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Airfix 1/72 TBD-1 Devastator


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Having just finished my Special Hobby SB2A-3 Buccaneer for the Strike Aircraft Group Build, I'm switching over to this Group Build for my next build in my 1/72 US Navy/Marines collection.

 

I'm going to do the Airfix Devastator.  This is a nice kit for its age  Although I have Devastator kits by AZ Models and Valom in the stash, I also have several of these Airfix kits, which I think are good and fun to build.  Here's one I built 10 years ago:

 

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Here's the one I'm about to start!

 

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As you can see, it's molded in white, which is unfortunate.  It also looks like I'll have to replace the decals.  Even if they work, the color seems off.  I have alternative decals from Starfighter that I'll probably use.

 

Mike

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The interior builds up pretty quickly since it's so basic.  I'm going to build this one with the wings folded, so I'm not going to do anything to dress it up.  I have a PE set from White Ensign that really looks like it would transform everything, so I'm going to save it for one of the other Airfix TBDs I have in my stash.

 

DSC08901_zps90uyjulm.jpg

 

Mike

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  • 1 month later...

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I've made good progress in the last couple of weeks!

 

Interior:

 

DSC08903_zpse8yic9wc.jpg

 

Middle crew station (yes I know the antenna loop needs to be painted silver...I do get to it eventually).

 

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Fuselage closed up!

 

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Poor fit underneath lead to a lot of putty and sanding:

 

DSC08907_zpseqwdewcu.jpg

 

Cheers!

 

Mike

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Wings attached, as well as landing gear:

 

DSC08908_zpsl0hqgwnp.jpg

 

Canopy on and masked.  There are four "clear" parts.  If you've ever built an Airfix kit from the 60s with multiple clear parts, you know how well they (don't) fit.  A lot of white glue filler was used to close the gaps.

 

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A coat of overall light gray.  This pre-war/early-war color is elusive, but most put it at FS36622 which is Model Master's Camo Gray.

 

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After a gloss coat, the decals went on.  These are from Starfighter Decals "Devastators in War Paint" and were EXCELLENT.  There are a lot of corrugated ribs on the wings, and a lot of rivets on the fuselage, but the decals snuggled right over all of these.  I don't work for Starfighter, but every decal and resin product I've used from them has been excellent.

 

You can see the painted prop too.  I painted the tri-color tips rather than use the decals, which seemed too fussy.

 

DSC08914_zps1xqscvur.jpg

 

Almost done!

 

Mike

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Finished up over last night and this morning.

 

Here you can see what I had to do in order to keep the folded wings positioned correctly while the glue set.

 

DSC08916_zpsltfez6vu.jpg

 

And done!

 

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I drilled out the exhausts and the small air scoop on the starboard forward fuselage.  I also flat-spotted the wheels to get it to sit a bit more realistically.

 

Cheers!

 

Mike

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