Part 1: What's Inside the Box |
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MSRP: 139.00 My initial reaction upon opening the
box was, WOW! Trumpeter has again pulled off another long awaited kit in
1/32 scale, the Douglas SBD-1/2. The only injection molded SBD in this
scale has been the old Matchbox kit (also re-boxed as an AMT kit) which
was plagued with inaccuracies, fit problems and lack of detail - not the
case here.
The packaging is constructed from Trumpeter’s very sturdy boxing with
very colorful artwork. Inside you will find the sprues packaged either
one or two to a bag and a box containing the clear parts, rubber tires
and a photo-etch fret. Also, included are a very detailed instruction
booklet consisting of 20 pages and a large colorful decal placement and
paint reference sheet. |
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On par with other Trumpeter kits, the colors are called out in both Gunze
Sanyo Aqueous and Mr. Color paint lines. The modeler is given two paint
scheme choices representing two Marine Corp aircraft. First is, “White
1”, an SBD-2 from VMSB 241 that was finished in Intermediate Blue over
Neutral Gray. This aircraft took part in the first attack on the
Japanese Aircraft Carrier, Hiryu, in the beginning stages of the Battle
of Midway. Second is, “2-MB-1”, an SBD-1 from VMB-2 Marine Air Group
11. This aircraft is finished in colorful pre-war colors with natural
metal fuselage and undersides with Chrome Yellow wings. A smaller
separate decal sheet is provided containing all of the maintenance and
warning stencils. |
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The kit is made up from 227 pieces on 14 sprues (10 molded in light gray
plastic and 4 clear), 1 photo-etch fret, 1 instrument film, 3 rubber
tires and a decal sheet. The photo-etch fret contains gun sights,
pilot’s seatbelts and rear gunner restraints. It appears that a couple
of the photo-etch pieces are provided for the soon to follow SBD-3/4
release later this year. |
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Two separate sets of clear parts are provided allowing the modeler the
option to build with the canopies open or closed. Clear parts are also
included for the cowling to enable the modeler to show off all of that
engine detail. I am not a big fan of clear parts used to represent the
airframe but that is a personal opinion. I would much rather have the
parts molded in gray plastic and have removable hatches and panels to
display these kinds of details. The instrument panel is provided as a
clear piece. The instrument film provided is sandwiched between the
clear piece and the instrument panel backing as was done with previous
Trumpeter releases. |
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The modeler is also given the option to build the -1 or -2 variant of the
SBD with the inclusion of a separate piece replicating the taller -1
carburetor scoop. |
Note the taller profile of the -1 carburetor scoop. |
The -2 carburetor scoop. |
The closer I inspect this kit the more impressed I am with both the
quality and quantity of detail. The kit features finely engraved panel
lines and recessed rivets. I know this will be a sore point with some
of the modeling purists out there. As a matter of personal preference I
like the recessed detail as it will take a wash very well and is a bit
easier to replace lost detail after sanding and seam preparation. There
is a small amount of flash around some of the finer details and in the
dive brake holes but can be dealt with easily. I find this a little
surprising for a new tooled kit but this may be a consequence of an
early production run. I compared the kit’s panel/rivet lines and
surface detail against the scale drawings in Bert Kinzey’s Detail and
Scale and they appear to be right on. The amount of detail involved in
the front and rear cockpit rivals that of any resin detail set. It is
in my opinion that this kit can be built without any aftermarket
details. Trumpeter offers some excellent details in the front and rear
cockpits. The cockpit floor is molded so that the curvature of the
center wing structure is well represented. Closer inspection reveals a
narrow hose with attached funnel on the floor of the front cockpit – yes
folks, the old relief tube. They have also provided the cutout on the
floor for the small window on the belly of the aircraft. The seat is
well molded and of the correct shape with all the necessary detail. It
will look great when finished with the provided photo-etch belts. A
couple of other slick little details provided are the flare pistol and
the hoist cable that was used to suspend the aircraft on crowded hanger
decks. |
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Inside the fuselage halves the structural detail is provided all the way
down to the tail section. Trumpeter does provide the option to have the
luggage compartment hatch in the open position. This will allow some of
the structural detail; life raft stowage tube and the parachute flare
tubes to be visible through the open hatch. |
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The dive flaps and their respective actuators are beautifully molded and
are completely free of ejector pin marks. Care will need to be taken,
however, when handling the actuators as they appear to be very delicate. |
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Trumpeter has done a superb job of engineering the kit while ensuring no
ejector pin marks are present in any of the detail. A dry fit of the
fuselage halves indicated that any seam work will be absolutely minimal. |
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While dry fitting the fuselage halves I did notice on my sample some small
sink marks that need to be pointed out as these would probably show up
during painting. These marks appear near the overturn structure between
the pilot and rear gunner and on the bottom fuselage center seam just
aft of the three identification lights. These are small sink marks that
can be fixed easily with the aid of some Mr. Surfacer. |
Small sink mark caused by locator pin hole. |
Note the two small sink marks near the overturn structure. |
A dry fit of the wings was also done and indicated a very good fit that
will only require some light sanding. The wing to fuselage joint will,
however, require some work to ensure a good tight fit. Here, as
illustrated in the photo, you can see a larger gap about midway up the
chord of the wing. I did not do any clean-up of the parts before dry
fitting so it may just require a little more attention. Fortunately
this seam falls on a natural panel line and due to the way the kit is
engineered it will only have to be dealt with on the top side. |
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Slightly rough seam along wing fuselage joint. |
The only shortcoming of this kit that I have found in the initial review
would be the decals. The pre-war national insignia have some noticeable
geometric discrepancies: 1. The tips of the star should almost touch
the edge of the blue circle
2. The red “meatball” appears to be too large
3. The star doesn’t appear to be centered in the circle.
For those wishing to do a pre-war scheme should probably seek an
aftermarket set of national insignia. |
Notice how the star is slightly off center and the red center circle
is out of proportion with the star. The tips of the star should almost
touch the edges of the outer circle. |
Overall, Trumpeter has done an excellent job in recreating the early
variants of the SBD, “Slow But Deadly”, in all its glory. I highly
recommend this kit especially for any WWII Naval aircraft buff or 1/32
scale enthusiast as it will make a very impressive addition to your
collection. This is definitely one of their finest efforts to date.
In the next segment I will walk you through the build of the main focal
point of this kit – the front and rear cockpit.
Thanks to Stevens International and John Noack for providing the
review sample. |
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