This
is my finally-at-long-last completed Dauntless kit by Trumpeter that my
wife got me for last Christmas. I only finished it the day before
our wedding anniversary, September 5th. This is a
fantastic kit, and the SBD has been one of my favourite aeroplanes for a
long time. The Trumpeter kit is a real beauty. When I saw the
painting guide for MAG-11 with the yellow wings, I knew instantly what I
was going to build. I love the age when aeroplanes were “pretty”
and not all camo and dull.
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I
noticed that the engine had holes for spark plugs, but the kit didn’t
actually have them. This has never stopped me from getting a bit
carried away, hey, I’m a scratch builder from “way back”, so I
figured with my skill and a bit of help from Google, I’d find a pic or
two of how the engine looked for real. Yes I know, the real one
probably didn’t have red spark plug wires, but red stands out.
I
glued the wires on with super glue, much to the amusement of my daughter. She
loves to watch me “attach” myself to my hobby, and more than once I needed
to use an x-acto to detach myself from the kit, literally. I used a
variety of materials for wiring, and I learned what to use again (dead computer
mice) and what not to use (twist ties are very stiff). I had no instructions on
how or what to use the extra photo etched parts for, I assumed they were for the
rear seat but the lack of information in the otherwise comprehensive
instructions was disappointing. Another feature I liked was the clear
cowling, but I didn’t want to have the whole front clear. My answer was
to mask off some “cut-aways” to show off some of my hard work on the engine
detail. I’m happy, now maybe I can finish some of my other projects!
Happy modelling.
Mark
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