AIRCRAFT (6) VBCW "MONGREL DAY BOMBER"

Our piece of "cheep Chinese plastic", as used in the Modelling Challenge 2020, may be many things (check back on this thread using the label "Aircraft & Anti Everything"), but it is clearly more of an "air superiority fighter/ground attack fighter" than a "bomber". For the purpose of VBCW "air fleets", this posed a significant problem that could only be solved by - well, doubling down with another piece of "cheep Chinese plastic", as purchased from Ebay:

As long as you don't look at the underside of the fuselage, it's, er.....ok. What do you want for 80p inclusive of P&P?

This particularly fine example of the Chinese plastics industry is made of rather softer plastic than our Vickers Venom job, but it is still workable and takes paint kindly enough (over a plastic primer). And it actually "scales" rather nicely with the Vickers Venoms, so all is not at all lost.

But what kind of 1930s plane is it? Originally, it was purchased in the hope that - with its long canopy, elongated nose and single propellor, it would bear a passing resemblance to that wonder of 1930s British Aircraft Industry, the Fairey Battle "day bomber":

Introduced to service in 1936, by 1940 the Fairey Battle was fulfilling its grim role of being shot up by marauding Me 109's (when not being shot down by ground AA fire).

And to a certain extent, it does. But closer examination reveals the horrible truth - the front end and wings appear to be an oversized (and mangled by constant copying over the years) species of Spitfire, while the canopy and tail appear to come from an (equally mangled early variant) Stuka! If this was to be a Fairey Battle, it would be a fairly "bastardized" version! 

Camouflage painting may hide many "problems", but this was time for a more significant intervention : the ever helpful VBCW 'backstory'. Hence can be presented - the Elstree Industries "Mongrel" day bomber (although actual manufacture may have been sub-contracted to Messrs. Woolworths & Woolworths of Enfield) as designed by Elstree's most famous aircraft engineer, Sir Reginald B'stard (knighted in the 1938 Honours List for services to the VBCW aircraft industry). For those unfamiliar with his technical work (quite why he is ignored in almost all the 'history' books, in favour of Camm and Mitchell, remains a mystery), he is probably now best known for being the grandfather of that public spirited Member of Parliament of the 80s and 90s, Alan B'stard:

Alan B'stard MP, grand-son of the VBCW aircraft designer responsible for the Elstree "Mongrel"

The Elstree Mongrel, once introduced into VBCW service, will complement the RAF's existing "heavy transport/bomber" fleet:

This well armed transport was recently seen in action at The Second Battle of Shobdon

A squadron of RAF Heavy Bombers at an airfield "somewhere in the West Midlands".
(The model is a "snaptite egg scale" Lancaster by Meng Kids)