Introduction
The Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless, affectionately known as the "Slow But Deadly" or "Sweetheart of the Pacific" was one of the most pivotal and iconic US Naval aircraft of WWII. It excelled as both a scout plane and a dive bomber. It was the Dauntless that was instrumental in sinking the four Japanese carriers Hiryu, Kaga, Akagi and Soryu during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, a battle that signaled the beginning of the end for Japan in the Pacific. The Dauntless was produced from 1940 to 1944, the SBD-5, the subject of this kit, being the most numerous version produced. It was employed both as a carrier plane by the Navy and as a land based plane by the Marines. The US Army Air Corps also flew it as the A-24 Banshee. Small and surprisingly maneuverable when "slick", it had a maximum speed of about 250 kts at altitude. The SB2C Helldiver was designed to replace it but it never had the admiration of its crews as the Dauntless and was often referred to as the "Beast".
The Kit
One's first impression when opening the box is the large number of parts in the kit. Each tree is in its separate sealed bag. There is a separate box that contains the vinyl tires and clear parts. This is a good touch; it will keep the clear parts free of scratches or breakage. The pieces are very sharply cast with a beautiful matte finish. Each rivet is perfectly and daintily rendered, with one exception, the Dauntless had raised, not flush rivets. This is not a huge deal, but it seems it would be easier to make the molds by drilling holes rather than creating raised areas to result in holes to simulate the rivets. I considered making them raised but with the literal thousands of rivets I would have to do, I decided it was just not worth the effort. My first impression is that this kit is a jewel, just as the Accurate Miniatures 1/48 Dauntless was.
The Cockpit
As is customary with me, I began with the cockpit. The cockpit floor for both forward and aft cockpits is a single piece. Detail is very crisp and extensive. I decided to take it up a level and super-detail it by adding wiring, plumbing, actuators, linkages, handles, etc with solder and styrene rod and tube. I decided to use the kit pilot's seat but it was out of scale thick. I thinned it quite a bit to give it a more scale appearance and scratch built the framework behind it, as well as assocated levers, handles, etc. I have the Waldron seat belt hardware set and cockpit placards. Their addition will add another level of realism to an already well done cockpit.
