Subject:  
Grumman
TBF-1D  Avenger
Kit Used: Revell - 1/48

Review & model by:
Paul Romans
All Pictures: R. Forys




[Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale TBF-1D Avenger.]




Based out of North Carolina, Accurate Miniatures first hit the shelves in the mid 1990's with a small catalog of 1/48 aircraft kits that blew nearly everyone else away in terms of accuracy and detail.   These were extremely well engineered kits, so precise in fact that assembly required close adherence to the instructions; failure to follow these could result in construction nightmares.   Miss-management caused the company to file bankruptcy in 2001, and it's been a long financial struggle for the new owners to keep the brand afloat since then.





[The Avenger series was released around 1998.]




When the Avenger series was released around 1998, reviewers fell over each other praising the kit's quality.   It was easily the best TBF kit ever produced, and set a new standard for just how good a model kit could be.   At the time, it's only serious rival was said to be AM's own SBD Dauntless, another superb model.





[ The Accurate Miniatures Avenger is easily the best 1/48 scale TBF kit ever produced. ]




I've built AM's Mustang, Stormovik and Avenger kits, and loved each one.   Their F3F however gave me fits, and I never could finish it.   That kit just seemed to fight me every step of the way.   I have their B-25 and Dauntless kits in the stash, but I'm a little leery of them.   I have a lot of respect for AM, but it's a tiger-by-the-tail sort of thing.





Naval aviation in the 1930's followed a well-defined path of development: from slow wood and fabric biplanes, giving way to fast metal monoplanes.   In 1937, the Navy got its first TBD Devastators, a modern torpedo bomber design that could do 200mph flat out, but by 1940 this was largely obsolete, and Grumman stepped up to the plate with its much more powerful TBF design.   Rolled out for its debut on the same day as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the new plane received the name "Avenger" and was rushed into production.   Its first battle was at Midway, where it was badly mauled by the Japanese.   Five of the six planes that went out didn't come back, but things improved steadily.   It did better in the Solomons in August, and better still at Guadalcanal in October, sinking the carrier Hiei.


[TBM-3E Still flying with the Colorado CAF.]
TBM-3E Still flying with the Colorado CAF.

With its large fuel capacity, folding wings and rugged construction, the Avenger was a big improvement over the Navy's older Vindicators and Devastators.   Its Wright R-2600 engine produced 1900hp, giving the big plane the ability to haul the Navy's new hard-hitting 22-inch torpedo, or a ton of bombs or depth-charges.   Its pilots said it flew like a truck, but it was a steady weapons platform and was easily the best torpedo bomber the Americans had.   By 1943, Grumman was unable to keep up with the demand for both Avengers and Hellcat fighters, so bomber production was turned over to General Motors and the plane was given the new designation of TBM.   GM's Eastern Division actually built over 7500 of the 9836 Avengers produced during the war.


[TBM-3 Destroyed in 2009 by an engine fire.]
TBM-3 Destroyed in 2009 by an engine fire.

Avengers were one of the most important offensive weapons the US had in the Pacific war, being involved with the destruction of over 60 Japanese warships, including the massive battleships Yamato and Musashi.   402 Avengers were delivered to the Royal Navy, which called them "Tarpons" at first, but later reverted to the original American name.   The plane was good enough to stay in service post-war, the British and Canadians using them in the ASW role until 1962.   Civilian use included crop spraying and water-bombing for decades after the planes were built.   An historic plane, the Avenger is truly one of the few aircraft without which the war would have turned out differently.


[TBM-3E Owned by Dave Tinker from Monroe, MI.]
TBM-3E Owned by Dave Tinker from Monroe, MI.
Currently, there are no flying TBFs, only TBMs.
All TBM pictures taken at the 2004 YAF show.






[Fit is great and little or no filler was required.]



Opening the box, you get lots of sprues, great clear parts, excellent decals, and a book (yes a book, with real staples) of instructions, with clear admonishments to follow them!   I did, and the build went together well.   There's a virtually complete interior, even in the rear gunner/bomb-aimer compartment.   The cockpit is a masterwork, and the weapons bay is superb.   Fit is great and little or no filler was required.   One of the few faults I could find is that while you can drop the well-detailed flaps, there's no corresponding detail on the underside of the wing.   I added some generic plastic strips to simulate structural ribs.




[The kit engine was painted with steel metalizer, given a dark wash and dry-brushed to bring out the detail..] [The rear turret built up well but was very tricky to get in place.]



The kit engine was used, painted with steel metalizer, given a dark wash and dry-brushed to bring out the detail.   The only finicky part of the build was the rear turret, which built up well but was very tricky to get in place behind the cockpit.   I was sure I was going to break it, but it finally snapped in ok.   I also went with the TBF-1D version because I liked the big radome out on the starboard wing.




[All clear parts were glued in place with white glue.] [The framework was masked off with Scotch Magic tape, and painted first with a coat of interior green so they'd look correct from the inside.]
[I went with the 3-color mid-war scheme of white-medium blue-dark blue, spraying the white first.] [The decals went on without trouble, responding well to micro-set.]



Once assembled, all clear parts were glued in place with white glue, the seams smoothed out with a damp Q-Tip.   I masked off the framework with Scotch Magic tape and painted them along with the rest of the model, first applying a coat of the interior green so they'd look correct from the inside.   I went with the 3-color mid-war scheme of white-medium blue-dark blue, spraying the white first.   Everything was free-handed with my antique Paasche H airbrush, and I used Testors Model Master enamels.   Give it a day or two to dry and slap on the glosscoat for the decals.   These went on without trouble, responding well to micro-set.




[Random panels on the wings and upper fuselage were lightened to fade the uniform finish, and a dark wash used to accent panel details..]



This kit was actually built a long time ago, but I was never happy with the finish.   I'd followed the kit's recommendations and left the surface glossy, but it never looked right.   After sitting unloved on the back shelf for years, I pulled it out and tried to re-do it, applying a flat-coat and adding lots more pastel weathering.   It came out better the second time around, looking more like a weather beaten Navy warplane.   I lightened some random panels on the wings and upper fuselage to fade the uniform finish, and used a dark wash to accent panel details.




[The glossy finish was recoated with flat-coat and more pastel weathering was added.]



So, overall it's a reasonably quick build with only minor assembly troubles, and the result is an extremely well done and highly detailed kit of the famous Grumman Avenger.   15 years on, it's still the best kit of this subject available, at least in this scale.   Very highly recommended.




[Overall it's a reasonably quick build with only minor assembly troubles, and the result is an extremely well done and highly detailed kit of the famous Grumman Avenger.]