Kit: No. 5935
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: ProModeler, Revell-Monogram, 8601 Waukegan Road, Morton Grove, IL 60053-2295, phone 847-966-3500
Price: $26.75
Comments: Injection molded, 143 parts (28 photoetched brass), decals.
Curtiss' SB2C Helldiver was the last in a long line of U.S. Navy dive bombers going back to the 1920s. It participated in many major World War II battles and flew for the Navy until 1949.
ProModeler's new Helldiver should not be confused with the Monogram kit released in 1961. The parts feature recessed panel lines, a few raised rivets where appropriate, and excellent detail in the cockpits, bomb bay, and wheel wells. Photoetched-brass parts are provided for the outer dive-flap surfaces, engine ignition harness, gunsights, and seat-belt hardware.
ProModeler's 24-page, 15-step instruc-tions include many detail photos of preserved Helldivers, a brief history, four-view marking-placement guides for the two machines on the decal sheet, and a stencil locator.
The kit includes a six-piece canopy that can be posed opened or closed (however no collapsed turtledeck behind the gunner is provided). The bomb bay features a double bomb crutch with a pair of 500-pound bombs. A four-part pilot figure is provided, but there is no gunner for the rear cockpit.
You have a choice of painting the seat belts molded into the pilot's seat or using the photoetched buckles with straps made from tape or paper.
The bomb-bay doors are molded open with the bay sidewalls, but you can cut them loose and close them if you wish, and provision is made to show the landing gear in the retracted position as well. Underwing bomb and rocket pylons are provided, but there is no ordnance.
I had assembly problems due to vague location pointers in the drawings. For instance, where do the "gear rods" (part No. 88) go? Also, test fit the cowl when you place the exhaust fairings (18 and 19) on the fuselage.
The most stunning aspect of this kit is the finely perforated photoetched dive flaps. It isn't mentioned in the instructions, but they are designed to be posed closed. The inner surfaces of the dive flaps are molded as part of the wing halves. If you wanted to accurately show the flaps open, you would have to cut the inner surfaces from the wing halves, glue them to the photoetched outer surfaces, then pose the flaps in the opened position. I didn't understand this when I built my model, and my opened, red-painted flaps look as though they are made of three sections. Oops!
ProModeler's main gear tires look too thin for the scale. The twin-row R-2600 engine is molded in one piece, but the combination of tight cowl, large spinner, and the photoetched ignition harness make the engine look just right. I liked the way the propeller shaft fit through the engine and into a plastic retainer with a satisfying "clunk."
I had trouble inserting the bomb-bay door/walls through the fuselage opening and around ribs on the bottom of the cockpit floor. Instead of gluing the cockpit assembly into the right fuselage half in step 3, leave it loose within the guides in the fuselage until you have mounted the bomb-bay door/wall parts in step 7. It also will help to enlarge the slots in the walls with a file to fit around the ribs on the cockpit floor. The bombs and their double crutch fit too tightly into the bomb bay.
The life-raft container is too long to fit flush with the fixed rear canopy section. I shortened mine by about 1/16".
Assembling the wings and stabilizers was a snap with nearly perfect fit and alignment, but I strongly recommend leaving off the dive flaps, radio antenna, pitot tube, radar masts, leading-edge slats, and underwing racks until painting, and decaling are completed.
I decided on the overall glossy sea blue scheme of the Helldiver from USS Shangri-La, and airbrushed AeroMaster and Testor enamels. The decal sheet is impressive - more than 250 individual decal items are included -- but my sample had thick glossy transfers with yellowed clear film. They went on easily with a touch of Solva-Set.
The finished Helldiver looks ready to take off. It measures correctly in length, though a few scale inches long in span, according to the dimensions in Bert Kinzey's SB2C Helldiver in Detail & Scale.
I spent 23 hours on my model. You should have experience with fine parts and photoetched details before "diving" into this one.
- Al Jones