Grumman TBF-1C Avenger Accurate Miniatures 1/48

Avenger in Atlantic colour scheme This kit has so many details it’s hard to know where to start!
The aircraft is covered in engraved panel lines, recessed rivets, inspection hatches, movable gun turret, moulded in brake lines, separate ignition harness, the list would fill this whole page!

This was one of my earliest creations and if memory serves me correctly, it was manufactured by Accurate Miniatures, an American company that sadly is no longer in production. At the time, Accurate miniatures kits were considered the acme of the modelling world and were top notch quality. It was a difficult build and the ‘green house’ canopy was a challenge to say the least to mask and paint, in particular the rear ball turret. Luckily, the ‘greenhouse’ part lacked curved lines!

I remember feeling very proud of myself that I was able to achieve for the first time a realistic ‘feathered’ edge between the grey and white colours, no mean feat with a single-action airbrush and Humbrol paints! I like to think I have come a long way since then with my modelling skills, and I have long since upgraded to a double-action airbrush. But after all these years, my Avenger still sits proudly on my shelf ready for another sortie into the grey mists of the north Atlantic.

Note the open crew access hatch, a nice touch. To the right of the tail wheel is the ventral rear firing machine gun. At the rear is the arrestor hook.

If you have seen this aircraft at museums or air shows, you realise it is BIG! It was the heaviest single-engined aircraft of WW2. Avengers were torpedo bombers manufactured by the Grumman company (TBM versions by General Motors) although this particular specimen is carrying four 500-pound bombs.

There were three crew members, pilot, turret gunner and bombardier/radioman/ventral gunner. It had a 7.62mm machine gun in the nose, a 50 cal machine gun in the rear-facing electrically-powered turret and a manually fired 7.62 mm machine gun mounted ventrally under the tail to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below or to the rear (see image above).

The Avenger entered service in 1942 and first saw action at the Battle of Midway in June where only six were present as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8) . Of these, five were shot down. Despite this inauspicious start Avengers went on to play a vital role against surface forces in the Pacific war and in the North Atlantic campaign where many flew from escort carriers on anti-submarine patrols. The Atlantic scheme featured here is particularly attractive in my opinion. It was a TBF-1C that former US President was flying when he was shot down in in September, 1944.

The squat lines are captured perfectly in this kit
The cockpit glazing is crystal clear
The cavernous bomb bay with four 500-pound bombs. It could also carry one Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 torpedo or a single 2,000-pound bomb. Overall, the Avenger was a very rugged, stable weapons platform and pilots say it flew ‘like a truck’ , for good or ill. Note U/C bays are painted white not interior green.
This kit set a new bench mark in modelling, at least it did for me!

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