REJ Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 I bought this monster right after it first became available and shelved it for some time. Too many things on the work bench ahead of it. Now it's time to get busy. First, a short history. 2106 is an SBD-2 Dauntless that joined the Navy prior to Pearl Harbor assigned to the "Lex" as part of the Atlantic Fleet. 2106 participated in war games conducted in the US gulf coast area and flew mostly from hasty dirt airfields. During this time, 2106 ingested a lot of dirt and dust through the intake of the radial engine, destroying the rings on several cylinders. Shortly after the war games, the "Lex" was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and 2106 was dropped off at Ford Island for engine replacement. The "Lex" left for a delivery cruise taking aircraft to other islands and 2106 stayed at Pearl. 2106 survived the attack on Dec 7th and, upon the return of the "Lex", rejoined her on-board squadron. 2106 was then a part, six months later, of the Midway campaign. During it's second attack run, 2106 was heavily damaged, but made a one-wheeled crash landing on Midway and was later recovered. She then went back to the factory and was repaired, but instead of rejoining the fleet (newer SBD-3/4s were coming out by then), 2106 was sent to Michigan to join the training of new Navy pilots learning to land and take off from small aircraft carriers in Lake Michigan. 2106 was spun into the water and sank to the bottom of the lake. There she laid until discovered in the '90's and raised for salvage and preservation. 2106 is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. This thing is going beyond extra large! The cockpit tub is a large sub-assembly with a lot of detail hidden from view most of the time. There is a section behind the firewall and ahead of the dash bulkhead where the oil tank, engine mounts, and intake are hidden. To make an access door or panel will, in my opinion, weaken the forward fuselage joints and make them took fragile. So I'm going to cover them and leave the details inside. I've added so more details the are easy to see, but were omitted from the kit. Seat belts, switches, and plumbing have been put the best that I can. The engine has received a wiring harness and some other enhancements...not many though. The decals are crap. I nearly destroyed one small decal in a test and discovered they are paper thin and don't adhere to much. So I'll paint most all the markings instead. This is the rudder with red/white strips added. I still have to thinly coat it with light sea grey leaving the strips to show through some. Such was the hasty attempt to change camouflage. I have added metal landing gear from Scale Conversions for their strength. Alain Gadbois, dodgem37, Uncarina and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 More test fitting trying to get everything to line up properly. The cockpit tub must fit correctly or the body shows major gaps requiring massive work. But before I can close the tub, I have to wait for a set of 1/24th scale placards and data plates to see if they will work. Not sure what I can do if they don't. LSP_Kevin, dodgem37, TAG and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Nicely done. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 (edited) That kit and your skilled modeling are coming together nicely! This looks like a lot of fun to go with the challenges. Cheers, Chuck Edited June 27, 2020 by chuck540z3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Thank you guys for the kind words. There are a couple of questions I have that maybe y'all can help with. Did VMSB 241 use the outer wing bomb racks during Midway? Second, does anyone have an idea on how to scratch make data plates and placards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Inspiration is an understatement. This SBD-5 IS AMAZING! Unfortunately, I have neither the talent or resources Rich had and, therefore, can not attain the same results. I will continue to try as best I can to make this build a one of a kind SBD-2 Midway defender. I checked Airscale and they have nothing I can use for the data plates. I ordered a set of P-40 placards (1/24th) from Eduard but I haven't received them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Not much to report lately. I've been masking the canopies the old fashion way with tape. It's tedious since there are no 1/18th scale accessories available to help. I'll have to do the same when it comes to the markings. Everything has to be hand made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 (edited) Not sure what happened here...seems to want to double-post...? Edited July 2, 2020 by REJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 Finally got everything taped and the interior color shot. Now if I could get those placards and the exterior colors....come on postal service! scvrobeson, Uncarina, Landrotten Highlander and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Since the postal service is slow, I decided to try and make a few data plates (be kind...first two attempts ever). ivanmoe, Uncarina and Landrotten Highlander 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 So the biggest outward difference between the -2 and -3/4 is the panel immediately aft of the firewall on both sides. Since I couldn't engrave a straight line to save my soul, I decided to over-skin the section with thin plastic card stock. Here they are in place. I still have to thin them down some around the edges, but I think it's a fair start. Landrotten Highlander, scvrobeson, jgrease and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 Small update...I had to order the placards from another location that promised delivery this week. Maybe then I can get this moving again and back on track. Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 First run at the placards left side panel... Out2gtcha, Landrotten Highlander, patricksparks and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Looks grand so far! REJ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REJ Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Getting closer to having the cockpit tub done. LSP_Kevin, Martinnfb, Landrotten Highlander and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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