1/48 Accurate Miniatures SBD-3 Dauntless (FINISHED)...

No, my kit was bought off E-bay.  It was open and the sprues were partially painted interior green when I got it.  

Joe

Man I hate to see this one at a standstill. Hopefully those parts come in decently quick Joe.

Its temporary.  Sometimes it's best to just walk away for awhile.  I'll get back to it eventually.  Besides, I'm in Stuka mode now.....  .  Im kind of excited since I have yet to build a Stuka.   

Joe 

Well................we'll let it slide this time!

TY soooo much for the primer on cockpits. I read it over and over, and to me ,it's worh it's weight in gold.

I finally found the source for the Detailer and it's currently in the mail.  Should be here soon because it's actually made right here in Florida.  My offices are looking better and better thanks to your tutorial and I'm very gratefull you chose to share it all with us.

Wow!  What a great tutorial!  I'm returning to plastic modeling after spending many years in R/C modeling.  Thanks for sharing your techniques Joe.  I'm feeling very inspired and looking forward to the next installment.

Your welcome Tango. It's gonna be a while though.  I need a replacement part before I can continue.

Joe

Hey Jay, what was the source for the Detailer?

FWIW, I bought mine from the source. Even got  a thank you note from the gent who makes it if memory serves.

http://thedetailer.net/order.htm

woody, here ya go

www.thedetailer.net

The Detailer Phone: (850) 603-3108 E-mail: orders@thedetailer.net Mailing Address: The Detailer 13798 144th Street Live Oak, FL 32060.

Hey Joe, back on page 1 about 3/4 way down you describe putting the clear barrier down prior to the Detailer wash.

You typed Testers Dullcoat, did you mean to type "Glosscoat". ??

Greg

Hey Joe, back on page 1 about 3/4 way down you describe putting the clear barrier down prior to the Detailer wash.

You typed Testers Dullcoat, did you mean to type "Glosscoat". ??

Probably a typo.  The gloss is the carrier between before the washer.  I'm not sure its absolutely necessary but it works for me.  I'll go back and fix it.

Joe

Fixed...good catch Greg...

Joe

Thanks Jay!

My holiday wish is that Joe gets his replacement parts and continues this terrific tutorial.

I'll be referring to this often as I start my own SBD-3.

I'm happy to report that I got a Dash-3 off ebay for 20 bucks and now that I finished Detroit Miss, I will resume operations on this turkey later this week.  

Joe

Can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Me 2 U2!

Back in this saddle.  I first have to say that I'm glad I decided on just getting a donor kit for this project because I keep finding more missing parts as I go.  The top portion to the cowl (A83) was found to be missing,  Lesson learned...dont buy kits that had been started.   Anyways, Its funny how far you can get when you have the proper parts.  It took me no time at all to get here.  The engine and cowl were test fitted and I'm pleased with the fit.

The carb intake was deformed badly on this kit.  I had to do some filling and I added a strip of syrene to replace lost detail.   

The wing/fuselage joint fit poorly on this kit. It left huge gaps (see green putty).  I ended up filling the trenches, sanding, then rescribing the panel lines. 

It was then primed for paint.

The panel lines were then pre shaded with XF-1.

I decided on Lefty Holmberg's B-2 here, Although a great artist rendering, I wont go this weathered, 

I started with XF-66 Light Grey but it seemed too blue to me.  I ultimately decided on XF-19 Sky Grey underneath, which looked better to me. 

It was then grunged up with a postshade of XF-69 NATO Black and XF-64 Red Brown heavily diluted with 91% Isoprophyl Alcohol.  I then added a touch more of the XF-69 to my mixture and made streaks along the engine and centerline. 

Thats where I left off.  The Blue Grey is next, as soon as I figure out the Tamiya formula for it.

Joe 

Great to see this one get going again.

Glad to see this one rolling through the assembly line once again. Looking good.

This is a great read so far, I'll be following.  Thanks for all the info on products and techniques and the like, I'm learning lots here!

-Blake

Sure glad to see you getting back to the Dauntless Joe. I've been waiting patiently for you to get this going again and see how you finish it out. Appears that you are off to a marvelous start.

Thanks all.  I'm glad to get going on this one again too and I'm making some progress too.  Last night I painted and weathered the upper.  These Midway Dauntless ships originally had red dots and red and white rudders, which were hastenly painted over for battle.  I wanted to replicate this with the rudder stripes still visible under the paint.  I painted the rudder XF-24 Dark Grey then taped off the stripe pattern. 

I dug out the instructions from my Tamiya Wildcat and used their recommendation for the USN Blue Grey.  This was XF-18 Medium Blue and a couple of drops of XF-2 Flat White.  I added few drops of XF-82 Ocean Grey to well......grey it up a bit more. 

I added more white then added condensation streaks and lightened the control surfaces.  I also dusted the rudder with the mixture so the grey stripes were only slightly seen.  I then added diltued XF-64 Red Brown and XF-69 NATO Black as a post shade for weathering.  I think this is about right, but it could possibly use more.  I added a tad more XF-64 for the exhaust streak along the fuselage.     

It's on to the wheels, gears, flaps and prop. 

Joe 

Looking very realistic there Lawdog.  Your posts  are an inspiration and ty so much for sharing.

 I'm working on a Academy p-40 and I'm definately going to apply the weathering i see here to it.  BTW, the office came out great thanks to your tutorial .

Looking mighty fine!

Mike

I'm really glad to see this one back up and running.  You're doing an amazing job on her.

Very nicely done. The execution of the painted over stripes is well thought out and implemented. And your overall paint and weathering is remarkable. Sweet action Joe.

Joe, it's always nice to see you paint!  =]

Thanks guys...and your welcome Jay

Joe