1/72 Testors SBD Dauntless (painted as A-24 Banshee)

Gallery Article by Nick Winand on June 29 2010

 

Let me start by saying that I am fairly new to modeling, this is only my second displayable model, but I hope to make many more. I bought this kit at a local Michael's craft store for something to do in the downtime while parts on my Revell F-101 were drying, but it soon took over my schedule. The kit is the same kit as it was in 1984 when it first came on the market, so the interior only consists of two benches for the pilot and gunner to sit on, and features such as the cockpit are nonexistent. The kit has the USAAC logo recessed into the fuselage, and the gear doors are the same way, however, the kit does have recessed panel lines, which to my knowledge was unusual for its time.

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I first painted all wings and the fuselage halves in Testors 1265 Flat Olive Drab spray enamel, and then inserted the benches and engine before gluing together the fuselage. I then masked the top half and painted the bottom half in Testors Flat Aircraft Gray spray enamel. I added wheels, pilots, decals, etc., before adding a drybrushed coat of thinned Testors silver paint to give the aircraft a weathered look.

Overall this is quite a nice little kit, it is cheap at between 5 and 8 USD, and with a little work it comes out very good. I hope to make a fictional diorama of this aircraft in a tropical setting very soon, however school is interfering with my ability to do so. Happy Modeling!

Nick Winand

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Photos and text © by Nick Winand