Devastator!

Courtesy of the fine folks of Aircraft Modeling with Detail & Scale, who are sponsoring a Midway-themed Group Build, this kit was pulled from my stash. First time building a GWH kit, and so far, the detail and fit is excellent. As with other such kits, the parts can be somewhat fragile, requiring care in removal and prep. The instructions for non-Chinese readers leave a lot to be desired; get a set of good photos of prototypes and other builds. 

As with all aircraft, we build from the inside out.

The kit has a well formed set of photoetch parts, starting with seat belts.

I departed from the kit construction order to help with painting. Paint, shadow, add bits, repeat.

The panel is in two sections (like the prototype) and uses individual decals for each instrument...

tedious,  but looks good on completion. 

The engine is a nicely detailed multi-piece unit, with a photoetch plug wire harness.

Almost a shame to have to paint it.

 As I am going to finish this as George Gay's plane, I needed to fab some parts for the twin rear gun mount used at Midway.

Sheet Styrene to the rescue.

Test fit. I'll install after paint and decals.

As there are nice wing fold details, I'll build it folded. The plane will be spotted on a section of carrier deck (which I'll have  to build) being checked out by a pilot I have to source, build, and paint.

THE DECK

There are quite a few 1/48 WWII US carrier deck kits available,  if not all currently in production. With the price of kits so high, and shipping going higher, maybe I should just make my own. After all, how hard can it be?

In order to do it properly, I needed to find a way to replicate the WWII deck tiedowns. Tom's Modelworks to the rescue.

I bought a set on Ebay to see how it would work out. Based on other model photos (best I could do) it appears the decking in this scale would be represented by 1/16 x 3/16 balsa, cut into scale 12ft strips; 7 courses followed by a tie-down strip,  repeat as needed. For the size of my finished model, it rapidly became apparent I would need a second set of tie-downs...

I started out laying a test section.

The tie-downs needed to be supported on their long edges, so I trimmed pieces off my balsa strips. In retrospect, I would have been better off buying 1/16 x1/16 strips :-0.

I made a jig to mass produce 12 scale foot lengths.

Tedious, but it worked.

Lay down a bead of glue, lay down strips, repeat x 7. Note: the stagger appears to be in sets of 3, every 4 ft,  so the plank pattern repeats every 4th plank.

The tie-down strips "count" in the pattern as the eigth course.

For color, my approximation used Modelmaster Intermediate Blue, thinned to an opaque stain and brushed on. When dry, I went back over the tie-downs with it full strength. In retrospect, It would have been better to prime and paint them before installation. Stain the wood, sand as needed, touch up, install tie-downs. Live and learn 

Still, it's a nice effect and can be reused for posing a host of models. I made "tire marks" by using a pencil eraser, smearing fresh graphite with it in a random pattern. Oil and fuel drips were thinned black enamel. The stripes were masked off with Tamiya Tape and painted stencil style, thumping a nearly dry stubby brush to fill in the stencil/mask.

If  your local hobby supplier doesn't stock balsa,  you can try Balsa USA. Shipping to your door is reasonable.

THE TBD (cont'd)

Given the amount of handling required to paint and place decals, and the delicacy of the folded wings, I did not install guns, wings, pitot tubes, etc. until after everything else was complete. 

Once again I relied on the excellent Eduard canopy masks to ease the painting. As I was going to have canopies open, but still needed to spray it "closed", I installed all of it with modest dots of Testors window glue after applying the mask.

Vallejo Air colors were applied, top and bottom.

Now, to open the canopy, in particular the rear section(s), required some work not in the instructions. To get them to "nest" on one another, I took the stack of 3 sections and sanded it, rubbing a good long while on a flat sanding surface untlil all 3 would sit down on the rail together. This created 2 new problems, 1., the inner sections would be lower than the prototype (no one will notice?) and 2., the innermost now hit the fire extinguisher (so it is just a bit rearward of the others).

As I was taking the Wake Island model and changing it to a Midway, I had to add the torpedo (included all but the propellers), the twin .30s guns provided but no gun shield (fabricated), and a set of VT-8 decals from Starfighter Decals I sourced from eBay. The decals were a medium thickness film, which required, but could tolerate, a good bit of pushing to snuggle down using liberal and in some cases repeated applications of Micro Sol. I would recommend a gloss undercoat to prevent silvering. I lettered the plane as that of Ensign George Gay, the sole survivor of VT-8's attack.

The decals dry, it was back to the paint shop for a Vallejo Matt Varnish finish. All the masking could now be removed. Before I finished, light weathering was applied using a dark oil wash in recessed panel lines and cowl flaps, and a bit of exhaust staining and silver edge wear on prop, cockpit edges, cowl and wings.

Radio antenna was rigged with E-Z Line.

The wings were installed along with the rear guns, pitot tube, and front crosshair sight.

THE PILOT

In my original plan, I wanted Ensign Gay to be in or on his plane. What I discovered was that finding a 1/48 early war US Navy pilot figure was not easy. I could find one I could buy:

This, from an eBay seller. It was intended to have him exiting the cockpit, after a flight which would not be appropriate for Midway (unless modeled in the ocean) so I would have to make do.

Fortunately,  I could assembble him to plausibly appear to be climbing in.

Primed in white and painted with a combination of Citadel, Vallejo, and Testors paints, he adds a little depth to the build.

 Of course, getting good light is key to good model photos. I shot outdoors on a sunny morning. Here are a few highlights.