¹⁄72

Boulton Paul Bodmin

history

The Boulton Paul Bodmin was an experimental bomber from 1924 designed to test the "engine room" concept: Fuselage-mounted engines driving propellers through extended drive shafts and gearing. The chief advantage to this layout is that the engines could be serviced in flight and a failed engine would not result in asymmetric thrust problems. Disadvantages were higher weight and extra drag from the complicated struts needed to support the propellers and drive shafts although the weight penalty was somewhat offset by the Bodmin's all-metal construction. Two prototypes were produced, and despite the first being destroyed in a landing gear collapse, they did demonstrate the basic soundness of the overall idea. Although the "engine room" concept did not progress further, the Bodmin's all-metal construction caught on throughout the industry.

the kit

Model presented in this gallery is a resin 1/72 scale Boulton - Paul P-12 Bodmin recently released by the new company - Lukgraph. The kit catalogue number is 72-01. Some details of the kit before assembly were presented in a news report recently published here on Aeroscale. Jacek's photos presenta few stages and sub-assemblies during the building process together with the completed model.