March 2016 – Doogs Studios

One Shot, and Only One

Post author:Doogs
Post published:March 18, 2016
Post category:Commentary
Post comments:7 Comments

How long do you have to stick with a product before you can pass judgment on it? To some out there, it’s inappropriate to call a product crap when it completely and totally fails you out of the gate.

Screw that.

Look. Right now, we’re absolutely spoiled for choice. In the kits we build, the aftermarket we choose, the paints and tools we employ. It’s a total buyer’s market, and unless you’re being sponsored by some brand or other, you are under absolutely no obligation to stick with a product that does not meet your standards. (more…)

Painting & Weathering Study: Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless

Post author:Doogs
Post published:March 3, 2016
Post category:Builds Weathering
Post comments:10 Comments

With the Kingfisher out of the running for my upcoming magazine build, I’ve had to cast around for another suitable subject. The only real requirement is that the subject be painted in the tricolor camoflage worn by US Navy and Marine aircraft in World War II.

I’m hesitant to pull out HK’s B-25 for a PBJ-ification. Warmer weather is coming, and with it, the spiders that always cause havoc at the bench. My last go-round at an HK B-25 was delayed because the damn things kept building webs in the bomb bay. I also considered Tamiya’s F4U-1A Corsair, but they’ve kinda been done to death for the moment.

Then I had a thought. How about a Dauntless? Trumpeter makes a good kit. It’s one you don’t see built all that often, and when it is, it’s almost inevitably an earlier SBD-3 dressed up for Coral Sea, Midway or Guadalcanal. Which I totally get. In terms of historical impact, 1942 was the Dauntless’ year.

But…the SBD-5 was built in larger numbers than any other variant, and performed a workhorse role in the long slog to drive the Japanese back to their home islands. It has a quieter but still significant story.

Before I embark on the build (or even choose which markings I want to go with), I thought it’d be an interesting exercise to look at some examples of the SBD-5 in action, and note some interesting painting and weathering characteristics.

(more…)

Nope: A Rant About Awful Engineering

Post author:Doogs
Post published:March 2, 2016
Post category:Commentary
Post comments:53 Comments

When I started building models as a kid, I had no idea what I was doing. Gradually, that changed. And one of the first kits that I actually, legitimately tried at was Monogram’s venerable OS2U Kingfisher.

Since then, I’ve had a soft spot for the awkward floatplane. So when Kitty Hawk announced they would be making a new-tool Kingfisher – and in 1/32 scale no less! – I was thrilled.

When sprue shots and reviews started coming in, I was still thrilled. When I got the kit and briefly pawed through the bagged plastic, I was still thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, that I decided I was going to build this sucker for an upcoming magazine article. I even found a rather battered Kingfisher I wanted to tackle:

Then, I actually got started on it. The front and back halves of the R-985’s cylinder banks didn’t fit together because – get this – the locating pin was too big. Okay, annoying, but no real biggie. Drill the corresponding hole out a bit wider and viola.

And then I looked at what came next.

Really, Kitty Hawk? Really? (more…)