Time for some nostalgia
Monogram's venerable four star "plastikit" SBD Dauntless was originally released in 1960. It was until the Accurate Miniatures and Hasegawa SBDs the only game in town in 1/48. Over the years some very impressive models have been built using this base kit, Bert Kinzey recently posted a great build over on Facebook. For me, I intend to build it straight out of the box with all the working features, including taking a heated screwdriver and flaring the landing gear axles so the wheels turn! The decals are shot, but I bought some white numbers and aftermarket national insignia to replicate the "White Box" issue I have. I was able to salvage the instrument panel decal and will glue that on when the time comes!
Recreating the vintage paint colors will be another challenge, since my favorite brand of the time Pactra is long since gone. I used a lot of Pactra little square bottle paints, and Testors as well. The paint call outs are inaccurate for a real Dauntless, but I remember well painting the interior "Apple Green" and using Pactra "Flesh" for the faces of the crew. Anyway here is the start!
I used to annoy the c**p out of the cats by dive bombing them! My favorite feature of the kit.
Brian Riedel
I had a Japanese Carrier made from a cardboard box, many missions flow from the living room to my room where the enemy was!
Rob, looks like just a nice fun care free build! Aside from my job, the one thing I miss about being in Washington, was "Norms" a gas station and beer Emporium in Lake Stevens a couple of miles from my house. Oh how that wonderful beer selection added to the enjoyment of my model time.
We have great beer here in the NW! Luckily even with the "stay home stay healthy" directive I can still get a cold one!
This is pure modeling, Rob! Buil what you like, your way, having fun and share it with us. Pity we cannot share this lovely beer...
All the best, my friend and stay safe!
I had a long piece of plywood with strings across if for arrestor wires - re-enacted the battle of Midway many times with my 2 Monogram SBDs, SB2C, F4F, F6F, 2 TBDs and of course, a single Zero on the other side...the good guys always won, of course! The Monogram SBD is still represented in my dive bomber history collection.
Nice!
It will be a fun distraction before I dive into my box scale NB-52, which I planned as a quick easy build...then I started thinking, then I found this picture...and well...now I have "plans" for it!
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Back in the early 90s, Medallion Models made a complete resin cockpit for this kit, which was very accurate and really improved things. One thing that has to be done is to drill out the dive brakes/flaps. There's also a Squadron vacuform canopy that totally improves things since you can cut it and pose it open.
Yes, there is much that can be done to the kit. I built a Guadalcanal based one years ago, went to town on it. This one though, is being built as a model building time capsule of sorts. Trying to match the way Monogram intended it to be built, toy like features inaccurate paint and all! I might even dive bomb my dogs!
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Woof! woof!
A great plan Rob just what is needed in these strange times.
Have fun and don't dare fill the seams!
HA! I will fill seams, but that's about it. Oh and use an airbrush to finally get that great 3 tone (wrong for that model of SBD) scheme!
OMG! Talk about nostalgia. I grew up in the 60's on the northwest side of Chicago and used to ride my bicycle into suburban Niles to gaze at the Monogram headquarters and production facility. Mecca! Then I went home and flared axles with a hot screwdriver and painted with Pactra paints! Forgot about those. I think I was a Testors fan at the time. And I never built this kit because it seemed to daunting.
Have fun and thanks for the memory.
A good plan for these times, and that ale you’ve poured looks really tasty! I’ve still got a slew of old Pactra square bottles. Not sure if I’d dare use them, as they’re probably loaded with lead.
Makes me want to go out and find the 1/32 Revell P-40 and build it. The first model my Dad and I built together in '81. We picked it up at EAA and I loved the box art on it!
That is a great kit
Whooo - look at all that blue plastic! Happy building!
I know right? I had forgotten that some kits from the era were molded in this bright blue, most of the Navy subjects were in the darker blue. I did build the Monogram Corsair during the 70s that was in this blue though.
Old Monogram and Revell are the best. They can be built up to current standards, or building one straight out-of-the-box is also fun. Can't wait to see this one finished.