Painting & Weathering Study: Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless

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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.

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A Rocky Year…

Man. Somehow, it’s already late August. 2015 is just about two-thirds of the way done. And what do I have to show for it so far?

Two completed builds. Just two. And one of them was mostly done in 2014…

Granted. I’m rather happy with both..but still…two stinkin’ completions is pretty weak.

WTF Happened?

So. What’s happened to this year? (more…)

Continue ReadingA Rocky Year…

1/48 Trumpeter MiG-21F-13, Part IV

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Part I | Part II| Part III | Part IV

Welcome to Part IV of the MiG-21F-13 build. At the end of Part III, the Fishbed was painted, chipped, and had just had the markings masked and sprayed.

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Now, it’s time to continue the journey with some weathering.

Wash & Strut

Handling the MiG-21 with the nose strut only installed was becoming tiresome by this point, so I said f- it and installed the main gear struts as well. The fit of these into their mounts is frustratingly wobbly, but somehow my “CA-and-pray” approach worked just fine ,and the plane appears to sit level. Now…it does appear to sit taller in the rump than most images I’ve seen…but I think that’s a case of the oleos being at full extension or something.

In addition to strutting the MiG, I also applied Vallejo Light Gray Wash. Vallejo’s washes are something I’ve recently discovered, and used properly they are fantastic. The darker colors really have a much stronger effect, but the gray wash quite subtle and helps to bring some cohesion to a really visually disparate paint scheme like this one.

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Like I said. Subtle. (more…)

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1/35 Hobby Boss T-26 Mod. 1933, Part 1

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At the beginning of April, Large Scale Modeller kicked off its first armor-only group build, focused on the Eastern Front from Barbarossa to Kursk. After batting around the idea of another T-34, I decided I’d go in a different direction and build a Soviet light tank instead – the T-26.

Hobby Boss – which, along with Trumpeter – appears to be on an “All Things Russian” tear at the moment – already offers several flavors of T-26, with more on the way. I chose the Mod. 1933 because, well, I don’t know really! My intention is to do this one quick and to have fun with it, not get all bent out over accuracy.

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1/35 Trumpeter T-80BV, Part 3

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Welcome to the Main Event

The T-80BV has been a slog of a build up to this point. Not a bad kit, by any means. Far from it, in fact. But still, the complexity and the high parts count make it rather…involving.

Now, the building is (mostly) done, and it’s time for the fun.

When we last left the T-80BV, it was ready for paint.

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So…to paint!

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1/35 Trumpeter T-80BV, Part 2

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The T-80BV build continues.

In Part 1, I tackled the tracks and running gear. This time around, it’s all about plowing through construction to get to the part I really enjoy – painting and weathering.

If you want the TL;DR version – this kit is a slog. It has a ton of parts, many of them tiny, and requires a lot of focus to get things where they need to be. On the plus side, everything fits rather well. (more…)

Continue Reading1/35 Trumpeter T-80BV, Part 2

1/35 Trumpeter T-80BV , Part 1

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Back in December, I pulled Tamiya’s Challenger 1 from the stash on a whim. Modern armor isn’t exactly my thing, but building the Chally has certainly piqued my interest to a certain degree.

So I’ve decided to keep the modern thing going with Trumpeter’s new 1/35 T-80BV kit. And, because the kit only includes glue-em style indy tracks (which I HATE), I decided to spring for Trumpeter’s separate Workable T-80 Track Set.

The T-80BV Main Battle Tank

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Continue Reading1/35 Trumpeter T-80BV , Part 1