1:48 Vought SB2U Vindicator

The Vindicator from the decks of prewar aircraft carriers

The Vought SB2U was the first monoplane dive bomber of the US Navy and in the second half of the 1930s it represented the technical leading edge. The combination of a metal fuselage with fabric covering over parts of the wing let it grow obsolete quickly, though, and by the time the war flared up in the Pacific it already belonged among the superseded types.

Five machines from decks and bases

The range covers two versions at once. From the older one there are machines of a squadron operating over San Diego in 1939, further a Marine Corps aircraft from Bourne Field in the Virgin Islands and a pair from the decks of the aircraft carriers of the day. The color variety of the prewar period, when American carrier aircraft wore yellow upper wing surfaces and pronounced colored bands according to affiliation, makes this sheet a rewarding basis for a striking display-case item.

Not decals alone

The set is richer than is usual with sheets of markings. Besides the markings themselves it holds masks for spraying the color scheme and photo-etched parts meant to correct shape inaccuracies in the kit of one American maker. That also matches the richer content compared with the second sheet the marque has in its range for the same type.

What to keep in mind during the build

The masks are stuck onto a perfectly degreased and dried surface, otherwise the paint seeps under them. The photo-etched components are best straightened and freed of their protective layer before gluing, because paint does not hold on greasy metal. The markings themselves become the turn only after a glossy intermediate layer.