1:32 TBF-1C Avenger (+maska na kabinu)

A large machine on a small deck

The Avenger was in its day the largest single-engine aircraft that regularly came back onto a deck. Folding wings let it fit into a hangar, a powerful radial engine carried a torpedo or bombs in an enclosed bay, and a rear turret with a machine gun covered the most vulnerable rear hemisphere. It was precisely the combination of load-carrying and toughness that made this type one of the most used carrier machines of the second half of the war.

Two units, two settings

One variant belongs to a composite squadron from the escort carrier Natoma Bay, that is from a small vessel converted from a merchant hull, of the kind that covered landings and escorted convoys. The other comes from the torpedo squadron of the large fast carrier Hornet, which in 1944 belonged to the core of the American formation in the Pacific. For both machines the descriptions give two possible fuselage numbers, so the builder can choose.

The camouflage of 1944

Both aircraft wear a scheme of three shades, where the dark blue of the upper surfaces passes through a middle tone on the sides into white on the underside. The transitions are meant to be soft, best sprayed freehand and in several thin layers. On the lower surface the white was soiled by oil and seawater, so a little dirtying suits the real subject.

The mask and applying the markings

The films supplied cover the framing of the long canopy, which in 1:32 saves the most work of all the operations. Apply the decals onto a gloss surface, draw the water off once they are settled and let them dry properly. Obtain the model and the paints separately.