Hi all,
Warbird and vintage enthusiasts - especially those in the UK - will know the Duxford Blenheim Mk.IV/Bolingbroke, and its recent resurrection as a short-nosed and stunningly-finished Blenheim Mk.I:
http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-restorations/bristol-blenheim-flies.htmlBy chance Airfix recently released a 1/72 Blenheim I kit, as well as a long-nose Mk.IV (all parts other than glazing appear to be common) and I finally found one such example "in the wild" at a recent airshow. I paid my NZ$35 - seemed steep but the box felt heavy - and went back to the show. Funnily enough John Romain, who has been involved with the various Blenheim restorations and test-flew the "Mk.I", was flying a P-40 at the show! I saw him around but didn't have the guts to introduce myself.
I come home and look at it and....wow...there's a lot of plastic! I feel like I underpaid!! It is a beautifully-detailed kit and well worth the price. I started it yesterday morning and around lunchtime it appeared thusly:
The wing halves were joined and mated to the fuselage not long after - fit is excellent all round - and this weekend work will focus on the cockpit. I definitely need to get a Mk.IV kit, it is a real sweetheart and a joy to build. There are two spars to mount in the wing to help with the right dihedral and it makes for a solid assembly.
I plan on finishing the kit as G-BPIV/"L6739", the Duxford machine, so I need to get decals to match and (make?) a gun pod for the belly. Coincidentally the new issue of my favourite magazine, Classic Wings, was in the mailbox when I got home after the airshow....guess what was on the cover?
