My 1/72 scale aircraft

Dean62 · Saturday at 5:24 PM

Up next will be a TBD-1 Devastator in the yellow scheme from the Lexington carrier.

I found a kit on EBay that included the aftermarket decals, and an aftermarket cockpit for the Airfix kit. This should be a nice upgrade to the standard kit. So that motivated my purchase!

To be honest, I would prefer a resin upgrade over the PE upgrade for the cockpit.
Soon I will start on the cockpit assembly and the painting of the 3 crew members.

See ya next time…

Dean62 · Saturday at 10:51 PM

Update on the TBD-1 Devastator…

Work has begun on the PE cockpit upgrade. This is miniature sheet metal work! ROTF

I also cleaned up the crew members for paint. There were seams and other things that needed to be addressed. But I like the detail on them. So I will be using them.

I test fit a crew member in one of the PE seats. Just right! But no seat belts can be used, so it’s a trade off.
The instrument panel will require some scratch modifications due to no backing, just holes where the gauges are. And there is no panel for the bombadier. So I have to research that and scratch build one.

Anyway, it’s starting to take shape.

I have to say, the Flyhawk kit of the Dauntless has excellent cockpit detail that is on par with a 1/48 kit. However a lot of the detail gets lost once the airplane is finished.

I like this kit so much I would build it again!

See ya next time…

Corsair · 2026-01-18T14:34:31-0600

Dean62 said:
Update on the TBD-1 Devastator…

Work has begun on the PE cockpit upgrade. This is miniature sheet metal work!
I also cleaned up the crew members for paint. There were seams and other things that needed to be addressed. But I like the detail on them. So I will be using them.
View attachment 571121
I test fit a crew member in one of the PE seats. Just right! But no seat belts can be used, so it’s a trade off.
The instrument panel will require some scratch modifications due to no backing, just holes where the gauges are. And there is no panel for the bombadier. So I have to research that and scratch build one.

View attachment 571122
Anyway, it’s starting to take shape.

I have to say, the Flyhawk kit of the Dauntless has excellent cockpit detail that is on par with a 1/48 kit. However a lot of the detail gets lost once the airplane is finished.
View attachment 571123
I like this kit so much I would build it again!

See ya next time…

For the backing of the holes in the PE instrument panel, can you use the original and sand off all the detail so yo9u just have the shape? Is there a decal for the instrument panel that you can put on the backer so you get the dial faces through the holes?
Just some thoughts.

Dean62 · 2026-01-18T19:34:08-0600

Corsair said:
For the backing of the holes in the PE instrument panel, can you use the original and sand off all the detail so yo9u just have the shape? Is there a decal for the instrument panel that you can put on the backer so you get the dial faces through the holes?
Just some thoughts.

There is no decal. But I have some leftover decals from other kits, because I would rather paint the instrument panel if it has good detail. So I can use some of those gauges and glue behind the panel. Will have to cut out individual gauges…yikes.

Dean62 · 2026-01-18T19:37:33-0600

TBD-1 Devastator update…
Assembly continues on the cockpit and gauge panels…

Still have to add the control sticks, the
gunners chair, etc. But it starting to look like something usable.

See ya next time…

Corsair · 2026-01-18T20:51:09-0600

The instrument panel looks wonderful !
Amazing for such a small scale !
What are they, the largest is 1/8"?

Dean62 · 2026-01-18T22:10:16-0600

Corsair said:
The instrument panel looks wonderful !
Amazing for such a small scale !
What are they, the largest is 1/8"?

Thanks, I am not real happy with it, but I am not going to obsess with it either, because you won’t be able to see it that well once the airplane is finished. The largest gauge is 3/32” and the others are much smaller.
One of the best WW2 I have seen at 1/72 scale was the instrument panel for the P-39Q Airacobra by Arma Hobby. I really liked that kit!
And the Flyhawk gets second best for the SBD-3 Dauntless.

My fighter jets all have excellent detail in the cockpit and on the instrument panels.
The worst is the WW1 airplanes as the instrumentation was minimal.