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GWH 1/48 Devastator – FINISHED

Started by Eric Berg · 173 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago · devastator, dive bomber, Douglas, Great Wall Hobby, GWH TBD-1 devastator, Lt. John C. Waldron, Midway, T-16, TBD-1, TBD-1 Devastator, torpedo, torpedo bomber, VT-8

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Doug Humphrey said 3 years, 5 months ago:

+1 for another person looking foward to watching this build. Sorry about GWH's decal "engineering decision". Have a Monogram TBD in the stash, and for years thought it was one of their better kits, but looking at the detail this one offers thinking this one is the better option for a Midway bird.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:
Thanks for following along John and Doug.

I got as far as completing most of the cockpit which is extremely well appointed. i have been using an old Aero Series no. 23 "Douglas TBD-1 Devastator" for reference. All Devastators used lap belts up to Midway and not harnesses as the instructions insist so I popped some Eduard belts in place.

Since the bezels on the gauges are a bit deep, I decided to fill them with white glue to create the illusion of glass lenses. Machine guns are next.
1. white glue added to make lens

2. white glue here too

3. nice ejector marks, eh? Whoops.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

This cockpit is a work of art, Eric @eb801.
Nice idea to add white glue, in order to add depth to the gauges!
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 5 months ago:

That cockpit looks very nice, Eric. @eb801
Detailing and painting is very well done.
Indeed a great idea to use white glue for the lens effect, will keep that tip in my notebook.
Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 5 months ago:

I say, that is some fine detailing here Eric (@eb801). Well done.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

thanks for the comments Spiros, John and Erik. Calling this cockpit a "work of art" is way too generous, Spiros, but I do appreciate it.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:
1. kick doors added

2. no doors
Devastators had steps on the sides of the fuselage with kick doors so one could climb aboard. For some reason GWH molded then in place without the kick doors so they look like holes. I cut pieces of Evergreen plastic to fit and glued my own doors flush with the outside of the fuselage. By the way, I have been following the helpful advice of Tom Cleaver and two others who built this model over at Modeling Madness and would advise anyone building this kit to read what they have to say prior to starting this.
1. bombsight attachment
While working on the bombardier compartment which is accessed by crawling into a hole under the cockpit and lying prone on a wood floor, I noticed that GWH molded an attachment for the bomb sight in place but provided no Norden bombsight or alternative. However, it really doesn't matter because if you glue the bombardier doors shut, you can't see anything anyway unless you use a flashlight and look straight down into the cockpit.

I should have the machine guns assembled in the next day or so along with the rest of the cockpit.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Looks amazing, Eric!
Clean, detailed job!
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 4 months ago:

Nice progress, Eric.
That fire extinguisher looks great.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 4 months ago:
1. bombardier window

2. bombardier compartment
Here's what the installed bombardier compartment looks like viewing it from straight above. As you can see, the bombardier had to crawl down onto the wooden platform just below the pilot's seat, lie prone and sight out that lower window using a bombsight. Like I already mentioned, none comes with this kit and I should have looked for a spare. If you are going to position the bombardier doors in the closed position, just paint the diagonal window frame line only as that is all you can see, if that, because it's going to be awfully dark down there.
1. attachment point

2. One could add gauges on both sides where these holes are.
GWH instructions would now have you attach the top gun deck (with the assembled twin machine guns glued in place) to the side of the fuselage half. Note that the kit instructions show a single machine gun stowed in position as that is what all Devastators carried except at Midway. Midway TBD's had twins temporarily installed specifically for this battle. They couldn't be stowed or lowered in place so the gunner's canopies were left off for the duration of the attack. However if you glue these guns on now to their extremely weak attachment point, I guarantee you they will get knocked off in seconds. The attachment point is extremely fragile. Wait until your Devastator is completely finished before mounting these guns in place.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 4 months ago:
1. bombardier window

2. doors go here
Here's what the bombardier's window looks from down below before the fuselage halves are joined.

Coming next is gluing the two cockpit instrument panels to their correct position which looks like it will not be easy or fun as the instructions are not very clear how to go about it. Another weird attachment point. Dry fit three times. Glue once! That's the plan!
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 4 months ago:

That bombardier compartment is really something, Eric @eb801.
First time I see something like this! What a cockpit arrangement!
Speaking of which, you are doing a really great job in there, despite the fit issues!
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 4 months ago:

Not a very nice area to have another day at the 'bombardier' office.
That cockpit detailing is very nice, Eric.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 4 months ago:

No kidding John. I certainly wouldn't want to lie down in there and try to sight a torpedo while getting bounced around. Douglas really came up with goofy idea on this one.
Thanks for the cockpit compliment. Hi five to Spiros as well.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 4 months ago:
I have now glued the top deck in place along with the position of the machine gun ring. I realized with careful assembly, the gunners seat is designed so the machine gun unit will rotate somewhat and go up and down a bit. Seems like a nice idea but way too fragile and a bit of a pain, so I just glued everything into permanent position.
1. This is the map tray in it's stowed position. Install from the back before gluing fuselage halves together.

2. Tray pulls out from under here.
Almost time to button the up the fuselage and glue the two halves together. However a few steps further and the instructions call out for installing a sheet of PE - a map tray, if you will - from the front of the pilot's seat and there's not much wiggle room. Talk about over engineering! I chose to keep the map tray in the closed position so it's much easier to install this "tray" from the back now before gluing the fuselage together.

In the process of all this, I broke the hydraulic hand pump lever off so I will have to make another.

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Work in Progress – Aircraft

GWH 1/48 Devastator – FINISHED