1/72 Douglas Dauntless SBD-3

[Peter s]

This is a case of many things coming together in one thread. I've recently mentioned on another thread that some of the older airfix kits now out of production still stand up against many kits in current manufacture and even if they need a bit of detail adding its not hard to do so and can appeal nicely to a more experienced modeller. 

At about the same time my US modelling pen-pal Gary (until recently West coast based) asked me why I never seem to do any Pacific theatre aircraft (he really asked why I don't do any Japanese ones). My answer that I buy them.... I just never glue them together and paint them was a bit of a kick up the backside. I've gone Pacific big style not least due to the terrible August (either boiling or wet). I've a P40, Wildcat and TWO zero's coming along nicely but I fancied getting my tools out and having a play with this older SBD-3 Douglas Dauntless kit thats been (literally) gathering dust for a few years in my stash.

Its an older kit but part fit is good and the only areas that maybe need updating are some thinner canopies and a bit more cockpit detail. 

First up take a large electric drill plus 1mm bit and drill out something like 250 holes.....

/media/tinymce_upload/c4ebb688fc766edcf761ceb9192417c9.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/66580906a7cd98a156459c435c7baf9d.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/49936f81b4c65e5f4b2fd45ac4b8e3f3.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/48beb197271b04ebf203981ef5fdaf46.jpg

Use a razor saw and carefully score out the panel lines around the dive brakes. Remove them and glue them in the open position. I've put a little strip of plastic strip into the back of each exposed brake to stop you staring into a hollow wing and make the open brakes a bit stronger. There's a strip of very thin plastic insterted into the wing half's to blank off the cockpit floor. This will probably need a little filler when I add the fuselage.

The holes look better "in real life". I've cleared them out somewhat but I'm well aware they'll need cleared again (probably several times) during painting.

[Peter s]

Thanks to the mod who approved these pics so quick! This is almost modelling in real-time (I've been working crazy hours so I'm taking a few days leave to "relax" ie. build and paint a lot). 

As I've been saying on some of the other threads these older kits are pretty decent. I've attached wings to fuselage and needed just the tiniest smear of filler at the wing root. The extra plastic strip I fitted over the lower dive brake fitted perfectly. I'm doing a midway version and I believe they only carried the centre line bomb due to range limitiations so I've filled the holes for the two smaller wing mounted bombs. The bombs are a bit chunky so I may see if I have a better one in my parts box. The fuselage glass is heavier and not quite as clear as a newer kit too but its probably good enough with a bit of Kristal Klear (a new favourite product I learnt about on this site). Lack of cockpit detail can be largely offset with some good figures so the two crew in this one will need carefully painting. Generally Airfix figures are pretty good. Resin figures are available in 1/72 and they are good but they'll cost as much as the rest of the kit.

I've a pile of Tamiya "rattle cans" left over from when I modelled on a bigger scale and I'm gradually using them up as primer. I've painted the whole model in a mid blue to minimise the amount of "real" paint I'll need to apply tomorrow.

/media/tinymce_upload/c64456481785a51b032dba69a3b46cd7.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/05b16f9742b7bc825d45f8d07c9176c7.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/2fa5944c02c91580ab2ea09651903c43.jpg

The paint already started to fill those holes (you can see it on the right hand upper brake in the final pic) so I've a loose 1mm drill bit I keep using to open the holes manually.

[T2B]

I shall follow your thread with interest and might copy a couple of your modifications if you don't mind as I always liked the Dauntless and would like to do some Pacific themed aircraft. Keep the posts coming! 

[Kenneth ONeill]

Drilling out the holes in the air brakes; that way does very sore fingers lie!! (been there, done that...)

[Ratch]

Me too.

Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless flown by Captain Bell of the U.S.M.C., VMSB-231 in 1944.http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594014.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594015.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594016.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594013.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594012.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594017.jpg  Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless flown by Major Christian C. Lee of VSM-3, US Virgin Islands, 1944.http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594642.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594634.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594639.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594638.jpghttp://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL761/13303934/23731654/398594633.jpg

[Pretty Mediocre Modeller]

My dive brakes were drilled out but not opened.

/media/tinymce_upload/4acb8c1b99c5235562c0f15e26e37b4f.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/a2ee350c913810a59d6d87376092dd45.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/a7f707e40a8ee8de4b8a8b22319a188d.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/37bb5092fdd7f418e603503f30bf0712.jpg

Made a few other mods as well.

[T2B]

Oh there's a few good Dauntless's there, I'll have to bring my A - Game should I get round to starting mine!! 

[Peter s]

Update. I had a busy weekend.

Apparently this kit dates back to 1967 which is pretty impressive. The only parts that are a bit iffy is the canopy. It comes as a large fragile part which is windscreen, gap for the pilots sliding part (but a mm thick strip of clear), fixed section over the gunner. The section that covers the pilot can be made open or close but the fit wasn't good for open so I've gone for closed over the pilot, open over the gunner so the rear guns can be mounted. I don't normally fit canopies at an early stage if I can avoid it but this canopy wasn't going to fit well so its on with lots of filler. I taped the rear section into place too as a "solid mask". If I was going to make another of these I'd cut each section of canopy into individual parts, junk the clear runners and replace with plastic strip. Anyway.....

In the absence of cockpit detail the crew fill the gaps nicely so you don't notice smooth sides inside etc.

/media/tinymce_upload/3ba8c38603a7f53d6c2175a44b268fdb.jpg

Canopy on with lots of Kristal Clear

/media/tinymce_upload/4032ab485650b4fdea2eb8d6080d5672.jpg

Top coat sprayed. This is a colour I mixed up for a Midway Wildcat based on the pro-model on the back of the Kate/Wildcat dogfight double. Its greyer than usual (probably meant to be sun faded intermediate blue) but this suits whats to come next. I mixed equal quantities of Vallejo model air intermediate blue and dark gull grey to get this shade

/media/tinymce_upload/534f440d45f9c557afab6b068d3457eb.jpg

Still very monochrome and a bit toylike as a result. I next apply two thin coats of Mig filter (blue for dark grey)

/media/tinymce_upload/ac3981fa952b634d2a4edeee9fc6855b.jpg

The phone pics don't work too well but this slightly varies the base colour and flows around the rivets without being as intense as a dark wash. What I'm aiming for is this:

/media/tinymce_upload/6466d5382e27db5a5a164d6fd736cdec.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/6e93172743f8c805b8c18bc5bd10cbdd.jpg

Masked off to spray the underside you can see the filter effects a bit clearer.

Light gull grey sprayed next. Red flaps painted by hand....... post painting research then reveals that "apparently" the middle flap was grey and only the outer ones red. DOH! Middle flap then repainted grey by hand.

/media/tinymce_upload/57f3b0f070a656922c974d505df22ffd.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/17cf723483438f427d92c84204e155a2.jpg

Taken outside the final shading shows up better. It may not look it but this is 90% complete at this stage.

BTW the instructions for the SBD-3 version say ONE .30 cal (options for 1 or 2 are provided) but my research says SBD-3 had 2 .50 cals in the nose and 2x .30 cal in the back. This model certainly has two .50 cal up front so I'm fitting twin guns in the rear. 

 

Hopefully final pics uploaded before the end of this week as work as banishing me to Crewe for a whole week of Health and Safety training next week............

[T2B]

You have made good progress and I look forward to seeing the finished results. 

[Peter s]

Thanks! Right... the finished job. I've jumped a few steps ahead but none of you need to see my apply some decals.

/media/tinymce_upload/a68f6ac52b0fac6ce8a3eca5fb94a69b.jpg

I used a little (a pea sized lump) of windsor and newton burnt umber oil paint in 5 mls of Mig odourless thinner (the oil doesn't dissolve well in it and settles quickly). This makes a generic "dirty" filter when it settles or a dark rust coloured wash when the oil is in suspension. I used parallel strokes with a big flat end brush front to back on the whole plane. That dirties up the decals, makes a streaky pattern and has a slight wash effect on panel lines. I did this VERY, VERY gently. Planes leave the factory shiny and go to war where the aquire a bit of dirt and damage but its too easy to weather something to the point of silly. The SBD was used as a scout as well as a bomber and these guys were busy leading up to Midway. However this is as weathered as I'd ever go unless I had a specific archive photo to prove that more weathered was acceptable. I found a better bomb (ready painted) in my parts box too so replaced the kit bomb. I THINK its from my B25 (Airfix) but don't quote me on that.

Here's the rest. Two pics get the "Vintage" filter from photoshop which is a really clever effect and requires no effort to apply.

/media/tinymce_upload/88b7c441ac2df78ee12f339fabcd7835.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/72cca01cc0bac6e77d9984d81405ee22.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/3062db00cc457f7ee2179e1fbe3dbe87.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/91bcbb9e318f0e53946ce9831d83db80.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/c484559a916a67ef95ad6a1c22a1d508.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/3a7348e9be6264da8e57c9f9db19f879.jpg

Overall... it looks like a Dauntless, it was cheap (I've paid more for a beer than this kit), only took a weekend and was loads of fun from start to finish. What more could you ask for?

The wire running from the tail to the aerial is 0.2mm brass rod attached with a tiny amount of superglue. The finer wire running from the plane up to the wire (more obvious in the first 2 or 3 pics) is a length of my wife's hair (I often get this stuck to models... this is one of the first times I've intended it to happen!). Wife hair is a free resource in our house and is easily obtainable from most surfaces.

The hair, brass wire and tiny quantities of plastic-strut apart this is totally out of the box. Apparently the kit was first released in 1967 (the same year as Sgt Peppers loney hearts club band). Apart from the canopy which is showing its age this kit stands up very well and there's not a lot of choice in 1/72 for this very significant type. 

[jopres57]

Thats a very realistic finish Peter s, it certainly pays to put the extra effort in. Here's one that I made earlier, about twenty five years earlier as far as I can remember. As usual it's in my standard 'just out of the factory' look, I think my kit making ideas are permanently stuck in the nineteen seventies!

/media/tinymce_upload/12f92cf14e6bededa87d8913395de6cf.JPG

/media/tinymce_upload/cfd5684f26bc12527b74f3fc96ca27c2.JPG

I have a couple of Academy Helldivers in my stash, which include an option for open dive brakes. The one thing I wondered about is the interior colour of these brakes. Most build articles in the modelling press, kit instructions, and also the models shown here and elsewhere, have US Navy aircraft in WW2 with red interiors for flaps and dive brakes. Looking at the picture above posted by Peter s of real aircraft it looks like that this interior colour is either green or zinc chromate. Where they originally maufactured in this colour and red leaded during their service, or is their another explanation.     

 

[Dominic Thomas]

I like the result you have achieved. It looks good and the final setting for display is very good. The kit does show it‘s age, and this can been seen in some of the pictures [thick canopy, spindly undercarriage, to name but two], and we all have the ultimate choice - buy it or not. I would buy it as I have always liked the model.

I think your post was excellent - the aim, the reference, the build, the result, the information, and the humour. Well done and thank you. 

[Kenneth ONeill]

Well, FWIW I've always argued that ex-factory or ex-major schemes are the only times that anyone can be certain that a paint finish is totally accurate.

[Dominic Thomas]

Thats a very realistic finish Peter s, it certainly pays to put the extra effort in. Here's one that I made earlier, about twenty five years earlier as far as I can remember. As usual it's in my standard 'just out of the factory' look, I think my kit making ideas are permanently stuck in the nineteen seventies!

/media/tinymce_upload/12f92cf14e6bededa87d8913395de6cf.JPG

/media/tinymce_upload/cfd5684f26bc12527b74f3fc96ca27c2.JPG

I have a couple of Academy Helldivers in my stash, which include an option for open dive brakes. The one thing I wondered about is the interior colour of these brakes. Most build articles in the modelling press, kit instructions, and also the models shown here and elsewhere, have US Navy aircraft in WW2 with red interiors for flaps and dive brakes. Looking at the picture above posted by Peter s of real aircraft it looks like that this interior colour is either green or zinc chromate. Where they originally maufactured in this colour and red leaded during their service, or is their another explanation.     

 

I can’t answer your question about dive brake colours, but i do have a question for you. Where did the markings/transfers come from? Was that option in the kit in the 25 yo release?

[jopres57]

 

I can’t answer your question about dive brake colours, but i do have a question for you. Where did the markings/transfers come from? Was that option in the kit in the 25 yo release?

I've just dug out the old instruction sheet and there are two decal versions for this kit; the machine flown by Captain Bell USMC as displayed by Ratch above, and the New Zealand version that I went for. This particular aircraft was apparently  from No. 25 Bomber Sqn., RNZAF, Seagrove, Auckland, December 1943.

If I remember rightly this issue of the kit was available for a few years, it has the USMC version illustrated on the box cover. I've just had a quick glance at e-bay and at least two are for auction at the moment, although if you already have the kit I've seen after market decal sheets on the market with RNZAF options.

[jopres57]

With reference to my previous post, this issue of the Dauntless doesn't seem to be available on e-bay at the moment. There seems to be more versions of this kit than I was aware of. Sorry for any confusion.

[Peter s]

Thanks all! 

I've often wondered about the red colour but it's used in the few preserved SBDs and was standard on US navy aircraft from Vietnam to the 1980s for the "usually hidden" bits. If anyone wants to counter argue and say "Well the museum's used the 1960s paint" I certainly wouldn't argue with you. In principle a zinc chromate green or yellow would seem logical. Red is high visibility though... There might be a logic to the colour there but I don't obviously see it.

 

Jopres comment about helldivers is timely. I've started the Lindbergh kit of the helldiver as a compliment to the Dauntless. They're similar but with the Airfix a better kit. If the "powers that be" are reading this a new tool helldiver would be a great idea. The FAA rightly hated the beast but it would allow FAA aussie, us navy and post war French decal options (some Airfix big markets) and would really suit the folded wing option Airfix excel at.

 

ps the Lindbergh kit was £9 on ebay, an academy £23 hence the choice. It's one of the worst planes to ever enter service so I didn't want to spend much for the sake of completion

[jopres57]

 

 

Jopres comment about helldivers is timely. I've started the Lindbergh kit of the helldiver as a compliment to the Dauntless. 

 

The Helldiver is one of my favourite kits subjects. If you have chance to buy the last Airfix issue at a reasonable price it might be a good idea to do so. It's worth having for the decal sheet alone; some good subjects and far easier to work with than the sheet from the much more expensive Academy kit.