Accurate Miniatures 1/48 SBD-5 Dauntless

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H

History Man

Airman
73
6
Jul 1, 2014
West Coast
Purchased this kit a week or so ago to build in remembrance of a Marine crew who served in VMSB-241 later in the war. Have never built an Accurate Miniatures kit before, but I will say the detail is quite nice....though assembly is presenting some slight problems now and then. I thought I would post some of the progress that has been made so far.....

 
Detailed the sidewalls and the cockpit section....rudders proved to be difficult but eventually came along alright. Sprayed it with a flat coat, contemplated using a wash but decided against it...gave it a good drybrushing instead. May do a wash next time




 
After fuselage assembly ...there was a small problem with the fit of the floor but it eventually snapped into place. I had to be very gentile because the instrument panel broke in two pieces and still wobbled after a thorough drying.







 
Attachment of the lower wing set along with the two upper wing portions (holes punched for the yagi antennas)...finally attachment of the horizontal stabilizers. Starting to look like a Dauntless now!





 
Engine attachment along with addition of forward cowling section. Main issue I had was the front gun set-up....it had a very tough fit, especially on the rear cowling assembly, going to try and get that taken care of.



 
And this is where I am at now....I have the aircraft primed and am deciding the next move.

Some advice would be most appreciated. As this crew was based in the Philippines with the Marines and saw a lot of use, I am going for a used and abused look. As it is late war, it will be painted a dark blue overall....I know about pre-shading but my airbrush isn't the best for accuracy (it is a badger) and would probably look bad if attempted. I may end up just giving it a wash and some drybrushing afterwards but I have heard of some other forms of wear. I have seen some people paint the aircraft a metallic color, and then apply the final color.....then go over the aircraft and sand it in areas to show wear before the wash is applied. Any thoughts on this and/or advice in general would be appreciated before proceeding.

This aircraft along with the next few will be used for a public display in August.



 
Looking good History Man. If your looking for foolproof washes, I like to use Citadel Washes...



...they work best on a gloss surface and then flatcoat when dry. The more coats you use, the darker it gets. I use the green, mud, sepia and black.

Geo
 
Some updates on the SBD....I have also been working on a TBF by Accurate Miniatures

I was able to find some good putty from the local Hobby People...then primed it and painted it. Followed by the gear and dive flaps being added....then final cockpit and gunner details added, then a gloss coat was applied








 
Aircraft painted Insignia Blue by Model Master...this is depicted as a SBD attached to VMSB-241 in 1945

Had some issues with paint...not sure what it is about dark blue with my airbrush but it clogs it up like no tomorrow. Had to apply multiple coats for it to even it out.




 
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Gear has been added as well as the prop....paint overspray and such has been touched-up and such. Just a note, I found Model Master Guard's Red to be a good match for dive flaps.

Gear was a little pain to put in.....but after some negotiations it went in fine, just having some issues with the left gear strut.







 
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Dive flaps added...I decided to go with the flaps in the landing position, was debating between that and full open...but I am content with my decision.

Also added the pitot tube and the yagi antennas











 
Gloss-coat added in preparation for decal addition....located my Micro-Set and Micro-Sol so I am happy to avoid the "silvering" problem I had on my SB2C.

Bomb racks also added.





 
Just a quick question with regards to decals...does anyone know what the proper stars and bars would be to place on the aircraft? I am thinking that the ones with the red border would be correct but want to be sure before I start.

Also, does anyone know if VMSB-241 had specific markings on their SBD's? I have checked but cannot find much on their later-war aircraft...most of their online photos consist of their participation in the Battle of Midway.

Philip
 
And below is the finished product. I stars and bars decals were a pain in the rump to apply, they did not want to adhere and don't really give it a good look....I used the kit decals (which are usually good) and used the combined Micro-Sol + -Set.

After that, another coat of gloss was applied. Applied a wash to the aircraft, which does not show too well due to the color, then it was followed by a flat coat. Ordnance and glass pieces were applied. I opted for the canopy to be in the open position, as it makes a better display.

Philip


























 
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