I notice that Airfix has its old 1/72 Bristol Bloodhound MK.I SAM back in circulation and I’m thinking about buying one or two of them.
What comes in the kit? I know there is the missile and its launcher, but is there also a radar set up as well?
How does it build up?
Thanks in advance
It comes with a launcher and a transport trailer, a short-wheel-base soft-top Land Rover, five RAF personnel and a dog! There are no decals, so you’ll have to source licence plates and the RAF roundels often carried by Bloodhounds from somewhere else.
The kit dates from 1960. By the standards of the time, the level of detail is good, and I cannot remember hearing any major issues about the level of accuracy (except that it would be a bit too big for a SWB Landy to tow, and some of the struts and other smaller pieces are a bit over-thick). However, there are working features on the launcher and transport trailer which do compromise accuracy to a certain extent. Moreover, the moulds themselves are really showing their age - flash, sink marks, mould separation lines and ejector pin marks all over the place. However, these are nothing that an averagely-experienced modeller ought not to be able to cope with, and at £4.99, it’s still good value for money.
The paint instructions are just plain wrong, carrying forward mistakes made back in the 1980s, when Airfix paint recommendations were converted to their nearest Humbrol equivalents. However, these are nothing that a little research can’t put right.
And no, the dog isn’t a bloodhound!
Cheers,
Chris.
very interesting read chris, i saw one the other day at my model shop and wondered about it !!!, now i’m going to buy one cheers for making my mind up…ian [^]
I built a couple of these in the Sixties and was quite taken with the model - mind you I was a little less critical in those halcyon days…
I thought the little Landie was charming and I still have one of them (and the dog!).
I photographed a Bloodhound on it’s launcher at Point Cook near Melbourne a couple of months ago and felt it would be comparatively easy to add a few bits of wire and thin down the parts to make a respectable model. The Landie is rather primitive these days and the JB ones are streets ahead but SWB Landies are rare in model form - dogs are rarer still…