Academy SBD-5 Dauntless 1/48
Hello,
Just finished this one here. It's the old Accurate Miniatures reboxed by Academy. I've been reading a lot of praising for this kit, the best Dauntless in this scale, a classic etc etc. Well, I have to say, not a bad kit, in general, but I'm not that enthusiastic about it. But, being fair, just could not be that good, given its age.
The clear parts are terrible. When not cracked, with me 3 out of 5 were, they don't fit well, either if you choose closed or open, stacked, canopy.
For the rest, except for the flashing in almost all parts, it was ok. Oh yes, the manual too, not good. I was told to search on line for the original Accurate manual, which I did, and it turned out way better than the Academy one, even having some parts that don't match the model.
Hope you'll enjoy.
Cheers!
Is there anything that you DO like about it? Sure looks good from here.
Nice level of details, cockpit interior and decals. As I said, kit is ok, only didn't strike me as so fantastic as some reviews claim.
That's a very nice build, George!
Thank you!
This kit is a bit fiddly but the result speaks for itself. I don't recall the clear parts being an issue on the original version.
Unfortunately, at least for me, they were less than satisfactory. Thanks!
Very well done.
Thank you!
Nice result. It's always been my experience with this kit that it's hard to get a bad result.
One trick to do with the open canopy when you stack it - stack it off the model and then sand down the lower edges till they are all able to sit flat together. That's actually the only problem I ever had with the kit. I like the Academy boxing for including pre-cut canopy masks.
Very good idea. It would end up much better. Maybe next time. Thanks!
Nicely done George, looks like the trouble you experienced didn't affect the end result.
Thank you!
Beautiful! Vary nice result. I always wished AM would have found a way to incorporate the subtle rivets of the Monogram kit, if they had done that, perfection! I'm building the Monogram one now, and I had honestly forgotten how nice the rivets were, nearly perfect for the scale.
That's right! Thanks!
Looks great, thanks for sharing! Pity about the clear parts being damaged in kit, though. Hmm
Thank you!
Sure looks great to me! Those split dive brakes sure make that bird stand out...
thank you!
Looks great!
Thank you!