Kit: 72-016
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Valom from Czech Republic, available from Squadron Mail Order,
www.squadron.comPrice: $36.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 88 parts (10 resin, 32 photoetched, 1 vacuum-formed), decals
Pros: Excellent fit for a short-run kit
Cons: Poorly detailed landing gear and bomb assembly
Just like some people are only famous because of their family, Northrop's BT-1 dive bomber is only famous because it was the grandfather of the world-famous SBD Dauntless. The BT-1 was produced in limited numbers - just enough to equip two pre-war carrier-based dive-bomber squadrons. Just like real life, the modeling world had virtually ignored the BT-1 until Valom's latest release in 1/72 scale.
The BT-1 kit includes photoetched and resin details for the cockpit and airframe, and also comes with a full set of photoetched dive brakes that can be posed open or closed. Interestingly, Valom provides both injection-molded and vacuum-formed canopies.
Assembly of the fuselage is straightforward, requiring only minor clean up of the parts. There are very few engraved panel lines anywhere on the kit, most representing control surfaces or access panels. The rudder trailing edge is a little thick, as are the wings and tail. Only the oil cooler piece (part 23) required any amount of trimming and test fitting. I was pleasantly surprised by the trouble-free fit of the resin interior, having braced myself for a major trimming session. The instructions show a base to mount the rear gunner's seat on, but my sample did not have one. No matter - the seat and gun ring assembly rest neatly on the floor. The rear gun is nicely detailed, but fit is fiddly if you are keeping the canopy closed - I left mine off. The photoetched parts supply further detail for the cockpit, but the tiny rudder pedals were too hard to fold and install - nobody can tell that I left them out. I finished off the fuselage assembly by attaching the firewall to the nose after first trimming the exhaust mounts flush with the nose.
The wing is molded in five pieces. There is some fine engraved detail in the center section - a sign of what Valom could have done with the rest of the panel lines had they chosen to represent them. Fit of the wing and tail is exceptional, especially for a short-run kit. I didn't use any filler on the kit, other than a touch at the front joint between the wing's center section and the nose. The photoetched dive brakes fit into shallow recesses molded into the wings. The brass parts are slightly oversized - not too noticeable, especially if you mount them open. I chose to leave the upper set closed and the bottom set dropped as flaps, as they normally would appear.
I thought I had a lot of trimming to do on the large gear fairings - until I realized I was test fitting them backwards - D'oh! No trimming was required after correcting my perspective. The only part of this kit that disappointed me was the bomb and its cradle. The resin bomb requires fussy fitting of fins, and doesn't seem the right shape. Valom instruct the builder to make sway braces, but I have not seen this in photos. The swing-down crutch is devoid of detail, and does not fit around the bomb well. I also had to drill a mounting hole - you're on your own to determine where. The engine required a little cleanup, but looks great when finished. The propeller needs a lot of trimming around the hub. The cowling attaches to the fuselage well, but I thinned the edges and opened up the exhaust openings to allow a more positive fit to the fuselage.
The kit really comes into its own when painted. The Navy's colorful pre-war scheme is time consuming to mask, but looks very sharp on the final product. I used Testor chrome yellow, Tamiya red, and Gunze-Sangyo phthalo cyanine blue, topped by Testor Metalizer non-buffing aluminum. All this, of course, after masking the many, many canopy panels. Here is another kit that could benefit from pre-cut masks! Decals are included for the two operational squadrons, although I think the Enterprise version should have a black 'B' since there is no fuselage stripe. The decals went on without trouble, but did not seem to respond to setting solution - luckily, there wasn't much detail to have affected them. The only problem I had was with the propeller tip decals - I only used one set. By the way, I believe the instructions incorrectly list decal 5 for use on the front of the blades and decal 6 on the back - actually, decal 5 is one blade set front and back, while decal 6 is for the other blade.
The hardest part of this kit was the masking and painting. I was impressed by the fit of Valom's effort, and the finished model looks every inch a BT-1. I would recommend this kit to yellow-winged fans who are used to dealing with resin and photoetched parts.
- Chuck Davis