1/48 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator VT-8 "Midway" (Finished)

Excellent work, Joe. I have plans to build a 1/48 TBD, SBD, F4F, and B-25 to set beside my 1/350 USS Hornet representing the Doolittle raid on April 18, 1942. In your research, do you remember coming across any changes to the SBD from April to to Midway in June; and, did your kit come the VT-8 decals that you plan on using?

keavdog

Coming along nicely!  I ordered this kit based on your comments.  Despite the shortcomings I've always liked this bird.  I'll be following along  

 

Thanks Keav...

Coming along nicely!  I ordered this kit based on your comments.  Despite the shortcomings I've always liked this bird.  I'll be following along  

fotofrank

This book is a must read for the history of Torpedo 8 and their demise at Midway.

Torpedo 8 was disbanded after the battle for Guadalcanal.

 

Thanks Frank...i wish I had more time to read.  

stikpusher

Lawdog, your TBD is coming along great! That’s a real beauty of a kit.

Thanks Stik..

richs26

The R-1830 was not a small motor as it powered PBY's, B-24's, and P-36's.

 

......and the Wildcat, and perhaps others.  Just an observation.  It looks fairly small in relation to the size of the airframe. With a reported top speed of 200 mph, it was slow.     

Greatmaker

Looking great Joe.  Trying to putty those corrugated wings must have been a pain in the rear.  I'm glad my devastator is far in my past

 

Thanks Robert.  It was sort of a pain but they lined up ok.  The key was not to press too hard and cause glue seepage which would be difficult to remove.  On the wing folds I used Perfect Plastic Putty and then a toothbrush to remove the excess.  It worked great.  

Unfortunately I still have to build another one...

VT-8 was reconstituted in 1943 and shipped out with the Intrepid in November 1943.

Rambo

Looks really good lawdog. You are right they are a really large airframe for such a small motor.

 

Indeed.  Thnks for dropping by Clint

This book is a must read for the history of Torpedo 8 and their demise at Midway.

Torpedo 8 was disbanded after the battle for Guadalcanal.

GMorrison

The other major factor that led to the demise of VT-8 was the lack of fighter cover, but that was not only because they lost their escorts. The USN was still relying on the SBD as both a dive bomber and a combat air patrol fighter, and the carriers carried about as many TBDs as F4Fs, and twice as many SBDs. 

 

At Midway, that was not so much the case. The carrier based SBDs were pretty much used only in their primary scout and dive bombing roles. More F4Fs were carried due to the introduction of the -4 model. But yes at Midway, each carrier air group consisted of one fighter squadron of F4Fs, one torpedo squadron of TBDs, one scout squadron of SBDs, and one bombing squadron of SBDs. Each squadron had a nominal assigned strength of 18 aircraft, plus spares carried on board.

The other major factor that led to the demise of VT-8 was the lack of fighter cover, but that was not only because they lost their escorts. The USN was still relying on the SBD as both a dive bomber and a combat air patrol fighter, and the carriers carried about as many TBDs as F4Fs, and twice as many SBDs. 

And I also think that torpedo bombers were kind of an iffy proposition by mid 1942, until guided torpedoes in all of their forms came into general use.

richs26

The R-1830 was not a small motor as it powered PBY's, B-24's, and P-36's.

 

Yup... it’s more a question of power to weight, and streamlining. The TBD was faster than the aircraft that it replaced, but was outclassed within a few years. 

Lawdog, your TBD is coming along great! That’s a real beauty of a kit. 

The R-1830 was not a small motor as it powered PBY's, B-24's, and P-36's.

Looking great Joe.  Trying to putty those corrugated wings must have been a pain in the rear.  I'm glad my devastator is far in my past

I continue to plug way at this turkey.  I assembled the cockpit and have been pretty happy with the fit.  

I read that some modelers used shims to aid in creating positive gluing surfaces.  I followed suit with plasticard.

I then closed her up.  I had no issues.  It's gonna need some more dry brushing later.

I switched to the R-1830  Great Wall did a nice job on this. I didn't even mind the supplied PE wiring harness. It was flat but I built up the wires with copper paint.  Careful painting and a wash..

I returned to the frame and assembled the wings.  I used the same shim technique for the wing tops, which worked well for strength  I needed some putty for gaps here and there but nothing major. I wish these companies would offer one piece wings for folks that want them displayed down, to save some aggravation. What's the saying? Wish in one hand and...well you know the rest...lol.  

Apparently Great Wall forgot to add landing gear well detail? I wonder why nobody mentioned this?

I think I figured out why these were so slow.  Look how small that R-1830 is compared to the rest of the plane.  These were pretty large...

I primed the seams to check my work and taped off the one piece canopy which I will use as a mask.  Time to throw down some paint.

Thanks Rich and Stik. 

mustang1989

Oh HELL yeah!!! I SOOOO wanna build me one of these!! I'll definitely be tuned in and watching this one come together. I didn't even know that Great Wall had released this kit and may even go out and buy it now that I've seen this thread. Roll on Joe cus I'll be pullin' me up a seat.

 

Nice to have you Joe....dog the GIF too...

Here is John Ford's documentary on VT-8 on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajlKvA48IXU

Note the scalloped fin boxes.

Oh HELL yeah!!! I SOOOO wanna build me one of these!! I'll definitely be tuned in and watching this one come together. I didn't even know that Great Wall had released this kit and may even go out and buy it now that I've seen this thread. Roll on Joe cus I'll be pullin' me up a seat.

Greg

Joe, thanks for your feedback regarding Great Wall kits.

I see Clint mentioned he likes them too, thanks to you too.

 

Nice to have you along Greg. 

richs26

Very nice job on the interior.  The colorplate you show is pretty accurate with the scalloped  plywood box around the torpedo fins which was developed and tested in late 1941.  TBD's, TBF's, and B-26's used torpedoes with them.  Does the kit come with them, or will you have to manufacture them?  One thing that is wrong in the colorplate is that the torpedo rear section was covered in a bronze colored grease as seen in the May 1942 colored film and photos of TBD launches.

 

 

Thanks Rich. Yes the kit comes with the plywood box. It even has woodgrain which should paint up nicely. I’ll have to see if I can find that color footage. 

waikong

Wow, very nice frontoffice work. Great job on the be!ts.

 

Thanks!

Joe, thanks for your feedback regarding Great Wall kits.

I see Clint mentioned he likes them too, thanks to you too.

Very nice job on the interior.  The colorplate you show is pretty accurate with the scalloped  plywood box around the torpedo fins which was developed and tested in late 1941.  TBD's, TBF's, and B-26's used torpedoes with them.  Does the kit come with them, or will you have to manufacture them?  One thing that is wrong in the colorplate is that the torpedo rear section was covered in a bronze colored grease as seen in the May 1942 colored film and photos of TBD launches.

stikpusher

Lawdog, i am a big fan of the TBD. I have built many of the old 1/72 Airfix and 1/48 Monogram kits. I’m looking forward to see how you build this one. I saw that you already noticed the shoulder harness issue. 

Cdr Waldron’s mount is a very worthy build and tribute to those brave Naval Aviators of the ill fated torpedo squadrons.

 

Glad to have you along stik. I did considerable research before I started bit, I likely missed some stuff. I’m glad to have your assistance and any input is much appreciated. 

I’m also doing a pre-war version as well, but I wanted to do this one first. 

Lawdog, i am a big fan of the TBD. I have built many of the old 1/72 Airfix and 1/48 Monogram kits. I’m looking forward to see how you build this one. I saw that you already noticed the shoulder harness issue. 

Cdr Waldron’s mount is a very worthy build and tribute to those brave Naval Aviators of the ill fated torpedo squadrons.