Flyhawk 1/72 SBD-3 Dauntless

The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The type earned its nickname "Slow But Deadly" (from its SBD initials) during this period. Slow it may have been, but it was maneuverable enough to shoot down several enemy planes in air to air combat.

During its combat service, the SBD proved to be an effective naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load, great diving characteristics from the perforated dive brakes. By the middle months of 1943 the bomber was considered by pilots to be too vulnerable for service owing to its armament and slow speed, and was relegated to non-combat roles. One land-based variant of the SBD – omitting the arrestor hook — was purpose-built for the U.S. Army Air Forces, as the A-24 Banshee, which served operationally in New Guinea.

The SBD has been kitted a number of times in 1/72, most notably by Airfix back in 1967 and later by Hasegawa in 1995. I'm sure there were others, but these were the two that were the most prominent. This kit was initially released in 2021 and has been the 'go to' kit for early SBDs in this scale. The kit has a lot of parts and has excellent surface detail. In addition to engraved panel lines, it also has tiny raised rivets, just like on the real deal. Keeping those intact will be quite a challenge for builders that is for certain.

This is the Midway boxing with kit 6002 taking care of the Coral Sea. The main difference from those that participated in earlier battles, such as the Coral Sea, is that the rear gunner has two guns instead of just one. From what I can see, there is no single gun mount included, but I probably missed it. It is obvious that the Chinese have no lack of plastic as every sprue is separately bagged.

The kit has a considerable number of options as well. The biggest one is the ability to model the dive brakes open. This is nice to have, but honestly, at least the upper brakes were closed when the plane was on the ground. The lower, however, can be found deployed as these were also the flaps. Another neat option is to have the machine gun either stowed or deployed. Two canopies are provided so you can do one open or one closed. Finally, you can model the aircraft with gear up, though getting a stand is your responsibility as none is included.

The cockpit and gunner's position is very nicely detailed for a kit in this scale. The floor is curved as it is actually the upper surface of the wing. You are provided with a nicely detailed engine that has a separate pushrod piece as it will be quite visible. For ordnance you have a large bomb for the center and two smaller ones for the wings. The mounting positions for the wing racks are already present in the lower wing piece. I do find it a tad odd that the control surfaces are molded in place, but they seem easy enough to cut free if you wish to reposition them.

Instructions are a single folded piece of paper. There is a lot of color involved to help you properly position some of the parts. A very large decal sheet is included with aircraft numbers for every plane in VB-3, VB-6, and VB-8 as well as the group commander. As with older Matchbox kits, all the color information is at the end of the instructions. Color references are Mr. Hobby and Tamiya with the upper and lower camo colors requiring mixing if you use Tamiya paint. Fortunately the Blue-Grey and Light Gull Grey of these planes are available in other paint ranges pre-mixed. The decal sheet is nicely printed. I'm not sure if all three units placed their code letter/numbers the same, as only the box art plane are shown. I should also mention that this kit includes a canopy mask, which I think is great as it save dollars and eyesight. 

While I wouldn't bin your Airfix or Hasegawa kits, this one certainly raises the bar and is currently the one to get. I've heard that Arma Hobby is doing one as well and it would really take something to top the Flyhawk kit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless

December 2024

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