For a “big”
challenge I built the great Accurate Miniatures (AM) TBM 3D Avenger with the
full Eduard PE detail set. I say “big” challenge as the finished model
is the biggest I have ever done in pure shelf space. I’m trying to focus
on planes that flew on, around or over Guam and this fit the bill. One of
my favorite dive sites (Tokai Maru and/or Kitsugawa Maru) was
torpedoed and bombed by these planes (but not sunk) in the harbor
here not far from our house. A picture of the Tokai bridge area
is included. This was a great build and the PE was wonderful. The
only exception was the turret, which was a bit of a challenge as all the other
reviews of this kit can attest to. Nothing a little good old brute force
and correct angles wouldn’t fix.
Click on
images below to see larger images
This kit is a gem in any
version. Even without the PE it would have been a great build.
Hats off to AM for this kit, and a few others I’ve tried in the 3 years
I’ve been building. I look forward to finding more of these in
Asia, or back in The States. Construction was straightforward, with
special attention paid to the rear turret. This is a tricky piece
and I had to pull out some PE to make it work. This may have not
been totally necessary with serious dry fitting, but even without these
parts nobody will notice unless they use a microscope. The interior
detail work involved a base coat of interior green, gloss coat and a
pretty heavy dark wash of Future and water base ink. To finish it up
added the PE and top coated with a slightly tinted flat coat, as is my
custom.
Once the kit was
assembled and the seam lines busted it was time for the two base colors.
The technique was the same multi shading I did on my first Corsair. I laid
down the base colors, followed by some panel centers highlighted with a mix of
the base and clear coat mixed with varying amounts of light grey/buff/white.
The three tinting colors were randomly mixed with the flat coat. Once
these set I shot a coat of Future and added decals. After the decals I
went back over panel centers and random streaks with a flat coat and white/light
grey that was random in mixture. After this I added the panel wash with
oils and did paint chipping with pencils. Final step was with a very
lightly tinted flat/semi gloss (50/50) and 10% buff over coat. This is
basically the same multi shading technique I used in my F4U Corsair build.
Best part of the painting is that I can find/air mail all the components here on
our great little island of Guam. Hafa Adai and hope this provides some
inspiration to others.
Andrew Marriott
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