Monogram 1/48 TBF-Improving the Classics?

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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So… Thanks to another member here, I’m able to start on the classic Monogram TBF Avenger, in this particular case, the Confederate Air Force version of the TBM… Now I’m not going to do a nut-for-nut, rivet-for-rivet build here of the TBM flown by that outfit (Now known as The Commemorative Air Force, thanks to the [censored] PC crowd), but rather a combination of detailing and scratchbuilding using the tried and true methods described by Shep Paine as “Creative Gizmology”… This build is going to be done with NO, NONE, ZERO, NADA, after-market parts… (I don’t believe in spending money on a kit after I got it home, unless it’s to replace missing parts…) Make or steal the detail parts yourself, or leave 'em off, I always said…

First, I started with the cockpit (where else?) and after adding the headrest/armor plate, cut out the radio operator’s seat with the Dremmel. Using sheet plastic from “garage sale”-type signs, I start adding the bulkheads and deck for that position, along with the radio rack from Monogram’s B-25.

Moving to the front, added two pieces of “angle iron” from a Panzer IV’s skirt armor framework for foot channels and then I used the pilot seat from Monogram’s P-61 and some stretched sprue to build up the seat armrests and harness mount. More sheet styrene was used to make the breaker box and side consoles, with stretch sprue throttle and prop/fuel mixture controls mounted in a small piece of sprue for a throttle quadrant. I used a piece paper clip bent to shape for a stick and inserted into a hole drilled in the cockpit floor. For seatbelts, I used a piece of .22 solder and flattened it by squeezing it flat in a pliers, then CA’d it to the seat frame.

I taped the cockpit into the fuselage halves to check positioning several times, as well as using a pilot figure as a “yardstick” to make sure controls were in reach of the “pilot”.

I apologize for the pics, I have a lousy camera for this work… I’ll get a better one soon tho…

NEXT: Scratchbuilding a TBM Turret, or: “How I Learned to Hunt on the Carpet for Tiny, TINY, parts”…

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I appreciate your approach. Too much emphasis is placed on after market wizardry these days. A pretty auspicious start so far…

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Heh… There’s that, and the fact that I’m a well-known cheapskate…

Frankly, when I started building, there were no such things as after-market parts… So I learned how to scratch-build, a dying art nowadays I fear… At the risk of sounding hauty, I see no reason to use AM stuff… If you can use all that stuff, you probably can scratchbuild… That’s why God made Spares boxes…

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Glad to see this post Mike! (How’s your B-25 going to fare with no radio?)[(-D]

Great scratch stuff going on!..and more importantly…imagination![tup]

PM inbound!

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Figured you’d be gettin’ curious about the Avenger…[;)] As for the B-25, it’s gonna be going to the Arizona desert and the “Boneyard”, ala Shep Paine, so it won’t need a radio… OFF TOPIC: The other B-25 is going to the Libyan desert as a “Lady Be Good”-type dio, from the 1970 movie Sole Survivor… In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s a kind of “Twilight Zone” treatment of a B-25 named “Home Run” and it’s crew (with the exception of the bombardier, played by Richard Baseheart, who bailed out) downed in the desert during WW2, with some really good twists and turns… It’s kind of a “Lady Be Good” story with a really surprising ending. (Even has William Shatner in it as well) Well worth buying if you can find it… Watch it for Halloween… It’s a “Weird War Tales” story, for sure…

Back on-topic: I’m in the process of trying to vacuform new windscreen, canopy sections and the turret and although I won’t say how it’s going yet, I’m VERY glad I bought 100 extra sheets of clear plastic…[banghead]

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Hey Hans, nice work so far. I just finished building this classic beauty. She’s a beast though. Be careful with the wing hinge. Mine was too weak and brittle and snapped. It could really needs a metal hinge. But to my knowledge, none are available.

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Thankee… I’m not going to have the wings folded, it’s gonna be a Marine Avenger based at the 'Canal in '42… I’ve had run-ins with Monogram’s folding wings before… I’ll likely build a “spar” of sorts to take the weight off the joint… I toyed (briefly) with the idea of folding them but decided against it, since it would hide too much of the work I’m doing in the cockpit… I was thinking about tricking out the torpedo bay as well, but since the kit’s doors are all wrong and it won’t be seen anyway, it’s another case of “why bother?”…

Still mulling over whether or not to add an engine though… Got a spare P-61 R-2800 that could pass, with a little work on the crankcase, for a Wright R-2600 and would fit in there, I think… Be able to open the cowl flaps thataway…

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Nice nostalgia build, Hans, I have two of these going right now, too. I’m keeping all of the figures, though, this kit had some nice ones. The crewman running across the deck is a really great figure.

For the turret, I only added a piece of bullet-proof glass (from a CD jewel case), but kept the rest of the pieces stock.

I spackled over the cowl gun, too, and will add holes for the wing guns. I think that was the TBF-1C, that I’m shooting for.

As for the wings, the first one is going to be an aircraft warming up for launch, so the wings are deployed. If I do the other one folded, I’ll bash the folding gizmos.

I’m with you-no aftermarket, we’re thrifty Dutchmen here in the Lehigh Valley, and we don’t waste anything!

Regards,

Brad

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Same here, although I have looked at many AM resin thingies, there’s just that much more satisfaction when you look at a piece that you scratched as opposed to buying.

That, and scratching usually means you already have the stuff lying around for free, versus $25 or more plus shipping for a resin bit… The cockpit of my 1/32 P-47 is just screaming for detail, and I’ve just the amalgam of stuff to improve it, saving Uber $$$… [tup]

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I love the old Mono 48th birds.

About 10 years ago I built one with the wings folded and added crap loads of detail to it and because of a divorce I had to let many of my builds go, so I gave it to a friend of mine and I called him up about a month ago to see what the chances were to get it back.

Well, I’m not willing to spend $100.00 on something I gave away. (I guess I did a great job?)

Sooooo, I’m gonna have to make another. Maybe we should have started a GB on this bird? ha

Keep the pics coming Hans.

Mike

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I have a soft spot in my heart for all of these classic kits even though I sometimes loathe these kits nowadays when ever I try my hand at one. Case in point the P-61 Black Widow - I’ve had to resist the urge to hurl that thing against the wall on more than one occasion.

Prior to the Widow I have built three Monogram classics - SA-16, P-40B and B-52. For the SA-16 Albatross, I scratch built an entire interior complete with tiny lights (first attempt, didn’t work too well, might try that again on a future build) and two cots with tiny little pillows and blankets. I feel like I did a good job with this build overall but it’s unfortunate that most of the work I put into it really isn’t visible.

For the P-40B, I always hated that wide open wheel well that looks right into the fuselage. I pirated well pieces from another P-40 kit I was working on that came with resin pieces, I believe that was the Eduard P-40N. Kit pieces weren’t an exact replica for the B but I wasn’t quibbling over that level of detail. Also scratch built the supercharger and cut open the cowling flap to show off some of that detail. Also detailed the flap interiors.

For the B-52 I was strongly tempted to scratch build the bomb bay but ultimately I resisted that urge. Pretty much just wanted to get that beast built so I could hang it from the ceiling.

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Ya know… I keep reading that, not just from you either, but I never seem to get an answer to the question of what’s exactly wrong with it? I’ve built that kit at least three times since about 1974 and have never had any real issues with it. I don’t care for the flap configuration and the wing-to-boom fit is a little sloppy, but all-in-all, I always liked that kit. I’m building it again )the '91 release) for the Twin-engined Fighters GB, and have still another (Revell re-box) in the hangar waiting… I plan on picking up the one left at Hobby Lobby tomorrow (40% off coupon again!) as well… What’s up with everyone’s Widow?

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von hammer from SOH right?

busy working on models than on CFS2 huh?

oh yeah who wasn’t put together the monogram 1/48 p-40b. i remember that was my first model way back when.

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Yeah, that’s me, Jerm… Takin’ a break from flyin’ models and got back into building them… Got burnt-out on CFS2 (virtual combat fatigue?) so I’ve “rotated home” outta the South Pacific and back Stateside for a while…

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Now there’s a blast from the past! That was one build I did with my Dad as a kid (CAF edition and all). I don’t remember much about the details themselves, but I do remember that it was alot bigger an aircraft than I originally thought! She looks great too! I’m looking forward to seeing the photos of the finished bird!

[tup][tup]

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Man I love the Monogram kits. Done the P-51B and a P-47D this year and have the P-40B, Helldiver, another P-39 and a P-38 waiting in line. Maybe one of these days I’ll find an Avenger for a steal as well. I did an F4F but messed up the landing gear so bad I decided it is now a test plane…paint test, weathering test, etc…

HVH, yours is looking good.

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My Widow has some poorly fitting pieces, most notably the canopy pieces, many of which resisted all normal efforts to get them to fit properly. The top opening piece was not manufactured very well and left a sizable gap that I finally closed up - rather sloppily, I must admit - with some putty.

The only reason I didn’t hurl that beast against the wall is that there is not a viable alternative that I am aware of in 1/48, and I really want to add that kit to my finished build collection. (And I had built that kit a couple of times previously, just not any time recently).

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For the cockpit interior, they’re aren’t any, except a molded-on seat in the radio compartment and a decal for the “panel”. The pilot and seat are molded in one piece that attaches to the bulkhead, as is the gunner that gets attatched to a pin on the turret support.

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Ahh… Then you don’t remember the Aurora Widow… THAT one was the worst kit ever made of the Spider in 1/48th… The booms were 3 pieces each and the gear plugged directly into the bottom of them in molded-shut gear doors, the insignia was molded on, engines were some kind of wavy engraving on the front of the nacelles, figures were just heads and shoulders molded into the fuselage halves and the whole thing was comprised of about 18 pieces…

The Monogram kit was light-years ahead of that POS…

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Oh Mike!…yer killing me! I’ve been reading about the nasty widow for so long now…I figgered I hadn’t built it as a kid. WRONG! I built that old Aurora monster! Sorry to take away from the thread…but now I recall not being able to put the model down because I was stuck to it.