Bristol M.1D racer - Avis 1/72 injected plastic kit

The civil derivatives of the Bristol M.1 monoplane are attractive little planes, perhaps not as well known as they deserve or as much as their military counterpart.

Avis is doing a wonderful deed releasing a series of civil machines that are elegant, fairly priced, well detailed and produced to a nice standard.

The completed model can be visited here:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2019/10/bristol-m1d-racer-avis-172-injected.html

I have recently built and present here the Bristol Racer, the Short Cockle, and the Short Satellite. All very pleasant to build kits that produced satisfying renditions.

This is the last of the series -that I am aware of.

Avis released many variants of the M.1, but I was drawn to the civil "D" racer kit.

The parts have some flash that requires some careful clean-up (the previously-mentioned kits had a very clean molds), and be sure you check the fit, since this particular kit, unlike all the others, may need some extra attention.

After the sprues were washed with mild detergent on lukewarm water and dried, most parts were released and, as said above, carefully cleaned up. The plastic seemed to me a bit harder than all their other kits, more in line with their former releases (Crusader AG-4, Mig Utka, that I also built and posted here and were just a teeny tiny coarse).

A very complete interior -for the scale- is provided, as well as the Lucifer engine.

There was a very beautiful inline engine version that perhaps may tempt Avis for a follow-up kit (VH-UQI) and other civil registrations that differ a bit on details (G-EAVO, G-EASR, M-AFAA).  May be the aftermarket industry will come up with some nice decals.

For a change, there is plenty on the Net to see and learn from, especially photos.

I recommend you do it, especially to fix a couple minor things on the interior.

Contents:

 Nice instructions:

 Subdued detail

 The Lucifer engine:

Oh, my!! An evil kit?:

 Some plastic gasping seems to indicate so!:

 A locating device. Notice that some little filing will be necessary for the parts to match front and back:

 Most parts separate and cleaned up:

 The multiple-part interior and engine, all assembled now. Again, look at photos of the real thing on the Net, some little changes are necessary (which I discovered after I took the photo):

I had a prop I carved some time ago (middle), but the shape was not quite right, so I am carving another, laminated, as per photos:

 I will replace the kit's seat with a photo-etched item:

Some parts are painted in preparation for further assembly.

Photos show the plane with and without a small spinner (provided in the kit), so I am making the two props to chose later:

The part in the sprue -that goes through the holes on the fuselage sides- is replaced for a section of aluminium tube:

 Since it is not a piece of wood as stated in the instructions, but the metal tube intake for the carburetor:

 The small instrument panel shouldn't be attached inside the wooden structure, but outside of it (there is space, since the fuselage wall is curved):

The smaller parts are removed and cleaned up. You may replace the exhausts with solder wire or similar:

 I lost the spinner (I knew I would) so I made another one seen in photos somewhere above, but I thought I would make another and show how in case you need one.
Chose a piece of sprue of the right diameter and sand the end:

 Roll a hobby knife carefully to make a perpendicular cut:

 Part of the interior in place.
Shown below is a way to make wicker seat, printing the pattern on both sides of a stiff paper or gluing to printed sheets back to back.

 Cut the seat back and glue to a shaped piece of styrene:

For those historically inclined: the Bristol M.1C was the second plane to cross the Andes (first was by an Argentinean)  as described below (from Wikipedia, must be true!):
-First flight by an airplane across the Andes: Luis Candelaria flew from Zapala, Argentina, to Cunco, Chile, on April 13, 1918, reaching an altitude of 4,000 m (13,000 ft).[104]
-First flight across the Andes above highest peaks: Teniente Dagoberto Godoy crossed from Chile to Argentina in a Bristol M.1C, on December 12, 1918, reaching an altitude of 6,300 m (20,700 ft), without oxygen.

A slightly different exhaust arrangement:
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/mr-l-l-carter-winner-of-the-aerial-derby-handicap-with-his-bristol-picture-id3421158?s=2048x2048

The racer did not have, after all, the intakes on the fuselage sides as the kit has them, so those holes have to be plugged.
It seems that an intake was underneath the nose.
https://www.prints-online.com/image.php?large=10633300
 
https://www.prints-online.com/image.php?large=10633298

Sure enough, the carburetor intake in this particular plane was below the nose, going right down and cut at an angle to face incoming air, located between the long exhausts and tied to them through a heat-exchanger in the form of a short sleeve.
Research always pays off.

The prop on my sample had its hub slightly sunken. Since you can use the spinner that´s not a problem, but first the boss detail has to be cleaned up:

The fuselage halves are glued together. The seams may need fixing. I am masking and puttying one section at a time between fuselage stringers to recreate the surface, instead of just sending down the area obliterating the detail:

Time to plug those holes that are not pertinent to this version:

 The kit has molded control horns that are not bad, but I replaced them with photo-etched items:

Stab and fin are drilled for the rigging wires:

The fuselage has a recess where the wing should rest:

 Problem is, the gap on the wing is smaller. Therefor the inner parts have to be shaved, carefully, until the wing can rest where it should:

 I removed about 1.5 mm (half of it on each side) for the fit to be good:

 Now the wing rests properly, and the top part too (dry run):

The rest of the cockpit elements are inserted. Small adjustments were needed:

 The wing is glued on and the top section:

I am very happy that Avis included yet another civil-registered plane on their boxing of Red Devil, Spanish M-AFAA.
As I build my G-EAVO but do research on all civil variants, I noticed that M-AFAA DID NOT have the cut outs on the wings (neither G-EAVO).
This is an easy fix, just fill the area.
It took me just three seconds to find out, doing an Internet search for the reg, and looking at the photo of the real thing.
Avis also has the lower surface as linen with black regs. I am inclined for it to be white, as the background for the regs on the fuselage, but I have no proof.
I see a thin color line on the lower leading edges, absent from AVis' instructions. That color line is clearly visible in other photos of the plane (as a sort of wrap-around of the leading edge):
https://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/407964/g-blwm-uk-air-force-bristol-m-1c-replica/
The decorated wheel hubs have too colors, I think one of them is too dark to be linen as Avis has it.
 
Just pointing these things out -all easily corrected- so fellow modelers don't end up with an inaccurate replica for blindingly following the kit.
Manufacturers should be praised for releasing these very appealing civil variants, and most of the times do a god job, but it doesn't hurt to check, or to supplement their research a bit.

Yet another opportunity for after market decals, one more racer (G-EAER, regs not on plane) #12 at the1919 Aerial Derby, piloted by Chichester Smith:
https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919 - 0846.html?search=aerial derby
Notice the hastily-painted over cockade, the small faired headrest, race numbers on tail and wings).

Just in case I turn to use solder instead of the kit's parts for those elbows:

 The new, correct, carb intake/heat exchanger/exhaust assembly is fabricated:

The new location for the carb air intake is drilled in the fuselage:

And that's why it's so important that other manufacturers pick up where Fred Hultberg of FOTOCUT and others left it. Look at this wonderful parts:

 You solve a problem and add detail in seconds:

Landing gear on:

An accuracy note:
Whilst G-EAVP with the "G" on the rudder appears in photos with a light-colored prop with visible lamination and a prop boss, with the number 2 on the rudder (racing) if has a much darker prop with no visible lamination and a spinner.
The only small, unclear photo I have of it with the race number 4 is not good enough to show details.
So you know.

The small cabane struts are replaced with airfoiled metal stock (Thanks John and Andrew!), there is nothing wrong with the kit parts, but these give more cleanness and rigidity for the rigging:

The cabane is on:

More data on race #4, after a few more hours of research:
Flown by Uwins on Whitsun and Waddon air meetings, with the smaller Lucifer of 100HP.
https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1922/1922 - 0323.PDF

A coat of primer to be sure all is well on those surfaces:

Two photo-etched step-in rims are added:

And the red color is applied. Later masking will ensue to paint the tail black. Wheel covers and spinners are painted at this point too:

Nice details on the wheels:

 Black is airbrushed:

Avis provides multiple windscreens as film....

...but he kit's windscreens may mislead you. The originals were flat and much smaller:

 Elevator control cables are installed, landing gear rigging in place, as well as the fabricated exhaust parts:

 The fabricated air driven fuel fuel pump will be next:

The kit decals are well printed and the white is fortunately opaque.
Just a couple of notes: as with all good thin decals, careful handling is a must.
Folding and cracking are just a minute little tug or hesitation ahead.
I managed to break one letter but was able to fix it.
As you can see Avis incorrectly "fused" with the carrier the small "G" that go on the tail feathers on both sides.
Easily solved cutting the individual subjects apart:

 Better apply the decals first and then do the rigging:

 A small disc of aluminium foil is applied to the front in the guise of a firewall, perforated in the middle to allow the engine to be later inserted:

More decaling, and more rigging. I had one more issue with the decals: the last letter of the side registration basically disintegrated, but leaving the carrier, that is, the white ink partially lifted from the image due possibly to some carrier contamination at the moment of printing.
Since spares are only supplied for the number 2 and the Bristol legend (something I will never understand, especially with this type of very delicate decals) I will try to write to Avis (if I can find their contact info, which is not provided on the box or instructions, and I can't find on the Net) and ask for a spare.

The exhaust lip of the cowl is treated with some pertinent hues of Rub'nBuff:

OK, change of plans: I have found a couple of racing numbers 4 among my spare decals, therefore I will do that version -for which I got a few photos during research, so my model will vary a little from others, hopefully adding some interest.
I also used a bit of a spare white decal to repair the crumbled P.
 
The remaining stretch involves adding the 6 exhaust elbows and the 2 long exhausts that meet the newly-made intake bellow the fuselage, and adding the prop and Pitot.

The cowl is on, as well as all the decals and rigging:

 The elbows are replaced with soldering wire:

 A mix of waxes is used to color the exhaust parts:

 All exhaust bits in place:

The stem that protrudes from the engine and goes in to the prop ended up short on my model and with some play, so check yours if you are building this kit.

After making those laminated wood props with the photo-etched boss, photos showed -as explained somewhere on the thread- that the images with spinner show a dark prop where lamination isn't distinguishable, so I reverted back to the kit's prop.
Many photos show the lighter-colored laminated prop with boss, no spinner, so it's up to you to chose how you represent the model, but be sure to correlate the details -like prop and tail number.
Again, as explained somewhere up the thread, the rudder could have either a "G", the race number 2, the race number 4, or nothing whatsoever, depending on the time the photo was taken.

To be continued.....