# Dauntless and Corsair



## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

Suddenly, I have this desire to do a couple of WWII aircraft, specifically the SBD Dauntless and the Corsair. Wondering if I should get the Revell kits or if there's others out there that are more accurate or better in some fashion like maybe if Tamiya made these kits in a relativley large scale - maybe a foot long or so.

Thanks for your input in advance.


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## WarpCore Breach (Apr 27, 2005)

I'm guessing you're thinking of 1/48 scale? 

The Revell SBD Dauntless (kit#85-5249) is reputed to be a really good kit (in spite of it's operational gimmicks) and relatively inexpensive. It's length is 7 3/4" and the wingspan is 10".

You'll want the Corsair to be in 1/48 as well... but I don't have that kit so I can't tell you anything about which is the best one!


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

You want shelf sitters at a good price then go Monogram (Revell).
You want state of the art kits with great detail then for the Corsair it would be Tamiya and accurate Miniatures for the Dauntless.

If you want kits a foot or more long you need to move to 1/32 scale.
For the Corsair your options are the Revell, 21st Century Toys, and Trumpeter/Hobbycraft.

The Dauntless is either the Revell (originally Matchbox) or Trumpeter kits.

Max Bryant


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

Revell it is.

Thanks guys!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

The Revell Dauntless is, of course, the classic ol' Monogram kit from the 70s. The only bad thing one can say about it is that it has raised panel lines. Otherwise, it's a great kit. Working dive flaps, retractable landing gear, and IIRC a droppable bomb.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Mages,

1/48 offers you the best selection of aircraft overall.

Both in terms of quality and price.

However, you said you wanted something a little larger.

If you built either of the Vipers (TOS or TNS) they are 1/32.
So you can have these planes in the same scale.
Revell makes both of these planes in 1/32 and as was said, they are older molds and have raised panel lines. But they are still nice kits.
You can also get Trumpeters kits, but they are quite expensive.

1/32 is an interesting scale in that you can get a lot of unrelated subjects in that scale. You can find some semi-trucks and cars in that scale. And it is also a hairs breath away from 1/35 for armor.


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

1/48 is fine. 

Say, off the top of your head, do you know what scale the Testors' Dauntless is, do ya?


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes the 1/32 21st century Corsair is a great kit!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

First, the Revell (USA) 1/48 Corsair and Dauntless are actually the very very old Monogram toymodels from the late 1950s. They are full of working features like folding landing gear, droppable bombs, folding wings, opening dive flaps, etc. If you want a basic kit in that size, they are "okay" but are far from state of the art. THe current issues are good builds as they are molded in nice grey plastic and have good decals. The best 1/48 Dauntless is by Accurate Miniatures. It is a super kit, and one of the best plastic models ever made in any scale, Period!. Hasegawa has a poor 1/48 Dauntless, which is a bit surprising given their overall quality. In 1/48 scale Hasegawa has some decent later type Corsairs, while Tamiya's early type Corsairs are excellent. Revell Germany sells one of the Hasegawa kits in a Revell box, not to be confused with the USA boxing of the old Monogram junk. 

Revell Germany also sells the old Matchbox 1/32 Dauntless. In this case, the 1/32 SBD's by Trumpeter are really much much better and are some of Trumpeter's better large plane kits. If you want a foot long model, this is the kit to get. For the Corsair, it is a bit harder. Revell has an old early 70s kit floating around that is basically accurate in shape but very sparse on detail. Trumpeter makes a couple 1/32 Corsairs that are overly complicated and very hard to build (with iffy accuracy). I was partial to the 21st Century Toys "kit" version of their pre finished plane. While toylike (folding wings, landing gear, etc.) the level of detail was very good and it would have been easier to fix up this model than the old Revell kit. Sadly 21st Century is out of business for a few years now.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Mages,

What SBD variant are you interested in.

I have two Accurate Miniatures SBD's in my stash. 

SBD-3 #3411
and
SBD-5 #3412

If your interested, I may be willing to part with one of them.

PM me if your interested and lets see if we can come to an agreement.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

I like the 1/32nd scale kit from Revell for the Corsair. It needs extra detail but not bad at all overall, IMHO.


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## rossjr (Jun 25, 2001)

For the Corsair I would definately recommend the Tamiya kit for accuracy and details.
For the SBD either the Accurate Minatures or Hasegawa kits are great for those

The old Monogram kits are fine but don't offer a lot of detail. The other issue is that those are typically molded in a dark blue plastic that is very brittle. Enjoy the builds and can't wait to see your pictures...


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

ClubTepes said:


> Mages,
> 
> What SBD variant are you interested in.
> 
> ...


don't really know. The gray two-seater?


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

Magesblood said:


> 1/48 is fine.
> 
> Say, off the top of your head, do you know what scale the Testors' Dauntless is, do ya?


 
Testors Dauntless is 1/72 and from uber old Hawk Model Co. molds.


Max Byant


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Magesblood said:


> don't really know. The gray two-seater?


PM me and lets chat. Perhaps we can help each other out.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

In 1/72 there isn't too much choice for a decent SBD. As noted, the Testors kit is the 50 year old Hawk model. It seems a bit big too, so its probably around 1/70th scale. It is a fairly clean model, but very chunky with no wheel wells, no interior, no detail... 

Airfix has a 1960s kit that purports to build, IIRC, an SBD-3 and -5. It isn't "bad" but its a bit dated and sparse on interior detail. The area on the bottom, under the cockpit, is inaccurate, as it is missing the proper recess for the bomb and the bomb aimers glass window. But for the price its a decent, workable kit. The real SBD has some large raised rivets, so the Airfix kit is not totally inaccurate in that regard.

Hasegawa does a couple poor SBD's. They are scaled down from Hasegawa's 1/48 kit, which is probably the worst large scale kit they have ever done. There is little cockpit interior, and again they miss the bomb aimers window completely. And, like the other kits, the dive flaps are not drilled out either. For the price you can buy 3-4 Airfix kits, or an Airfix kit and the Airwaves photo etch detail set for it. If you can get the Hasegawa kit cheaply, its a clean, easy build. But its not a real good kit.


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

ClubTepes said:


> PM me and lets chat. Perhaps we can help each other out.


I wouldn't be able to do anything 'till octember at the earliest. Couple of birthdays coming up. Yeah, I get an allowance. I'm married.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Magesblood said:


> I wouldn't be able to do anything 'till octember at the earliest. Couple of birthdays coming up. Yeah, I get an allowance. I'm married.


No problem. Investigate the manufacturers and variants (a problem I had early in my plane career was realizing I wanted a particular variant after I purchased the first one I saw).
If you decide you want one of the ones I have let me know and we can talk.


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