1/48 SB2U-1 Vindicator (Academy)
This genre is unfamiliar to me and it is very difficult for me. the manual was so difficult that it was even harder.
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Despite your description of the "degree of difficulty", it looks to me as if it turned out quite well indeed.
very well done. Looks a treat.
Its so weird you just posted this b/c I have been online looking for a 1/48 Vindicator model to build for myself. I had the Accurate Miniature Model many years ago but sold it. Yours came out really great. Looks like you got the color just right with great worn and weathered look. Very realistic. What exact paint/colors did u use for top/bottom. I am actually building a 1/32 Early SBD-3 from Battle of Midway right now for somebody and I have been researching the colors from this era. They r the exact for the Vindicator and early SBD so curious what u used.
Hello Paul,
Back when I was building my SBD during the Battle of Midway GB, I found these color pictures online... I hope they help
The last photo I shamelessly "borrowed" from Rob as it was posted under one of his "Friday Briefings" postings...
On my SBD, I used Model Master "USN Blue Gray" and left it as is, since the plane I was modeling (flown by Dick Best) was brand new at the time of the Battle, and would not have suffered too badly from the effects of the sun and salt spray just yet.
You can see from these pictures that it didn't take too long for the paint to fade... In the last photo, you can even see some "Zinc Chromate" showing through the paint at the Starboard side wing root on plane #5.
Good job on a not so easy kit! It is a rebox of the old Accurate Miniatures kit, and this was not AM's finest hour. Would be interesting to see if Academy provided new drawings for the instructions (I guess they didn't), as the old AM drawings often only made sense when you studied them together with the written instructions.
Well, Won-hui Lee, you have branched out to a new area and the results are outstanding! Despite your "troubles" understanding the directions, you have done a beautiful job!
This is indeed a beauty... I knew that Academy had released several of the Accurate Miniatures kits under their label, but was not aware that the Vindicator was one of them. This is good to know.
Your build looks splendid my friend... Well done.
Nice result on this. The old Accurate Miniatures kit is not the easiest for modelers who are experienced in that genre, so your first-time effort here is quite nice.
(One teensy weensy minor thing: check the sprues for the rudder trim tab and then all will be totally excellent)
I particularly like the differential paint fading on the upper surfaces. Definitely looks like on of the SB2U-3s that sat an baked under the sun on Midway for six months before the battle. Very realistic.
Should there also be yellow tips on the prop? Or perhaps the red/white combo some earlier aircraft had?
Won-hui, this may unfamiliar territory for you, but your skill as a modeler really shows. Especially with your excellent paint work. Your build looks very realistic when compare to the photos I've seen of the real thing, Well done !
Nicely done!
I can only Parrot and echo whats been written. I wonder if Academy cut the molds for the Vindicator? The first pressing of this kit was done after Accurate had gone under I believe and another group of investors had put up enough money for a pressing and the fuselages where marred. Right around the mid-section where the fabric meets the metal cockpit. A disaster for the company trying to release a new kit that the modeling community really wanted. They replaced the fuselage pieces things, slowly spiraled down hill and Italeri and now Academy have released the more recent pressings.
Other modelers have posted captures of Vindicators taking off of Mid-wqy island and the white stripes are not squadron markings but, are repairs done with surgical tape. Canvas airplanes have a rough go of it in hot tropical climates. Accurate was a sad story ...they really helped turn around the design of aircraft models towards better accuracy. There was rumors that they where developing a P-61 Black Widow and one wonders if it went beyond the design stages.
Two thumbs up Won-Hui on a excellent build.
As all have said - excellent work! I just bought a 1/72 Vindicator at a contest, and I'll use your as great reference! Love all the variation and weathering.
I agree with the others, well done
Excellent!