Subject: Re: Please post on May 5th update
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Carlos Arvizu" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 20:30:41 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Carlos Arvizu 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:52 PM
  Subject: Please post on May 5th update

  Gallery Template #04

  "1/72 Hasegawa Dauntless Mexican Air Force" 

  by "Carlos Arvizú"
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

  Background:

  Mexico began receiving Douglas A-24 Banshee (equivalent to the SBD-5 Dauntless but with different tail wheel and no tail hook) in 1943. They flew anti-submarine patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.
  Many schemes were used and information is not very clear about the colors used and the only references photos I found aren't great and B/W only.
  Most of the info I found is from The extraofficial Fuerza Aerea Mexicana homepage.

  Click on images below to see larger images

         Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg   Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 04.jpg  

  The kit:

  The kit is great. Fit is excellent except for the lower wing and lower flap. Other than that it's easy to build and doesn't have too many pieces. It could use cockpit detailing aftermarket items, but I decided to build it OOB. Also the bombs and tail gun are a little too simplistic. I mostly build modern day jets. I do not know how accurate or inaccurate the kit is. 

  Building it:

  As I mentioned I built it OOB. The only extra being a nylon antenna. It was a fairly quick build. The only time consuming task being the drilling of the flap holes. To my surprise most of the circles (simulated holes) in the upper flaps coincided with the ones in the lower flaps. That really helped.

  Paint and decals:

  Again I went for the simple. I choose this two color scheme. Masking the canopy was a major task for me. I used tamiya tape and magic tape with mixed results. Many of the frame lines are so thin that they were destroyed (paint chipped) when I peeled the tape or when I ran a knife around them to separate the paint from the masks. 

  I used tamiya tape to mask and paint the yellow stripes. The landing gear was supposed to be chrome yellow. But I didn't have that particular paint at hand and didn't want to disturb the pace so I used what I had at hand:  tamiya's flat yellow.

  Decals are from Aztlan. A little off register. They are somewhat old and thus fragile. Even though I sprayed the whole sheet with clear coat I had to replace a couple of roundels. I replaced them with the superb roundels from Aztec Models.

  I used the black stripes from the kit decal sheet.

  Closing comments:

  I feel pretty good with the end result. It took me less than a month to build and it was a joy. Although it's far from perfect and it's no contest material I like it. It represent my country :D

  Saludos desde Mexico.

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here  

  Photos and text © by "Carlos Arvizu"