East Kent Scale Modellers club night (2) - April

Second Tuesday of the month is club night for the East Kent Scale modellers group. The group meets at the RAF Manston history museum. Recent and/or current builds go on the table along with photo albums, books and magazines. A chance to look at the latest museum exhibits and rummage around the shop, enjoy some modelling chat and pick up hints and tips of all sorts!

David's Hasegawa Me 163 and Tamiya Beaufighter

Dick's Southern Expo medal-winning Panther and Mosquito conversion (Paragon), along with a Special Hobby Maryland and Joe's Batman figure

Stu's Tamiya Zero in 72nd

Some excellent work on display this month, the new Airfix Meteor was passed around and I took the chance to grab some difficult-to-access views of the museum's TT 20 on display and grab some pics of models in the museum's display cabinets donated by club modellers.

Previous club night attended can be viewed here

More on the East Kent Scale modellers FB page

Airfix new-tool Blenheim Mk I (F) 25 Sqd

My second Airfix new-tool Blenheim finished in 25 Sqd markings, ZK-I, RAF North Weald, February 1941. Fighter belly gun-pack taken from the Blenheim IV kit, decals by ROPOS models from Czech, a limited edition sheet printed to 200 copies that I found on Hannant's site.

Not a particularly 'photogenic' aircraft - difficult to get a shot I was happy with

Some of the Blenheim reference I used - the Airframe book from Valiant Wings is really very good and great value for money..as are the French-language monographs produced by Lela Presse

The Aircraft Restoration Company's Blenheim Mark One Night Fighter video by Malcolm Auld. Excellent video Malcom! A single click to watch here via the youtube 'embed' code

No. 211 Squadron RAF Blenheim Mk I UQ-R Tatoi, Greece, new-tool Airfix Blenheim I build review finished #5

Finally!  I've managed to finish the first of my new-tool Airfix Blenheim Is - although it 'looks' like a nicely detailed replica for a new-tool I have to say that I hate this kit! A terrible build experience, worse than the worst of any short-run non-fitting builds I've ever done. Be warned, nothing fits, apart from the undercarriage! Just about everything else required much fettling and filing and filling! My transparencies were short-shot and Hornby never came back with any replacements either. Fortunately a fellow-Britmodeller from Australia sent me a spare sprue that he had so it was while waiting for that to arrive that I very rashly decided to start a second Airfix Blenheim Mk I which I was a little happier with - but not much! Here's the first one in the markings of UQ-R of No. 211 Squadron seen in Greece in 1941 (note the 'R' was not displayed on the aircraft..)

IWM pictures of the machine modelled, licence-fee-free reproduction via the IWM site

Bristol Blenheim Mark I, L6670 ‘UQ-R’, of No. 211 Squadron RAF preparing to taxy at Menidi/Tatoi, Greece. Note the individual letter 'R' was not displayed..

Below; the Commanding Officer of No. 211 Squadron RAF, Squadron Leader J R Gordon-Finlayson, and his wireless operator/air gunner, Pilot Officer A C Geary, photographed in a Bristol Blenheim Mark I at Menidi/Tatoi, Greece, after returning from Corfu. On 24 November 1941, Gordon-Finlayson's aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing raid on Valona, Albania. Unable to reach Menidi, he force-landed on a beach at Corfu, where he and his crew were toasted and feted before returning to the mainland by fishing boat and rejoining their unit. Gordon-Finalyson is carrying bottles of wine and other gifts given to them by their Greek hosts.

ROYAL AIR FORCE: OPERATIONS OVER ALBANIA AND IN GREECE, 1940-1941.© IWM (CM 292)

'On Track' Model show - Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent, Saturday 27 February

Held at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent - the same venue as Euromilitaire - on Saturday 27 February. Great show - the usual suspects all present! Mr Models, Dan Taylor, John of Pol Models, still with a bunch of Kagero Air Miniatures for sale, still the same price as they were 5 or 6 years ago! The show was as busy as I've seen it in the past 5 or 6 years too. Best of the club stands had to be 'East Kent Scale Modellers' although there was a nice collection of Bf 109s on the 'Shepway Military Modelling Club' stand too..Here's a few of the models that caught my eye, my favourite possibly the 72nd scale Revell Lancaster finished in French Aeronavale markings built by Fred of the Gondecourt Model club from Lille, France. At the bottom a link to a flickr album of model builds to peruse (270 photos)..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kudosmedia/sets/72157664475597569

new-tool Airfix Blenheim Mk I build on the bench (5)

..slow progress on the two Blenheims but now that I appear to be over the worst of the construction 'difficulties' - 'shake and bake' this is not - I am starting to appreciate the detail on this kit..

new-tool Airfix Blenheim Mk I build on the bench (4)

As the transparencies were short-shot on my first Blenheim new tool, a kind BM-er send spares from Australia. These arrived just after Christmas. Still nothing- since early November - from Hornby themselves. In the meantime I started kit 2 determined to do a better job by not following the instructions. But still my progress is slow. Now I'm a reasonable, measured sort of guy but there are limits.....as a moderately experienced modeller this is an absolutely appallingly badly designed kit and the fit is atrocious. Nothing fits! Even with help from 'Steve' and others who have completed it. Falling rapidly out of love with Airfix on this one.

Now I'm doing one build as per the instructions and the other 'out on my own' ..guess which method has the least gaps and is proving the 'easiest' -relatively speaking - to work on?  Above, kit 1 - fit the fuselage parts together as two halves and then join. Much better result than kit 2 , images below. To follow the instructions on the Airfix new-tool Blenheims is to invite disaster! Below, kit 2 - lots of filling and sanding..

The finished model can be seen on this blog here