Part 1: What's Inside the Box

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.

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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.

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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