![]() ![]() One of the first things I dealt with was the instrument panel. As I mentioned up above, Trumpeter’s side-load approach is welcome here, since it allows for a lot of flexibility in how and when various parts are painted, weathered and installed. While the R-1820 was proceeding, I was also working on the Dauntless’ cockpit. Most of the work was done with Ammo Panel Line Washes, with some AK Engine Oil and Kerosene used to represent a seal leak on the crankcase cover. Next – because a clean engine is a boring engine, came some weathering. Unhappy with the too-thin wiring, I added a few coats of Vallejo paint to thicken it up a bit, finishing with some Vallejo Metal Color Copper. Ultimately, lead wire that was too narrow, in my opinion. The mounting frames are more or less foolproof, and you can even bring in the (randomly) clear panels to help hold everything together while solvent cement locks everything in place.Īfter the main colors were down, I added some micro tubing for the spark plug wiring, then wired the thing up to the ignition ring with lead wire. The exhaust collector rings end in nice, keyed notches, allowing you to install the actual exhaust outlets after the cowl is installed, giving you, again, tons of flexibility in when you bring various pieces together. And, importantly for an engine, it can be built up after individual components are painted.īehind the cylinders, the thoughtfulness continues. ![]() The ignition ring lines up with the crankcase cover thanks to a few location tabs, and then the whole thing smacks down into some alignment holes.Įverything fits, and fits well. Trumpeter’s R-1820 is engineered in a straightforward fashion. The two are similar enough that I’d liken it to looking at a picture that’s out of focus, and then one that’s crisp and sharp. Trumpeter’s side-load approach to the cockpit clears away the problems the AccuMini kit ran into, though the initial test-fit shows that the wingroots are still an issue.Īfter the…unpleasantness with the Kitty Hawk Kingfisher, Trumpeter’s R-1820 and indeed the entire assembly forward of the cockpit was a pleasure to work with. But it was my second kit back to the hobby, so just as likely my own incompetence. The wingroots, too, were a challenge on that kit. This made test-fitting next to impossible and ultimately caused some issues getting everything installed, with some elements hanging down trying to occupy the same space as those loading up. My memories of that kit have dimmed, but I clearly recall the frustration with the cockpit, which built up in a sort of top/bottom sandwich with the cockpit floor loading up and into the fuselage. It’s been nearly six years since I built my last Dauntless – Accurate Miniatures’ SBD-3 (my second build after coming back to the hobby). It also wore the tricolor camoflage that I personally find more interesting than the bluegray over light gray of the early war dive bombers. The SBD-3, which distinguished itself at Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal, gets the lion’s share of the attention, but the -5 was the most produced variant, and did a lot of the dirty work later in the war. Slated for replacement before the first bombs even fell at Pearl Harbor, it proved instrumental in turning the tide in the Pacific, and was ultimately responsible for sinking more Japanese ships than any other aircraft. The Douglas SBD Dauntless is one of the unsung workhorses of the war. World War II, with a focus on painting a camoflage scheme.Īfter a few false starts, I decided to tackle a late-war SBD-5 Dauntless. When The Weathering Magazine’s aircraft-focused spinoff, Weathering Aircraft, reached out to me about doing a build for an upcoming publication, the request was pretty wide open. ![]()
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