This was an online purchase - thank you eBay. I have never built a kit with as much detail included as this one. I have built many models of various companies and have applied my own DIY additions, but never have I had a kit with so much detail included and it was a challenge unlike any I am familiar with.
One thing I was extremely glad to see was the inclusion of a set of canopy masks. Finally I don't need to spend time cutting up tape to mask off for frame painting.
There so many parts for interior detail I was initially a bit intimidated. Also, while the instruction text adequately explains the sequence of assembly the diagrams are somewhat inaccurate with mislabeling of parts and unclear specification of attachment points. Significant dry fitting is required to understand where parts fit. Also, the painting instructions are disappointing - everything is suggested as "Aluminum" - boring! I know that much of the interior detail will be lost when the fuselage is closed up, but if everything is a uniform color.? Time for a little research plus experience from previous builds for a little painting realism. Interior green, black, red, green etc.
An addition of my own is that of crew, which is not included with the kit. I found a resin gunner figure that is for either a TBF or SBD. I already had an extra pilot figure from a bf 109E kit which needed significant sculpting, but seemed to be workable.
I painted the gunner (parts) while assembling the gunners ring and seat. Following the instructions is good except if you are introducing a non-kit part. I had to disassemble the seat and put the gun ring together along with the gunner figure.
I figured that the seat was probably adjustable anyway so it made sense to re-assemble things for the gunner to be in a logical position.
Here is the gunners bulkhead which contains the rack of 30 cal ammo boxes (top rack) and the flair cartridges (bottom rack) - detail that will be lost upon completion
Here is the bulkhead installed in the fuselage.
I have closed up the fuselage in accordance with kit instructions but there is much detail to be installed that is to be inserted from the bottom.
A lot accomplished here including the crew, the pilot bulkhead and seat and the cockpit detail including the instrument panel. For some reason the panel is molded in clear styrene. I painted quite a bit of the panel along with applying the upper panel decal to the back to show through the clear plastic. This was an exhausting challenge, but the result was adequate IMHO.
Can you imagine if this was nothing but aluminum as suggested by the instructions? I don't think so!!
Here is a dry fit of the floor with bulkhead and pilot - I think it may work!
The floor and all instruments are now installed in the next photo.
The floor has been pushed up into the fuselage. Once again my DIY pilot seems to fit. The thing is that before the floor is put in you must put in the cockpit shelf and radios.
I took this to say bye bye to the radios because once the floor goes in you will never see them again😞
A bit closer look at the cockpit. Let's move on!
Bottom of the wing......
......Elevator/tailplane assembly/installation - I like the molding showing the gaps at control surfaces.
Top of wing halves. Instructions are clear about beginning at the root and working outward with the (Thin) cement! I will now sand all surfaces with 1000 grit and work on some small details like tires and tail hook etc.
Innumerable panel lines. I thinned the flat black a little, brushed it on in small areas, wiped it off with a paper towel and moved to the next section. This my first real experience with a model with this level of detail in recessed panel lines................
............I have no idea what the result will be after paint is sprayed on, but I am a long way from that right now. Building the motor is my next task.
The motor consists of many parts: wire and pushrods, cylinders, prop governor - all installed on the internal bulkhead. I like the dark red of the wires, but I went with steel instead of gloss black for the pushrods. Looking at historical photos it is as right as anything!
I was intrigued by the bomb(s) detail on the sprue so I jumped ahead and assembled. Although the instructions and decal sheet labeling conflicts it is obvious what decals go where. I plowed forward and did some history research. What became the Picatinny Arsenal (decal misspelling) in New Jersey was founded in 1880. Besides research, which is still conducted there, small and large munitions' were produced by the 18,000 employees during WWII. I love this decal showing the 1,000LB GP Bomb, lot number 87 10 41, rolled out of the arsenal on Friday Dec. 5, 1941. We all know what occurred that Sunday. I wonder what IJN ship No. 87 10 41 eventually "landed" on!!!
Ok, I did put the machine guns in the cowl cover, and installed the cowl over the motor. The fit is pretty good. Next I will install bomb racks for the two hundred pounders and landing gear struts so that I can paint the underside flight light gray.
To prepare for underbelly paint I decided to install details that will be detail painted ATF, like the landing gear struts (recall the wheels are already painted and ready for install) and dive brakes.
Before the dive brakes/flaps I had to deal with the actuators. Very delicate for sprue removal and notice this one already needs a repair besides bending to straighten. The install into the wing was fairly maddening. They fell to the carpet quite a few times eliciting some colorful language😡
BUT, I prevailed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,and GOT 'ER DONE! BUT, with every build there comes some nonsense that I pull and have to try and undue something FUBAR. Today's adventure is the pilot canopy. Remember way back at the beginning of this post I masked the canopies I intend to use for the open canopy scenario? the masks are highly accurate, but the adhesive is not to be left alone for a long period of time, I found out, particularly on curved surfaces - like the roof of the pilot canopy. My big mistake was assuming all were stuck down without checking - WRONG! Then I slopped on the paint instead of using my detail brush as if there were no masks. You can guess the result when I pulled off the mask - AHHHHH. Scraping and wiping did no good. I could not replace the canopy by cutting up the full canopy (I tried but that mold is too big). Next I thought, let's try and cut the ceiling curve out of the frame. I was very careful but the she broke in two anyway.
Here is the canopy pieces taped together with a small frame piece to somehow add.
I taped the pieces to the fuselage so I could fill in the remaining frame piece at the rear. That sort of worked until I tried to remove the tape and ended up with the same two halves of the pilot canopy. I came to the realization that I was going to have to install the canopy now, one half at a time, gluing it to the canopy track and then spot gluing the frame together at the peak.
WHEW; it worked! There is no canopy "glass ceiling" but the silver lining is that you can see what is underneath and there are two more canopies that will be over the top of this one. The die is cast and although out of order per instructions, by installing all canopies now I will have support for masking off the entire cockpit!
One other additional detail - even the lifting harness is included (that wire rope that runs behind the pilot seat.
While waiting for the Tamiya Intermediate Blue I painted the prop in accord with the instructions, except for the spinner which the instructions had black. I found a picture of an SBD with a dark red spinner - Yeah! Also applied the blade decals. Here is hoping that the canopy fiasco is the last for this build.
Finally the Tamiya arrived, so I masked up the motor......
,,,,,,making a simple paper cone
Then masked the canopy stack and the machine guns and did some very light and careful spraying. My hope that the work on panel lines would be worthwhile has borne fruit. I'm pretty happy with the outcome.
There was some touch up to do where the mask was set down and then it was time to add the 30 cal. I had to bend the mounting pintel somewhat to get the gun more forward so the gunner was in a firing position. I might have a sight in my stash to add to the gun!
Now I can flip her over and finish the gear painting and mount the wheels and bombs.
Next up was applying the red to the inside of the dive brakes. I used a wide brush, with most of the paint removed and dry brushed back and forth so as not to have the red leak through the holes and show up on the outer surfaces. Then I had to go back in with the fine tip and paint the brake actuators.
I jumped ahead here to show all the decals in place. The sheet was good - no breaking or tearing. I have also added a few remaining parts. The radio antenna and the prop (a simple press fit onto the shaft). Please note the number 16!
Chosen for historical reasons.
.Engine exhaust ports are added along with "soot" I did some "weathering", but this is an SBD delivered to a carrier so there is not to be a lot of chipping or paint loss since there has not been much flight time. I have dullcoat to apply and the radio wire before we take some glamor shots.
Dullcoat applied and radio wire (monofilament) attached. I tied and glued to the antenna, let it dry and then threaded the end at the tip of the tail with another small drop of gel. The side drop at the cockpit was cut to fit but had a bend at the top so it could hang on the horizontal wire while the glue dried to the attachment point just below the canopy.
This closeup shows what I tried to describe above. It is always the snipping off of the tails that worries me - to get close enough without cutting the wrong wire. I'm sure MASH surgeons have the same fear. But now for a cautionary tale.
The application of dullcoat spray is good for sealing down your paint and taking the gloss off of decals, but for the uninitiated it can cause wrinkling too. The dullcoat will soften decals like decal setting solution except in the wrong environment it can dry too quickly - this is the result. The Tamiya dullcoat even contains a warning against using on decals which I ignored, because I had used it on my IAR-80A with no issues. Not every star looks like this, but be warned!
Let's put her on the Carrier!
Now with her companion TBF.
Thanks for hanging in there and watching.
