Here are some pix of my just completed 1/48 scale Bristol Bulldog. This is the Lindbergh reissue of the old Inpact kit. Decals are from Model Alliance's "Silver Wings" set.

Beautiful. Hey this is Early Aviation. And the Bulldog dates from 1927.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bulldog

Wonderful build.

Bloody Lovely!And it's got rigging!

Absolutely stunning, the finish on this model is beautiful, very well done.

Des.

http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Certainly is a stunning job.

Thank you everyone, for your very generous remarks.

Cheers!

Karl

A beautifl job. RAF planes around this era really were quite striking. Plus it's lovely to see something other than WWI posted as much as I love that era myself.

Thanks for sharing.

Keith

Great looking build Karl. The finish is outstanding.

Best

Mark

Very nice finishing on this colorful Bulldog

I personally like the Hawker Fury very much


Cheers Nick

That's OK it says "thru 1934" at the top of the forum

What a beauty that Bulldog is. There's a beautiful pointlessness about those inter-war biplanes expressed best in the Hawker Hart (in my opinion)

Richard

Yes, I like the Fury too.

Oh, who am I kidding? Honestly, it would be very difficult for me to name an interwar airplane I don't like. My first aviation love is WWI, but lately I am finding interwar aircraft to be just as, if not even more, interesting. If only aircraft of the '20s and '30s were as popular as WWI among plastic model manufacturers! Accurate Miniatures and Classic Airframes made a start, but now they are both defunct, and even before they went the way of the dodo, I recall reading somewhere that Jules Bringeur said he would never bring out another interwar airplane kit--they just weren't big sellers. Lately though, Silverwings and Rest have given us interwar 1/48 scale enthusiasts cause for celebration--may they continue to thrive and hopefully provide inspiration to others!

Thanks for all your positive comments on the Bulldog. The project got off to a rocky start. I had an old Pyro boxing of the kit sitting in the stash for years, but when I was ready to start building it, I discovered the wings were short shot and unusable, so it went back into the stash, waiting for that mythical time in the future when I would scratch build a set of wings for it (yeah, right!). Then about a year ago I was in one of the very few LHS left in my area when I saw the Lindbergh reissue sitting on their shelf--the price was right so I snapped it up. Later, at home, I noticed the decals didn't look very good, so into the stash it went. What finally got me motivated to build the kit was the beautiful "Silver Wings" decal sets from Model Alliance--so many great choices, but in the end I had to go with Sir Douglas Bader's machine, both for the colors and the historical significance.

Oops, I forgot to mention Aeroclub, A-Model's new Moths, and the occasional Planet Models 1/48th scale interwar kit. I suppose Roden qualifies too with their late DH-4 and Brisfit kits. Maybe things ARE looking up for 1/48 scale interwar aircraft modelers!

Super clean finish on your bulldog . Thanks for sharing it with us.

Hi Karl,

Excellent work! Did you make some modifications to the original kit apart from the decals?

Jean-Luc

Thank you, Jean-Luc!

The model is pretty much OOB. The TEs were a bit thick, so I sanded them down, and there were some sink and ejection pin marks that needed to be filled in. The windscreen required quite a bit of carving and filing before it fit properly. I added seat belts (I'm not big into interior detailing--if it can't be seen easily when sitting in the display cabinet, I'm not going to spend time on it). I used Evergreen rod for the fuel lines--can't remember exactly why, but I didn't like the kit parts. I also replaced the little bracing struts at the wing roots with Contrail strut stock--the kit struts were grossly over scale. I replaced the four kit supplied "masts" on the top wing--the kit items are too short and all the same length. Bulldog photos show the outer radio antenna masts are taller than the inner "masts" (I'm guessing those inner masts may actually be fuel tank vent pipes?). The kit is molded with holes for all the rigging wires, but they're much too big, so I filled them in with stretched sprue, then drilled new rigging holes with a number 80 bit. I used nylon fishing line for the rigging.

Considering its age, it is a very nice kit--a bit sparse on engine and cockpit detail compared to today's standards, but the depiction of fabric over ribs and longerons is very nice--some of today's cutting edge kit manufacturers could learn from it.

Karl

Thanks Terri!

I've been learning and taking inspiration from all the knowledge and great models posted here all the time, so I'm glad I could finally share something with the group.

Karl

Hi again Karl,

Thanks a lot for the extra explanation. I will keep my eyes open for the kit and if I can find one I will buy it right away. You really did a splendid job on it.

Jean-Luc

Thanks for your very generous praise of my model. I have to admit I am pleased with it too.

Inpact released four 1/48 scale kits of British interwar aircraft--the Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Fury, and Fairey Flycatcher. Over the years the molds have been bought and sold several times, and it is possible to find these kits under the Inpact, Lifelike, Pyro, and Lindbergh brand names. The Lindbergh kits are the most recent reissues.

All of the former Inpact kits are similar to the Bulldog in style and quality--the engines are rather plain, the cockpits are quite bare, some of the smaller parts are kind of chunky, but from everything I've ever heard about the kits, they are all basically accurate in outline, and the depiction of fabric over interior framework is very well done. In other words, they provide a good foundation for making a very nice model with just a little extra effort. All four of these kits are worth seeking out, in any of the various boxes they've appeared in over the years. Supposedly the LifeLike boxings are most desirable because they contained the most accurate decals, but honestly, those decals will be about 40 years old now, so what are the chances they will still be any good? And now with Model Alliance's lovely "Silver Wings" sheets, there is no reason at all to worry about having to use the old kit decals.