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Tom Cleaver
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I have seen the Trumpeter 1/32 TBD-1 Devastator - Good News

June 24, 2023 · in News · · 5 · 511

Was up at the LHS this afternoon and they had one of the new -1 kits.

Yes! Thirty years of "coming soon" has arrived! It's no longer vaporware. It's real.

So how is it?

It's like this: 20 years ago Trumpeter - who was under a lot of criticism for the accuracy of their kits - released the SBD-2, SBD-3 and SBD-5 Dauntless kits. They were perfect. That's because Trumpeter made the genius decision to take the Accurate Miniatures Dauntless kits - the best kits of the Dauntless series available - and upsize them. Those kits are as good as the A-M originals.

Trumpeter did it again with this kit. They have upsized and added additional excellent surface detail to the superb Great Wall Hobby 1/48 Devastator.

I'm just in the process of finishing one of the VT-8 at Midway release kits from Great Wall, so I am as familiar with that kit as I was with the Accurate Minitaures SBDs when the Trumpeter kits came out. This kit is an upsize of the Great Wall kit.

And that's good news if you - like me - have been wishing this kit would materialize in the real plastic.

Buy. In. Confidence.

Mine is on the way from Squadron with their great pre-release deal that includes a decal sheet from Gold Medal Models that provides markings for every TBD squadron - pre-war and wartime.

Whoopee!

Reader reactions:
11  Awesome 1 

5 responses

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    said on June 24, 2023

    @tcinla - Good news, Tom! Thanks for "the word" on this kit, I want one but had been wondering about it. Now I will acquire with confidence.

  2. Thanks for the great news, Tom!

  3. Thanks for sharing this news, Tom @tcinla
    Looking forward to the moment you receive it and can share the box content with us.

  4. Excellent news, Tom. Thank you!

  5. I've been struggling to choose between this one and the Airfix 1/24 Spit IX. I am seriously starting to lean towards the TBD. Thank Tom (and Bill)!

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