Accurate Miniatures SB2U-3 Vindicator (1/48)

[denders]

#2 appears to have freshly painted national insignia. And they are much larger than the other aircraft seen in the movie frame captures. I decided that the insignia in the kit weren't large enough, so I cut masks and painted the national insignia. The kit decal instructions indicate markings in six locations, so I went with that. The "2" and the overpainted tail stripes are decals. There are a few more small decals to place. The canopy masks don't seem to fit as well as I think they should, so I'll order some Eduard masks from SB and see how they work out. 

 

[denders]

It has legs and a clear coat, now to add a bit of weathering.

 

[mustang1989]

I've always thought alot of this aircraft. It wasn't the most effective carrier based bird nor the most handsome of the lot but for some reason I was always drawn to this one. Great work so far Dave!! 

[denders]

Okay, it's done! Although while preparing the photos I realized that I don't have any exhaust staining or engine oil, etc. I'll add it.

 

I also ended up using the overall canopy part because the individual pieces just weren't overlapping and sitting correctly to have the open cockpits. 

 

The paints are MRP and I mixed some of the Light Grey with the Grey-Blue to make a more faded color. I did go back over some areas of the fuselage sides with Grey-Blue to darken the fuselage sides where they may not have had as much sun exposure. The markings are painted using masks cut on a Cameo 4 cutter. The number 2s are from decals and the painted over rudder stripes are the kit decals. Some of the interior colors are brushed Vallejo paints. The antenna post doesn't have a positive location despite what was shown on the instruction sheets. I attempted using the sponge technique on the walkways to add paint wear in those locations. First time for that.

 

[scvrobeson]

Great job on the Vindicator!  Those canopy parts were definitely a challenge when the kit first came out, using the closed option is probably preferable. 

 

 

 

Matt 

[denders]

Well, that's about how long I've had the kit too. I picked up quite a few of the AM kits when they were first issued. I had one of the Gulf Hawk kits, built it for my father back then. Since he's passed it's come back to my display shelf.

[Borsos]

Lovely!

I also build this kit some 10 years ago and it’s still one of my most favored. I chose one with medical taping on the rear fuselage.

I love the outline of the Vindicator and wished there‘d be a kit in 1:32 scale.

Andreas

[denders]

2 hours ago, Borsos said:

I love the outline of the Vindicator and wished there‘d be a kit in 1:32 scale.

That would be nice. It would be nice that the manufacturer would work out a method to represent the different outer wing panel dihedral too. Without having to trim and putty whichever dihedral was chosen. The SB2U-1 and -2 had 7 degrees dihedral but the -3 had 9 degrees dihedral. The -3 was built solely for the Marines and something like it would be easier for them to fly.

[Rick Griewski]

Thanks

I did not know about the variable dihedral.  

[denders]

It's not variable as in adjustable, the SB2U-3 was built with 9 degrees of dihedral. The earlier versions only had 7 degrees.

 

I have a 3D model I'm working on Vought SB2U Vindicator - Military-meshes.com therefore I dug into the details. I didn't even check the model kit to see how much dihedral was in the plastic.