a terrible fit, wait until you see the head on view!!!

(The white stuff you can see is canopy glue that dries clear. I used it as a filler )





Talk about warped!!!!!!







Shockingly bad, I'm sure you'll agree! I calmed myself by cracking on with some gentle decalling, accompanied by soft music.....



As I ran out of cotton buds, I cut down an old brush to use as an air bubble remover, and I must say I was very impressed! My choice of weapon for future decalling!!



The decals were quite thick, and needed quite a few applications of micro sol, but in the end, they bedded in lovely.

As a display stand, i'm using one from a model Sea King helicopter that the wife bought me and subsequently knocked over and destroyed But recycle we must!





Decals all finished:



And there you go!

Apart from a few finishing touches, (radio mast, yellow tips on the props, rear wheel), she's all done!

I'll get the pics up in the 'Final Reveal' section as soon as i'm finished.

I must admit, she turned out alot better than I thought she would. Apart from the obvious canopy 'issue', and oodles of flash, I quite enjoyed it, especially the research.

The Bristol Blenheim Mk IV........ the truly 'Forgotten Bomber'.

[ManCupboardModels]

Just a little footnote to this build:

I feel kinda daft and embarassed to be honest!

The canopy.... I thought it was warped and out of shape, especially when you look at it head-on...

Turns out, that's how it SUPPOSED to be!

I only noticed after seeing an advert in Airfix Magazine for the new tooling of this kit...

I'm guessing its higher one side to give headroom to the crew member thats sat there.

Soooo.... my bad, and I apologise for any misleading information. On the plus side, at least now I can look at it without thinking, 'shame about that warped canopy'