Scaled Small: Airfix 1/72 Bristol Bulldog

Airfix kit 01083

Purchased:
Completed: 18 June 2007

Nation:United Kingdom
Era: 1920-1929
Justification: The Bulldog was the culmination of British fighter development of the 1920s, and served with the RAF and many foreign air forces well into the 1930s. To my mind, the Airfix kit is also iconic.

The kit

This is what it's all about! If you've read the introduction to this project, you'll know that it was nostalgia for old Airfix kits that got me started back in the hobby after a hiatus of a few years; and this one is a real classic! Actually, when I opened up the box, I realised that this must be one of the few 70s Airfix releases that I can't remember ever building.

This kit is a real gem, and it's difficult to believe that it's now the better part of 40 years old. While it's true that the interior is typically sparse (seat and pilot figure and that's it), the engine is just beautiful. My examples (yes - examples - wait for it!) were generally well-moulded, but some of the smaller parts had a bit of flash on them. The parts breakdown is fairly typical other than the fact that the upper wing is divided in three sections. The way that the lower wing attaches is also a little unusual, locking in place with a strange, cylindrical peg that's still visible after assembly. I'm not sure whether this represents any feature on the real aircraft, but I suspect not! (I've tried to find a clear view of the underside without success). One curiosity is the fact that one exhaust pipe is significantly larger than the other, and oriented differently on the sprue? Another pattern maker on another day? We'll probably never know. Decals are provided for one RAF and one Swedish Air Force machine and appear well-printed.

The build

Construction

Construction was every bit as straightforward as I hoped, with the fit more than reasonable. I made an instrument panel from a bit of sheet styrene and stuck it in but didn't worry about anything more. Since I wasn't planning to use the underwing bombs, I also puttied over the holes for these. I also puttied over the only sinkmark of any note - in the centre of the lower wing. The only problem I ran into (the first time round...) was that I attached the lower wing before the little struts that attach it to the fuselage. These proved to be very fiddly to position after the fact.

Painting

With fuselage and upper wing assembled, it was time for paint. After all the dramas of my previous three builds, I was enjoying this straightforward build and decided to reward myself further by using a rattlecan for painting rather than worrying about setting up and cleaning the airbrush. And this is where disaster struck. Being cheap, I realised that I still had a can of Humbrol Silver left over from pre-hiatus days. Since it was now about five years old, I tested it out on some scrap card. When this proved OK, it was time to move onto the model. At first, the paint went on fine, but as it dried, something went very badly wrong. Gradually, the paint finish took on a rough, pebbly texture. I now had a plane that looked like a very rough, crude aluminium casting. Oh dear.

My first instinct was that some gentle sanding might even out the finish enough to allow for another coat (from another can, obviously!), but this finish was hard as rock, and it became quickly apparent that this process was going to remove surface detail along with the paint. So, I decided to try and soften the paint up and maybe wipe it off. With that fateful decision, I reached for a rag and the enamel thinner.

Well, the thinner attacked the paint alright; but when it also started dissolving the plastic, I knew this had been a mistake. There was nothing for it now but to shelve the kit and start again. I ordered up a replacement and then switched to another model until it arrived.

With the replacement now in hand, I treated myself to a brand-new can of Tamiya paint and started again. This time, the build went without incident. Having the second kit to draw on allowed me to choose the more realistic, thicker exhaust pipe for both sides of the aircraft. The struts and upper wings went on with an absolute minimum of fuss (for a change) and the only glitch was that I discovered that I had left the telescopic sight and windscreen off. Attaching these with the upper wing in place proved tricky, but nothing worse.

I had all but finished assembly when I realised with horror that I'd made another mistake and left off the anti-glare panel painted along the whole of the upper fuselage! Putting it on now would mean removing the upper wing and at least the cabane struts. Weighing up the benefits, I decided I'd just have to live with the inaccuracy this time, but was very annoyed!

Rigging and final assembly

Uneventful.

Decals

I had considered that another benefit of having another kit to draw on would be that I could use its decals to change the supplied serial to match that of the Bulldog in the RAF musuem K2227. After discovering my bungle with the anti-glare strip, however, I decided that the basically identical kit decals would do just fine, thank you. The decals were every bit as good as they looked, with the only caveat being make very sure to trim off as much of the carrier film as possible - there's not much spare room for that upper-wing chequerboard pattern!

Conclusions

All in all, a very simple and pleasant build. Don't underestimate how much better replacing the anaemic exhaust pipe will make the finished product. The only problem of any sort encountered along the way was my self-inflicted misery of the out-of-date paint. A really fun kit that I can't recommend highly enough!