French Curtiss SB2C-5 in Indochina
![Album image #1 Album image #1](/albums/img/6/7/1/1408671-10501-94-720.jpg)
The second part of my double French build: Special Hobby’s SB2C-5. Seems like a very nicely detailed kit, so this will be an OOB build.
![Album image #2 Album image #2](/albums/img/6/6/9/1408669-10501-84-720.jpg)
The basic Special Hobby SB2C requires some mods to turn it into a -5, which are simple enough.
![Album image #3 Album image #3](/albums/img/6/7/0/1408670-10501-31-720.jpg)
Test fitting the -5 bomb bay doors revealed I had to cut some more plastic away at the front end than indicated in the instructions.
![Album image #4 Album image #4](/albums/img/6/7/2/1408672-10501-88-720.jpg)
Building up the nice if somewhat fiddly interior parts
![Album image #5 Album image #5](/albums/img/6/7/3/1408673-10501-64-720.jpg)
Moving on with lightning speed (for my standards) and sprayed the interior parts
![Album image #6 Album image #6](/albums/img/6/7/4/1408674-10501-80-720.jpg)
Detail painting and more build-up using the resin parts provided specifically for the SB2C-5. PE seatbelts went on easily and look nice.
![Album image #7 Album image #7](/albums/img/6/7/6/1408676-10501-94-720.jpg)
Installed the interior. Out of the box it is very nice and more than good enough for me.
![Album image #8 Album image #8](/albums/img/6/7/8/1408678-10501-75-720.jpg)
Closed up the fuselage and filling lower seam. Had some trouble getting rid of it.
![Album image #9 Album image #9](/albums/img/6/7/9/1408679-10501-54-720.jpg)
Installed and masked the windscreen and fixed canopy parts.
![Album image #10 Album image #10](/albums/img/6/7/7/1408677-10501-99-720.jpg)
Assembled bombs and crutches. Again a bit fiddly and a pain to install in the bomb bay. Decided to install them later using metal pins and CA.
![Album image #11 Album image #11](/albums/img/6/7/5/1408675-10501-81-720.jpg)
Assembling the wings
![Album image #12 Album image #12](/albums/img/6/8/0/1408680-10501-51-720.jpg)
First wing installed. Fit is very good after pushing a piece of sprue in each wing to bulge out the upper surface a bit.
![Album image #13 Album image #13](/albums/img/6/8/1/1408681-10501-94-720.jpg)
Main assembly completed and transparencies masked, some more filling to do
![Album image #14 Album image #14](/albums/img/6/8/2/1408682-10501-24-720.jpg)
Preparing the nice resin wheels, even managed to open up the area between the spokes without destroying them
![Album image #15 Album image #15](/albums/img/6/8/3/1408683-10501-47-720.jpg)
Added the replacement resin rocket launcher rails provided in the kit, which was not nearly as difficult as expected
![Album image #16 Album image #16](/albums/img/6/8/4/1408684-10501-50-720.jpg)
Masking canopies the classic way…
![Album image #17 Album image #17](/albums/img/6/8/5/1408685-10501-94-720.jpg)
First paint on, sprayed the interior color of the canopy frames
![Album image #18 Album image #18](/albums/img/6/8/6/1408686-10501-50-720.jpg)
Next the undercoat using a Tamiya AS-12 spray can for chipping later on
![Album image #19 Album image #19](/albums/img/6/8/7/1408687-10501-37-720.jpg)
Main coat of Vallejo Air Sea Blue, went overboard in thickness a bit but came out OK, despite the darn splattering
![Album image #20 Album image #20](/albums/img/6/8/8/1408688-10501-43-720.jpg)
Chipping with a hobby knife went easily
![Album image #21 Album image #21](/albums/img/6/8/9/1408689-10501-44-720.jpg)
After the gloss coat I had a bit of a run-in with the decals. The first decal did not play nice and broke on application. Resorted to spraying the decal sheet with decal bonder, which helped.
![Album image #22 Album image #22](/albums/img/6/9/0/1408690-10501-40-720.jpg)
All decals on, which took a few sessions. The decals are thin and fragile and I lost some of the smaller stencils.
![Album image #23 Album image #23](/albums/img/6/9/2/1408692-10501-14-720.jpg)
For weathering I used pastel powder as usual
![Album image #24 Album image #24](/albums/img/6/9/1/1408691-10501-32-720.jpg)
And here also a bit of a disaster with the final coat. I used an old 2/3 empty bottle of Micro flat, which in the past gave a nice semi-gloss. I shook the bottle very well and ended up with… an overly flat coat. I guess I did not mix it well enough in the past and now ended up with too much flattener. Darn. It did lighten the coat quite nicely though…
![Album image #25 Album image #25](/albums/img/6/9/3/1408693-10501-84-720.jpg)
Installation of the landing gear and gear doors was a bit fiddly but I got things correctly aligned. Installing the bomb load also was also a bit of a struggle, despite my preparations.
![Album image #26 Album image #26](/albums/img/6/9/5/1408695-10501-20-720.jpg)
And onto the final bits. Canopies posed open to show off the interior. Only gripe being that the aft canopy rides a bit high.
![Album image #27 Album image #27](/albums/img/6/9/4/1408694-10501-99-720.jpg)
Et voila, la bête est finie! Another nice build with few issues except for the darned final coat. Highly recommended kit!
![Album image #28 Album image #28](/albums/img/6/9/6/1408696-10501-85-720.jpg)
![Album image #29 Album image #29](/albums/img/6/9/7/1408697-10501-61-720.jpg)
![Album image #30 Album image #30](/albums/img/6/9/8/1408698-10501-22-720.jpg)
Коментари
21 23 February 2023, 19:18
![](/profiles/img/14529-358-s.jpg)
Beautiful! Thanks for the detailed build and explanations.
Was that Vallejo Model Air Dark Sea Blue (ANA 607)? I want to use the same color for my F8F project.
4 April 2023, 13:00