Phoney War Bristol Blenheim Mk.I – Airfix 1/48
I built this kit for the Phoney War Group (thanks, Felix @fxrob). I have been wanting to build the 1/48 Airfix kit for the Bristol Blenheim Mk.1, so a little research confirmed that the Blenheim took part in the Phoney War. In my research, I discovered that 6 squadrons of Blenheims were deployed to France during this period, so I set my sights on depicting one of these frontline planes. I did some more research to find a paint scheme I could model, but I came up blank after several days of looking. It turns out that all, or most, of these squadrons converted to the Mark IV version before they deployed, while the England-based squadrons flew the Mk.I's. After some more research, I was able to find the crash record for a Blenheim Mk.I that was stationed in France. After even more research, I was able to determine the markings. Yeah.
Here is the plane's background:
On 3 January, 1940, Blenheim Mk.I WV-B launched on a bombing mission. Enroute to the target, the plane was attacked by a flight of 3 Hurricanes that had mis-identified the Blenheim as a German bomber. They managed to evade the Hurricanes, only to be attacked and shot down by Bf-109E's. One of the crew was killed in the attack, while the two surviving crewmembers came down in Belgium and were interned. The story of these early war Blenheims, both in England and in France, is one of unrelenting bravery. These squadrons would go on raids over occupied territory or Germany, and would often suffer nearly 100% losses. Yet these crews would get in their planes day after day and fly their missions. That is true bravery.
My chosen plane had interesting markings. As the planes deployed to France, their markings were all toned down to make them less conspicuous:
-The half black/half white undersides were painted night black overall.
-Roundels and registration codes were removed from the underside of the plane.
-The highly visible roundels were overpainted so that only blue/red roundels were used.
-Squadron insignia, normally carried on the tail, were removed and replaced with the registration code.
The interesting thing about this particular plane was that all of these changes had been made, except the fuselage roundels were still the pre-war high-visibility style. I love doing models that are a little out of the ordinary, and this fit the bill.
I won't go into a lot of detail about the build other than to say that this is one of the nicest kits I have built. It was well-engineered and well-molded. If you take your time and insure everything is assembled accurately, you will end up with a really nice model. Patience is the key. The only thing I added to the kit was a Quinta set for the cockpit. I mainly used Tamiya paints for both the inside and exterior. There are no decal sets for this particular airframe, so I cobbled together the markings from my spare decals. I didn't have any code letters of the correct size, so I cut painting masks using my wife's Cricut Joy. The model was weathered using artist oils and Turpenoid. If you want more info on the build, please take a look at the build log in the Phoney War Group. Thanks for stopping in, Cheers.
Looks very nice, another George. I like your version of Dk. Earth
Always nice to see a well built Airfix kit, George, takes me back to my modelling roots.
Great result, George. I agree on that kit’s quality.
Hi, George (@blackadder57) and George (@chinesegeorge). Thanks for stopping by. I like using Tamiya paints, but they have a limited color range, so I end up mixing a lot of the required colors. All of the online sites say to use Tamiya Earth Brown for the dark earth color, but it looked too light to me. I mixed a little dark brown to get this color. This is the 2nd of the new era Airfix kits that I have built. The previous one was a 1/72 Beaufighter. Both of them are really nice, but this one was exceptional. I read several online build reviews that said the joint between the 2 canopy pieces was an area where the fit was bad, but mine fit perfectly. Maybe patience really does work. I still have a bunch of the old Airfix kits that I still want to build.
You nailed it, George @gblair.
Thanks for stopping by, John (@j-healy). Everything seemed to go together perfectly on this kit. I was surprised because it had never happened before.
Fantastic result, George! This is a beautiful Blenheim! Your build thread was a joy to follow!
Thanks for following the build and for providing positive thoughts, Spiros (@fiveten).
Great, great job, George @gblair. Fantastic cockpit, beautiful paintjob and subtle weathering. And i love those early war markings by the way. Like Spiros says, it was great fun following your build. Thank you for participating in the group!
Thanks for creating the group, Felix (@fxrob), and for following along on the build. I have one more model I want to do for the group, but I need to decide which one will be built.
This is such a wonderful result, George @gblair
Great to be able to have such a clear view on that interior on which you did a fine job.
Incredible that this Blenheim was mis-identified by even three pilots.
Thanks for following the build, John (@johnb). The clear plastic in this kit was very clear, and shockingly I managed to keep it that way during the build. I does seem hard to believe that experienced pilots would attempt to shoot down one of their own planes, but I suspect poor weather may have played a big part.
Excellent work George! This is a great looking build of the Blenheim and the finish looks spot on!
Thanks, Bob (@v1pro). I think this is probably the best Airfix kit I have built. For once, the paint and finish didn't give me any problems. It was a miracle.
Brilliant result on the Blenheim George. Great start to the group build 👍
Thanks for stopping by, Guy (@thom). Now I just need to decide what I want to build next.
Congrats, George. I really enjoyed watching this one come together over on the GB. Well done!
Thanks for stopping by, Gary (@gwskat), and thanks as well for following along on the work in progress.
Very nice build, George! What an awesome addition to your collection!
Thanks for the kind words, Joe (@jroamer). I plan to do one more plane from the Phoney War, so all I need to do is decide which one.
Beautiful build. Airfix has really improved their product line. I must admit I have many Airfix kits in my "to do" pile.
Thanks, Chris (@champagnecrc). Both of the "new" Airfix kits that I have built were both really nice kits. I also have a bunch of the new era Airfix models that I want to build.
A really beautiful Blenheim, George! @gblair
Awesome job on the canopy which gives a clear view on the interior.
I wish I could say that it was my skill that created a nice, clear view of the cockpit through the windows, Alfred (@alfred), but this was such a well-made kit that all I had to do was add the masks and paint it.
That came out great!
Thanks, Greg (@gkittinger). It was a fun project.
@gblair fantastic! It’s been great seeing your techniques explained on the GB thread. It’s brilliant now to see the whole thing come together. Top notch. The painting and markings are stunning!
Thanks for stopping in, Paul (@yellow10), and thanks for following the build and offering encouragement.
G’day George(@gblair),
Magnificent build and a great build log to follow. I’ll go back to the latter for the little tips when I build mine.
Liked!
Thanks for stopping in, Michael (@michaelt). This was a really nice kit and a fun build, and I am looking forward to seeing some of your magic on your Blenheim.
Great job! Very clean & precise construction. Airfix makes some very good models. I built the Sea Hurricane a few years back and it is a very detailed model. Agree about taking your time, patience and plenty of dry-fitting. Love the paint scheme.
Thanks for the kind words, Jim (@jaltergott6). The Blenheim was a very nice kit, but with all of its options I found a little patience went a long way toward making sure everything came together correctly. I still have several Airfix kits in the queue.
The Quinta 3D cockpit set really raised the bar along with your patience and skill George. The blog evolved into a interesting read and served as good teaching tool for folks who want to use your blog as a reference. Your spot on about Tamiya paints. The color choices are limited.However, the modeler now becomes an artist who mixes paint to get the ideal color. Win,win build,blog and article, George (@gblair)
Thanks, Stephen (@stephen-w-towle). It was great having you following along on the build and providing ideas and motivation. I like Tamiya paints, and I don't mind mixing the colors I need, but it becomes a problem matching the original mix if you have to repaint something. After I retired, I took several art courses, including one on color theory which comes in handy sometimes. I plan to build one more model for the group, an MS.406C1, which I hope to start tomorrow. Cheers
Marvelous looking Blenheim, George. Amazing work once again.
Thanks for the kind words, George (@georgeswork). Your Zero has given me some ideas for my next build, a French MS.406C1. I think the 406 is about the same size as the Zero, but I am doing it in 1/48. I have reached the age where small models scare me. :o)
Loved it my friend,congratulations!
Excellent Blenheim - looks awesome!
Fantastic Blenheim! I hope You don’t have any clear parts issues.