Academy 1/48 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator - InBox Review

[Dave Ward]

The Vought SB2U-3 was the first monoplane dive-bomber used by the USN & USMC, introduced in 1937. By the start of WWII it was obsolete & suffered heavy losses n action.
Academy are a S. Korean manufacturer, they produce all sorts of models, their own & reboxes - accuracy can be a bit patchy.This is a reboxing of the 2005 Accurate Miniatures Model - it has also been reboxed by Azur & Special Hobby.. AM were known for their detailed models, many of their moulds are still in use, and still stand up well against the latest models

Nice Sturdy box.................
Sprue shots

All sprues clean and crisply moulded, no flash or sink marks
Transparencies, Decals, Canopy Masks & tiny PE fret

Tiny seat belts...........

The instructions are b&w glossy folded A4 sheets, they are a mix of photos & line drawings & look pretty clear

3 Colour schemes

detail pictures in next post.................

[Dave Ward]

A few detail shots

Wiring harness is a bit overscale............

Injector pin marks look to be positioned out of sight

As well as the detail on the inside of the fuselage halves, there is a lot of framework to add to the cockpit

Weighted tyres - there is a set of unweighted as well
Protection around the bomb crutch

Underwing bomb

I'm not a fan of the transparent instrument panel, I'd much prefer a decal,but that's just my personal bias!
The Academy SB2U-3 is a very well moulded model, not many options, main one being closed or open canopy, and with the canopy masks & PE seat belts is complete in the box. A thing which counts against this nice model is its' relative obscurity! The SBD Dauntless, which replaced the SB2U is much more widely known ( Academy have also reboxed the AM 1/48 Dauntless - in my stash as well! ).
There don't seem to any real difficulties - the colour call outs are there, if a little 'fussy', and are referenced back to several paint makers. There's a lot of detail in the cockpit - masking the canopy will be a bit tricky, but preferable to hand painting. I would say that any modeller with a bit of experience could tackle this.
Availability? Yes - Around £25, which is good value - you don't have to add any AM parts.
If you would like to see an inbox review of the Academy Dauntless let me know..............
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

Looks very good to me. Not a well known aircraft, as you say Dave, but it was a mainstay at Midway, possibly the most important carrier battle in the pacific theatre…….nicknamed the wind indicator I believe.

[Nicko]

Thanks Dave. Only trouble with looking at these reviews for me is that you are always tempting me to add even more to the stash! :rolling:

Nick

[Dave Ward]

Thanks Dave. Only trouble with looking at these reviews for me is that you are always tempting me to add even more to the stash! :rolling:

Nick

I must admit that looking at these boxes for review tends to shuffle them up higher in the to do pile.
I'm trying to find models that haven't really featured in the forum -
Dave

[The Smythe Meister]

A few detail shots
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188929[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188930[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188931[/ATTACH]
Wiring harness is a bit overscale............
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188932[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188933[/ATTACH]
Injector pin marks look to be positioned out of sight
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188934[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188936[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188937[/ATTACH]
As well as the detail on the inside of the fuselage halves, there is a lot of framework to add to the cockpit
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188938[/ATTACH]
Weighted tyres - there is a set of unweighted as well[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188939[/ATTACH]
Protection around the bomb crutch
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188940[/ATTACH]
Underwing bomb
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1188941[/ATTACH]
I'm not a fan of the transparent instrument panel, I'd much prefer a decal,but that's just my personal bias!
The Academy SB2U-3 is a very well moulded model, not many options, main one being closed or open canopy, and with the canopy masks & PE seat belts is complete in the box. A thing which counts against this nice model is its' relative obscurity! The SBD Dauntless, which replaced the SB2U is much more widely known ( Academy have also reboxed the AM 1/48 Dauntless - in my stash as well! ).
There don't seem to any real difficulties - the colour call outs are there, if a little 'fussy', and are referenced back to several paint makers. There's a lot of detail in the cockpit - masking the canopy will be a bit tricky, but preferable to hand painting. I would say that any modeller with a bit of experience could tackle this.
Availability? Yes - Around £25, which is good value - you don't have to add any AM parts.
If you would like to see an inbox review of the Academy Dauntless let me know..............
Dave

Yes please Dave
I've thought of getting a Dauntless for quite a while now,so your thoughts on the Academy version