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Accurate Miniatures 1/48 TBM Avenger


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Good morning,

 

I thought i'd share a kit that was completed a couple of weeks ago after a couple of months working on it.

I got this kit in 2017 for my 18th birthday off Ebay, its a Return of the Turkeys boxing so it came with two kits in one box and had a lot of PE parts to go along with it; this included a PE cockpit set, landing flaps and bomb bay as well as an aftermarket decal sheet. I opted out of using the bomb bay after deciding to have it closed up and may use it for the second if I get round to building it anytime soon. Due to struggling with painting Insignia white previously and having never used a lot of PE parts in a build, I opted out of builidng the kit for just under 3 years but wanted to give it a go and finish it for my 21st birthday ( I ended up getting it done just a week after my 21st).

 

The model was really enjoyable to build except for a couple of issues around the canopy areas, specifically, the fit of the ball turret and it being moulded in two parts meant getting a proper fit was a struggle. Im guessing there were easier ways to go about it but I might have found the most awkward way as I ended up resorting to Zap CA glue, which despite being the best CA I have used for models, it can be a bit of a pain where it is so thin and flows even with the smallest amount. I resorted to creating a canopy cover for the ball turret; this is something I had wanted to try before on a 1/48th B24J due to the way the clear part of the turret fits together but thought it would be a good opportuity to put the covers to the test to see if they looked any good. I am actually quite happy with the result of this even if it is not entirely accurate. 

 

I painted the model with AK interactive model air using the US Navy set and reallly enjoyed airbrushing with them, im trying to improve my airbrushing in general so I am learning and growing my techniques to something I am happier with. The only paint I stuggled with a bit was the Insignia white and am thinking about trying a Tamiya rattle can for the white base next time and building up layers over the top of that first layer, I think the white either always looks too thick or too patchy.

 

Finally, I wanted to test out new some more oil weathering with some post weathering with an airbrush. I have since bought a new needle for one of my airbrushes as I didnt really take enough time or have enough patience to do so which resulted in a few silly mistakes that could have been avoided.

 

Overall I am quite happy with the finished kit, there are a lot of little things that could have gone better all to do with me rushing at the end after taking just under two months on the kit, I had another  kit idea in my head, hence why I rushed the build at the last stages which is something I will not do again. If you have any tips or suggestions let me know. Even though I have been making models for around 4 years now I still feel as though there is loads for me to be learning, I think this is due to my lack of consistency between build quality, some I am very happy with and others not so much.

 

Thanks for looking, I hope everyone is doing well with the current situation going on, its kept me from being bored for the whole of pandemic. 👌

 

 

Ryan

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I had that kit and never built it because, to me, the instructions were somewhat confusing. So, I really appreciate the work you did and the result you got on yours. In short, it's wonderful!

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7 hours ago, Silver Fox said:

Nice work, I do like the turret cover. I built this kit recently and had to fit the turret with all its masking prior to the main painting. 

Did you drop it in before closing the fuselage together or after? 

I did mine after closing the fuselage and I think this might have been part of the issue.

 

Thanks

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3 hours ago, SAT69 said:

I had that kit and never built it because, to me, the instructions were somewhat confusing. So, I really appreciate the work you did and the result you got on yours. In short, it's wonderful!

The instructions are a bit all over the place, I found it jumped around so I decided to use the instructions as a guide but not follow them in the steps they ask. I do like how Accurate miniatures give you a run down alongside the construction though. Especially telling you what the piece is; I found myself researching all the small parts to see how they would function on the real aircraft.

 

Thanks :)

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Nice work, Ryan!  It belies the fact you've only been doing this for four years, and it's a first-rate job.  I sorely miss Accurate Miniatures, as they were the last innovative injection-plastic company here in North America.  

 

One of my cousins (since passed) flew these in the Battle of the Atlantic off an escort carrier.  He never talked about it with his own family afterward.

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Great looking Avenger!  I really like the cover you fashioned for the ball turret and am curious how you did it.  I have a Japanese plane I have been looking at in my stash with almost no interior so a cover would be a great solution but I have stalled at thinking of a good way to do it.

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14 hours ago, RiotRolo said:

Did you drop it in before closing the fuselage together or after? 

I did mine after closing the fuselage and I think this might have been part of the issue.

 

Thanks

I added it after closing the fuselage but before the plates to its rear I added the rest of the glazing later

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On 8/1/2020 at 10:10 PM, Harold55 said:

Great looking Avenger!  I really like the cover you fashioned for the ball turret and am curious how you did it.  I have a Japanese plane I have been looking at in my stash with almost no interior so a cover would be a great solution but I have stalled at thinking of a good way to do it.

Thanks mate

 

I watered down some pva glue over some tissues without any pattern on them and used a few browns until i got a worn cover shade. I thought about airbrushing over it for highlights but thought it might make it look a bit out of scale so left it. 

When its dry its pretty sturdy but can still be manipulated to get the shape you want.

 

Saved me from a huge mess too 😅

 

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On 8/1/2020 at 9:08 PM, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Nice work, Ryan!  It belies the fact you've only been doing this for four years, and it's a first-rate job.  I sorely miss Accurate Miniatures, as they were the last innovative injection-plastic company here in North America.  

 

One of my cousins (since passed) flew these in the Battle of the Atlantic off an escort carrier.  He never talked about it with his own family afterward.

Thank you, thats very interesting they're really beautiful planes! 

 

Accurate Miniatures were, in my opnion, one of the best for detail. I always keep an eye out for them when im expanding my model stash (all the time) because I always have fun building them. 

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On 8/1/2020 at 7:06 PM, SimonT said:

Fitting the turret was notorious, so they released some instructions on how to try:

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20090327114353/http://www.accurate-miniatures.com/builds/avenger/avengerturret.shtml

Thats really useful! Think I'll keep this handy for the next time I build one 😂

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That's a great  build of a great kit. I think your cover looks really convincing and is a clever way of getting out of trouble without abandoning the kit. I still rush my builds as I get towards the end, partly through wanting to get started on the next one and partly because I'm getting bored of the current build. I guess having a little more self discipline and patience at that stage so not to rush is the answer but I still rush things. Keep up the good work.

 

Duncan B

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10 hours ago, Duncan B said:

That's a great  build of a great kit. I think your cover looks really convincing and is a clever way of getting out of trouble without abandoning the kit. I still rush my builds as I get towards the end, partly through wanting to get started on the next one and partly because I'm getting bored of the current build. I guess having a little more self discipline and patience at that stage so not to rush is the answer but I still rush things. Keep up the good work.

 

Duncan B

Thanks Duncan, its a huge temptation sometimes, especially when you have an idea in your head of how you want to tackle the next model! 

 

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