1/72 SBD Dauntless. Why is there a lack of kits?

[walkerccw]

I have been looking around for a good 1/72 SBD Dauntless kit. There are the "not so good" Hawk and Testors kits. The "OK"  Airfix kit (lots of them available, but no longer on their website). The "good" Hasegawa kits that are impossible to find.

 

The SBD was a very important aircraft used by the USN in Coral Sea and Midway. Why haven't more companies made this kit?

 

Thanks,

CCW

[Denford]

An ideal subject (indeed one of many subjects) for Airfix to retool to modern standards, complete with perforated dive brakes.

[Greenshirt]

While I'd like a modern tool of the SBD series in 1/72, the Hasegawa kit is not difficult to find here in the US for reasonable prices (~$15). I picked up one at NoVa Model Classic for less than $10. I didn't look hard and it was in the third hour of the show, so lots of opportunity for someone else to pick it up. Also got a resin set of flaps for it. 

 

I've also been able to get them from other modelers via trade online. On eBay they are too expensive, so I avoid them there. I'm slowly building my stash such that pretty soon even if a new tool were released, I'd likely pass on more than one, and the one would mainly be curiosity. 

[Work In Progress]

That got me googling. Scalemates thinks this SK one, which I had never heard of before, is the Airfix tooling, is that correct?

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/310478-sk-model-douglas-sbd-dauntless

 

I agree a new one in 1/72 is probably worthwhile, or at the very least a re-issue of the Hasegawa one

[72modeler]

I agree with Greenshirt's comments- you can usually find them at contest trade tables on this side of the pond at decent prices, but it depends on how far away you want to drive to a contest in your area.

 

While it was a very significant combat airplane and can be built in a variety of schemes: painted aluminum/yellow, overall grey, blue-grey over light grey, sea blue/intermediate blue over white, and dark gull grey over white, and flew in USN, RNZAF, and Mexican AF colors, it's not an airplane that seems to have been high on the kit makers' priority lists. I'm guessing the market is probably mostly in the U.S., so maybe not really economically sound for a company to expend the money for a new-tool. What will probably happen, and this is just my uneducated guess, is that Hasegawa will bring the molds out of the vault, slap two kits in one box, throw in a new set of decals, and ask a king's ransom for them! Airfix might be the best bet for a new-tool, but I think it would be 'way down on their list of future projects.

 

 I have seen a couple of outstanding builds of the old  Airfix  kit- it is pretty accurate, IIRC, (I have two of them as well as one each of the Hasegawa SBD versions they released.) just needs cleaning up, rescribing, a resin/scratchbuilt cockpit, Falcon or Rob Taurus canopy ,and better detail parts. An engine, wheels, prop, cockpit, and bombs are all available in resin, as well as etched dive brakes, although the one incredible built example I saw at one of our Alamo Squadron IPMS contests years ago, had all of the kit dive brakes drilled out and deployed! I think the guy was from Ft. Worth. A lot of the Frog and Airfix kits can be made into pretty incredible replicas, what with the variety of resin and etched sets available and some modeling, not assembling skills. I would say, get an Airfix kit, snag some detail sets, gather some references, ask questions of the Britmodellers, and have some fun and learn some new model-building skills! Good luck- will wait to see a WIP or Ready for Inspection SBD from you someday soon!

Mike

[walkerccw]

Thanks for the comments so far.  I did look at the SK Model and it is an Airfix tooling. As far as modelling/assembly skills, I recently returned to building and I am not ready to do all of the advanced work.

I am not at the point of driving around looking for a Hasegawa kit.  Perhaps I should just get the Airfix kit and do that one for now.

 

Curt

[Wm Blecky]

It has been a few years now, but Hasegawa did re-release their Dauntless kit, in fact it was a dual combo Dauntless set:

 

I have more than my share of Dauntless kits, far more than I'll ever build really, but, if a new tool were to come along, I'd be in for one (or two...).  What I'd really like to see is a dedicated SBD-1 / 2 kit in 1/72.  I have Starfighter Decals' conversion set

but to take full advantage of it, you need to get the either the combo kit above or the A-24A kit for the large tail wheel.  Finding the A-24 is a bit more of a challenge (well for me anyways).

[kapam]

If you can get the Hasegawa double-kit (as mentioned above by 72modeler and WM Blecky), I believe you will feel well-rewarded for your efforts.

The weird thing (to me) is how these twin kits get priced the same as what it would cost to buy two single kits.

I was lucky and picked mine up at a model show for $25 (that's Australian $) which is quite a bargain.

I recommend you keep on searching if you can muster the patience.

[Builder]

You can achieve some good results with old airfix kit. I am an amutuer modeller but I think I did a decent job on mine. 

 

 

More pics here too 

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235012804-airfix-172-douglas-sbd-5-dauntless/