Trumpeter 1/32 TMB-3 Avenger

[BarryW]

I was in two minds whether to post this build as Alun is doing an excellent job with the 1c version of this kit. But I will try to focus on different aspects of the build to him. Mine being a later mark of this aircraft.
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My build plan is to have the engine enclosed and so will only paint visible parts. The cockpit will be open as will the bomb bay. I plan a full load of bombs and rockets rather than a torpedo.

The scheme will likely be a three colour camo and I have a set of masks as well as aftermarket decals. I have not decided on the exact aircraft yet. It will not be one of the kit options as the Trumpy decals are awful.

The wing will be fixed fully open. The hinge mechanism is not strong and I will use plastic card to strengthen the inner to outer wing joins.

I will post my first progress post hopefully this weekend.

[Dave W]

I fancy one of these. It’s a big model though. I take it Trumpeter have given you ALL the clear parts with this one?.

[BarryW]

I have checked Dave and it all looks present and correct.......

With such a large kit with lots of sprues and pieces it is good to label and organise the sprues so the parts can be quickly and easily identified. It seems a bit anal but it will save a lot of time. Here they are all sorted and ready.
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I cleaned up and sorted my workbench for the new project and this is how it looks now. Please excuse the coffee cup that sneaked into the picture....
[ATTACH]311122[/ATTACH]I like a clean work area...
Just a quick look at the shelves....
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On to the build.....
I have made a start on the engine
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My very expensive tool bought from ZM at Telford came into its own...
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[colin m]

That's more than a few sprues there Barry, that will keep you off the streets for a while. I do like to see a nice tidy bench. I haven't got one, but nice to see.

[flyjoe180]

Look forward to seeing this develop Barry, your original Avenger was looking fabulous, stop in glad you're having another shot at one, and that you have all the parts this time

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Look forward to this. I too like a tidy, organised bench. What is that ZM tool? Seeing all those sprues it will keep you busy for quite a while.
Jim

[BarryW]

Jim - it is a chisel, very sharp. I wont mention the price!!!

I am still working on the engine and will be adding some wiring to the front where it will be visible using lead wire.
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The engine is a very nice, well engineered, model in its own right.

[Alun Wells]

Good luck with this one, watching with interest, not progressed much with mine, been a bit busy, just ticking over. Good start
Cheers
Alun
PS the large cowl type part is not on my version, a few differences.

[BarryW]

Good luck with this one, watching with interest, not progressed much with mine, been a bit busy, just ticking over. Good start
Cheers
Alun
PS the large cowl type part is not on my version, a few differences.

Thanks Alun
Yes you are quite right. I noticed that having built the other version some while back. That build never did complete as the turret was missing and I was never able to secure the part via Pocketbond whos provided an appalling service at the time.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Lovely detail on the engine and adding wires will be the icing on the cake.
Sometimes we do spend rather a lot on tools. I have 2 different sizes of Tamiya sprue cutters. Second to none but very, very pricey.
Jim

[BarryW]

More progress - first the engine is pretty much done. I painted the area that will be visible black and then used two types of the Uschi metal powders, chrome and steel to give it a metallic effect. I still have some engine washes to apply.
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Now to the instrument panel and the 'pit interior.
Trumpeter's instructions fall down because of poor painting instructions. They just provide some Gunze colour numbers without saying what they are (I just know they are Gunze) and not very comprehensively at all. So third party sources are needed to help complete the painting particularly on the inside.

This is an excellent kit but it does have a lot of p.e. and I really do not like p.e. at all. Take this below...
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It shows a corner of the i.p. and includes the placements of several pieces of p.e. for leavers and controls. The drawing suggests some handy slots to fit the p.e. parts into but these slots are non-existent and while the p.e. looks reassuringly thick and substantial for gluing, they are not, they are tiny. It is even difficult to hold just to file off the 'burrs' they are so small. You need to glue the p.e.'s edge to the flat smooth panel front. I know from experience that any such p.e. does not last 5 minutes and you end up with messy marks and a clean up to do when they fall off and get eaten by the carpet monster. That is if you can get them into place in the first place, that 'gluing area' is just so small. To me that is just a fools errand and it will not really be sen so I am simply not bothering with it. There are some p.e. controls that I might get into place but not those shown in that diagram.....

Speaking of the i.p. - it is made up of three parts:
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Top left is the back plate which I have painted black and white. The white is to help the instruments that you can see on the film, top right, to stand out when placed over it. The i.p. front at the bottom then fits on top to sandwich the film. I find it a little odd that the front of the i.p., shown above after a coat of black paint, is a transparency. The dials are just holes throuhg which you see the film. Below has the front positioned loosely on top to show roughly how it will look...... I will, of course, need to line them up a bit better than I did below.
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Its not at all bad but I will need to use something like crystal clear to represent glazing once I have joined these together. before I do that, however, I still have some work to do easiest done while seperate parts. I need to research the Avenger i.p. and add some colour where needed and a bit of weathering. I actually like this system, it works.

Sometime Trumpy get their numbering wrong, take a look below:
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Part A12 is mislabelled. I had to search through all the sprues and found it as part F18..... No dount I will eventuall find out where the actual A12 (which looks like a panel) fits....

Anyway - I am happy with progress and I really am loving this kit despite a few foibles.

[Alun Wells]

Looking good, I agree entirely with your comment on paint instructions, very sparse indeed. I used them as a rough guide, and then did my own interpretation.
Also found this:- http://www.modelingmadness.com/revie...cleavertbf.htm
Good bit of history and some reference info
Apart from paint instructions, a good kit to build, enjoyable as you say.
Cheers
Alun

[stillp]

Barry, would it be possible to push those tiny PE levers into place with a hot soldering iron so they make their own slots? Or use the heated tip of a scalpel blade to prepare slots?

Pete

[BarryW]

Hi Pete. I considered that but decided the risk of damaging the ip was too great. I have already had one incomplete Avenger due to a missing part I don’t want to risk damaging a part on this. Trumpeter’s replacement part service is non-existent. I doubt that much of this will be seen anyway.

My hatred of p.e. extends to Eduard seat belts, well those sets that require the threading of small buckles though metal or micro-fabric belts. In a moment of weakness I bought a set that is specific to the Avenger in spite of my better judgement. The result is no better the my previous 100% failure rate with this type of seat belt.

I managed to thread two straps through the buckles with only minor distortion to the buckles. Next I was suppposed to attach some small straps though another hole in the buckles....... well without getting even one in place I lost two to the carpet monster. With that rate of attrition it really is not worth persisting with them. The bin awaits. Does anyone ever manage to make up full sets of those? If so, you must have super human powers.

Consequently I will be using the kit pe belts. Awful but not as totally impractical as those Eduard sets.

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I will have some more pictures over the weekend.

[BarryW]

A bit more fun and games but some good progress also.

I dry brushed the ip with metal powder and painted the detail based on a photo. I also placed some Krystal Klear into each dial to represent the glass.
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I am please with the result

Now back to the seatbelt saga. It was not difficult to quickly see the issue with the kit p.e.
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The above clearly says to glue two parts of the strap together
This is how it is meant to look when done.
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Even if you only glued the end of the parts together there is no way the belt will end up looking anything like the picture. Look at this:
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Useless.
The kit lapbelts can be used though and I will do so

Back to the Eduard set. I decided to use elements from this set that are practical to get a reasonable result.
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Not as Eduard would have us do but pretty good anyway. Certainly better than the kit. I will do the same elsewhere.
I bent the lapbelts into position ready to paint.
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More of those pe levers. This time I got two into place but the carpet monster got two more in the process.
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I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. There may be grumbles about the instructions and there may be far too much pe for my liking (oh I soooo hate pe). But it is a great kit, the plastic could not be better and when you consider how little of the interior will be seen the pe quibbles are no real problem if at least some is left out.