Devastators!

1
August 27, 2024
Six tiny aviators! The figures that come with the kit aren't perfectly accurate, but I think this is a fair approximation.
2
August 27, 2024
Dana Bell's excellent book shows that Devastators left the factory with the interiors painted in the same aluminum lacquer as the exterior. Once deployed, the interiors were usually repainted with whatever paint was on hand. For the second, I've chosen bronze green.
3
August 27, 2024
Not much detail on those instrument panels, but a little drybrushing shows what's there.
4
August 27, 2024
5
August 27, 2024
6
August 27, 2024
The challenge here is to eliminate the seam without destroying the corrugation. A very narrow file did the job reasonably well, but it pays not to look too closely.
7
August 29, 2024
Between these three kits, I should have enough parts for two planes.
8
August 29, 2024
I test fit each of these, and these were the best matches. Numbered so I won't forget them.
9
August 29, 2024
10
August 29, 2024
The cockpit pieces were a little fiddly, but still they went together pretty well. I've built worse cockpits!
11
September 8, 2024
The fit was ok, but it still left a small step to fill.
12
September 8, 2024
Not bad after cleanup.
13
September 8, 2024
Gave the rudder a little better definition. I did the same on the flaps and ailerons. An easy thing to do that makes a major improvement.
14
September 8, 2024
I tried to repair some of the lost rivets. The scribe raises the plastic. There’s still a hole there, but hopefully it still gives a raised rivet effect. I’ll go a little heavier with the primer here and try to fill them.
15
September 8, 2024
16
September 8, 2024
A little filling and sanding on these fins.
17
September 8, 2024
I decided that both would have torpedoes, though the kit does have the option to carry a bomb. Test fitting showed that the interior is visible even with the torpedo in place. I’ll probably hand paint the visible surfaces even if I will be the only one to ever see them.
18
September 8, 2024
The hope here is that the black CA glue flows into the gap and that I won’t need to do much sanding.
19
September 8, 2024
Still blown away at what a difference this simple modification makes.
20
September 8, 2024
I’m doing both planes wheels-up, but that means painting the landing gears first.
21
September 15, 2024
Those little exhausts were fiddly to get in there.
22
September 15, 2024
Fins cleaned up.
23
September 15, 2024
Decent detail for a 60 year old kit.
24
September 15, 2024
25
September 15, 2024
I’d bought these vacuform canopies as a backup in case parts were ever lost or broken, but I decided I might as well use them here. Unfortunately I cracked them when cutting them out. First time with these, so I’ll know better next time. I really like the thin-ness and transparency.
26
September 15, 2024
I’ll be here a while
27
September 15, 2024
The other landing gear makes a nice peg to provide some additional support in the wings.
28
September 15, 2024
Some fancy clamping.
29
September 20, 2024
30
September 20, 2024
Usually I’d mask the canopy and paint it at the same time as the fuselage, but since they’ll both be open canopies, masking the cockpit and canopies separately makes more sense.
31
September 20, 2024
Not trusting the tape to get a good seal, I’m using some diluted white glue where the tape strips overlap and where they meet the foam.
32
September 20, 2024
33
September 20, 2024
34
September 22, 2024
There should be a visible line at the wing fold, but it shouldn't quite so pronounced.
35
September 22, 2024
36
September 22, 2024
A bit of a puzzle... I'd hoped to use the provided stands, but there's no indication where it should go, and with a torpedo where I expect the center of gravity to be, I'm not clear on what to do.
37
September 22, 2024
It won't look quite the same, but I'm restoring the missing rivets.
38
September 22, 2024
Awkward masking.
39
September 22, 2024
40
September 22, 2024
The box art shows the Mark 13 torpedo painted red and white. I haven't found anything to confirm they were ever painted those colors. It seems they were usually unpainted, though the warhead was sometimes painted light gray. The rear two-thirds were treated steel that looked like bronze or dark brass. Brass mixed with a drop of mahogany makes for a pretty convincing bronze.
41
September 22, 2024
Undersides, cowlings, and one set of stabs primed. Also the first third of the torpedos have been painted light gull gray.
42
September 23, 2024
I had a bottle of Stynylrez black primer go bad. I probably hadn’t been mixing it thoroughly enough and it must have become increasingly concentrated. What was left was almost like gelatin, which obviously wasn’t going to spray very well. Fortunately I had a spare. Fairly well pleased with how these look.
43
September 24, 2024
Why We Prime
44
September 24, 2024
Why We Prime, Part II
45
September 24, 2024
46
September 25, 2024
The seam looks good now, but I'm not confident about those rivets.
47
September 25, 2024
Short of some aggressive, risky scribing, I'm not sure how to align the seam along the flaps. I think it's best just to let that one go.
48
September 25, 2024
The construction on this kit was a lot cleaner. Most of this sanding probably wasn't necessary.
49
September 25, 2024
50
September 25, 2024
I'm trying to decide how much those misaligned flaps bother me.
51
September 27, 2024
I decided to fill and rescribe the flaps.
52
September 27, 2024
More filler...
53
September 27, 2024
I can tell that they're not quite symmetrical, but I still like this better.
54
September 27, 2024
55
September 27, 2024
56
September 28, 2024
I like the look, though I’m not sure on the color.
57
September 28, 2024
It really won’t be visible, but to me it was worth the effort.
58
September 29, 2024
The yellow extended a few inches onto the underside in photos. Apparently having the paint line on the leading edge created extra drag.
59
September 29, 2024
60
September 29, 2024
61
September 29, 2024
White before yellow
62
September 29, 2024
63
September 29, 2024
64
September 29, 2024
65
September 30, 2024
66
September 30, 2024
67
October 3, 2024
68
October 3, 2024
This is based on nothing but speculation, but I’m trying to create a bleached out look by using a lighter gray-blue where I think it makes sense.
69
October 3, 2024

Ogre-Trombone
Thanks, Mr D. I'm trying not to let the asymmetry bother me on the black-primed model. I wish I'd made a template or measured them instead of trying to follow the old panel lines. Still, I'm glad I made the effort.

Pure improvisation, Casey! It seems to be holding up so far. I want to do open or partially-opened canopies, so it didn't make sense to glue them in place, which is what I usually would have done.

30 September, 17:27

Ogre-Trombone
It's very hot and dry where I am right now, and the paint isn't responding the way I'd like. I'll have to come back when conditions are better.

3 October, 03:32

Mr D
Your doing a 👍 job, All the hard work will pay off, nice project 👍👍

3 October, 13:57