1:32 TBF-1C Avenger

White that hides an aircraft from a submarine

The Avenger was among the machines that hunted submarines over the Atlantic, and there something surprising turned out: the best concealment is not a dark finish but a white one. An observer on the deck of a submarine looks upwards against a bright sky and a dark aircraft stands out against that background like a blot of ink. White lower surfaces, by contrast, imitate the brightness of the sky and the machine disappears dozens of seconds earlier than one would expect. The upper surfaces stayed dark blue because of the view from above, onto the sea. This arrangement is called counter-shading and it is one of the few cases where a camouflage did not come about by guesswork but by measurement.

What is inside

Seven masks cover the national insignia in all the usual positions on the wings and on the sides of the fuselage; a double masking of the glazing belongs to them, that is outside and inside, and two metal barrels of the large-caliber machine guns. On a torpedo machine with a glazed rear and a turret, masking the windows is the most wearisome part of the build and pre-cut film shortens it to a fraction of the time.

The machine itself

The TBF designation belonged to examples from the parent factory, while identical aircraft from license production were given the letter M. The version with the suffix C added a pair of weapons in the wing and with them the ability to strafe a target on the surface. The stocky fuselage that a torpedo fitted into gave the type its nickname and in 1:32 scale makes it a substantial piece of a model.

Before spraying

Clean the glazing well so that the film holds over its whole area, and apply the white paint in thin coats over a light base. White covers weakly and in a heavy coat it creeps into the detail. The masks are cut to the Trumpeter kit; the aircraft is not in the package.