1/48 Monovell (A-24 Banshee conversion) SBD Dauntless

Here is one you can use:

http://www.historicaircraft.org/Army-Air-Corps/content/Douglas-A24-2_large.html

I figured I'd have to seriously up the detail for the Gunner. A -5 should have dual .30's. 

The rest of those details will reveal themselves as I build and research like always.

Thanks, Stik!

M. Brindos

I figured I'd have to seriously up the detail for the Gunner. A -5 should have dual .30's. 

The rest of those details will reveal themselves as I build and research like always.

Thanks, Stik!

 

The twin .30s started appearing around the time of Coral Sea. They were retrofitted to Aircraft in fleet service that were produced without them. The -3 had the change introduced on the production line. Early -3s had the single mount.

I've been looking at a lot of pictures to see the differences between the varients.

I could get away with an A-24, maybe an A-24A.

An A-24B is possible with some changes to the cowl as you pointed out, Stik. Nothing I can't accomplish.

I just need to make a decision.

M. Brindos

I've been looking at a lot of pictures to see the differences between the varients.

I could get away with an A-24, maybe an A-24A.

An A-24B is possible with some changes to the cowl as you pointed out, Stik. Nothing I can't accomplish.

I just need to make a decision.

 

Most changes to the SBD were internal. Externally, the -1 had a larger cowl scoop. -2,-3, and -4 had the same size scoop. The -4 introduced a new propellor, that continued to the -5. The -5 did away with the scope style bombsight, and replaced it with a reflector type sight. Other changes such as self sealing fuel tanks, armor, changes to the electrical system, more powerful versions of the engine, etc. were all internal.

Mike,

I don't know if you've seen this, but Witold Jaworski is building a 3D model of the Dauntless under "Scratchbulding".

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/44/t/165482.aspx

He gets into the finer details of the differences in the SBD models.  You can also download his Blender model if you wish to view it in 3D.

Gary

Thank you, Gary. I haven't tuned into that thread in almost two years, forgot it existed, and that's now a reference I can get all of my details from.

There's a ton of info I needed there. 

THANK YOU, GARY for bringing that back to my attention.

Okay, after some research I've decided to go with an A-24. No -A or -B.

The markings I have to use only appeared on the A-24. So a Vanilla Banshee is what I'll build this up as.

Also, I detailed the engine a little by adding the ignition wire loom, the crankcase downpipe, and the propeller pitch adjuster wheel. That should be enough detail without actually purchasing an AM resin engine conversion kit.

I know I'm going to have to make do with what the kit has provided me with lol. I'm going a little Shep Paine on this one. Not whole hog building an engine out of disks like he once did, but at my level.

So up next; I have to make a new prop nosecone. I'm leaning towards Milliput to get the job done. We shall see. 

Look in your spares bin. An old drop tank tip may have the correct profile for  the spinner cover. 

Thanks for that tip. I'm going to go look.

Or you can look at pen caps or clickers for just the right shape.  I found a Zebra brand pen that had the correct shape for spinners for my Monogram Snaptite B-26.

Plastic mechanical pencils found at the dollar store can have many uses (like rocket nozzles). 

Also, you might check through your "stash" to see if there are any drop tanks included that you might do without when you build it.  I know I grabbed a couple from a P-51 when I needed some for a P-47.

Gary

Since I plan on using a Monovell P-40's tail wheel (next one's going wheels up) I think I can get away with using the drop tank from that kit as well. 

I haven't had time to check yet. But I think I already have one I didn't use last time either.

I may even have some spare tanks in one of the P-51 kits. Definitely remember some with the P-47's.

Wherever I find one I'll see if the profile is correct. Last resort is going to be shaping some Milliput though. I'm really getting used to using it for basic shapes.

Thank you, Rich and Gary. Excellent ideas!

Of course you can use Witold Jaworski's profiles to get the correct shape for the hub.

http://wjaworski.pl/blog/sbd/0005-02.png

Gary

Thanks, Gary. That helped me get the shape right.

I started by cutting out a 3/8" disk with the center marked so I could first drill it out, then enlarge the hole until it fit over the kit hub.

I then used the cone shape I cut out of card stock to check the overall shape as I formed the cone out of Milliput. I get off work at 10pm and I didn't feel like pulling out a bunch of kits. 

Once this sets up I'll gently give it a twist to detach it from the kit part so I can sand it.

This method should do the trick.

And I do believe we have a winner, gentlemen.

Looks like I did alright. 

Super work on that!

Looks A Number One, Mike!

Gary

Hi,

That turned out great.  

Thanks guys! Nice to get such comments for such a simple thing lol. 

Awesome work Mike! I like the old Monogram kits as well, was especially fond of the P-47 and gave it the 'treatment ' a few years back. Looking forward to the next update

I have both P-47'S Revell has on the shelves right now. The razorback and the bubbletop.

I honestly don't know which one is original monogram. I'll have to check scalemates.

Thanks for the compliment, Trey. I've got to get something done so I can give you guys an update. Right now it's still in the same state as the last pictures lol. Gotta fix that.

Hey there! It's been a good, long while since I've worked on this kit, but I've put some more work into it over the last couple of days and reached a stopping point until the next time I feel like digging it out.

I wasn't happy with the gunner's .30 call as it was so I pimped it out a little with some greeblies and a bullet shield. I also plugged the gap behind the cockpit and I'll sand and scribe the doors in later.

I separated the front windscreen from the rest of the canopy with a razor saw. I'll have to make a new one from some acetate when I get far enough to do so.

I opened up the these air slots in both wing tips, again with the razor saw. Darn thing is awfully handy.

Part of the modifications from Navy to Army standards was the removal of the tail hook as the Army had no need for carrier landings lol. I'm also deleting the bomb dropping mechanism so both of those slots in the fuselage have been filled in.

Another modification for the Army conversion was removing the solid rubber tail wheel in favor of a gnumatic tail wheel, changing the shape slightly because of the difference. I "borrowed" the tail wheel from the monovell P-40B kit as I'm building the next one wheels up to hang her up. It's an almost perfect match.

I've drilled out all of the holes in the dive flaps but I haven't cleaned them all up yet. From dry fitting the parts I can tell I'm going to be spending a lot time "fixing" them so they all fit right without all of the giant gaps.

That's where I've stopped for now. Those dive flaps are going to take some serious rebuilding to get them to look like I want them to. So for now I've switched over to putting more effort into my Hobby Craft P-35A and that's going much smoother because the parts fit much better and scratch building details is less of a planning stage and more of a fun, inventive process.

Nice progress update! It’s all coming together really well. 

Thanks, Carlos. 

Nice update!  You're making good progress.

M. Brindos

I have both P-47'S Revell has on the shelves right now. The razorback and the bubbletop.

I honestly don't know which one is original monogram. I'll have to check scalemates.

If you're talking about 1/48 kits, those were developed by Monogram. Revell never produced a 1/48 P-47, only one in 1/72 (a bubbletop) and two in 1/32 (bubbletop and razorback)

Nice work, Mike!  Is this what they call "turning a sow's ear into a silk purse"? 

Gary

Baron, thanks for the info. I never did go and look those up to see if they were Monogram or Revell. This clarifies it far anyone reading along.

Gary, yes, this is what that phrase means alright. I've seen many a gorgeous build from such kits when better were available. It all depends on what you want to do with what you have.

I've always enjoyed this type of building and I probably always will.

M. Brindos

Baron, thanks for the info. I never did go and look those up to see if they were Monogram or Revell. This clarifies it far anyone reading along...

I'm a made member of the Monogram Mafia

Revell pretty much conceded the 1/48 field to Monogram and focused on their 1/72 and 1/32 scale airplane lines.  But of the few 1/48 scale kits they did produce, they had a couple of nice kits-a P-51D, a Spitfire, and a P-40E.  The Mustang and Spitfire didn't make it into the merged catalog, but the P-40E was the basis for the ProModeler P-40E kit.

GM are you referring to Shep Pain. I was in the South Chicago IPMS Clubin the early 70s and he occasionally did a demo for us. He carved his own figures and did a lot of Dioramas for Monogram, like the C-47. He was very talented. He was an artist.