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1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:07 pm
by Jnewboy
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I was looking through ebay a week or so ago and found a guy selling a customized Spitfire that looked fairly good so I started looking through his other items and he was selling several customized 1/18 planes and a totally repainted Avenger in Midway markings! It looked great in pictures and I was planning on someday making one for myself. So I put the one I had in storage still MIB up for sale and got $155 for it and won this Midway Avenger for $179! So it worked out really well but my biggest suprise was yestarday when it showed up at my door. It has not only been repainted but amazingly detailed interior, bomb bay, gun pod, engine and more! plus battle damage that looks real! The paint has both post shading and preshading, antenna, all sorts of details. My hat is off to the guy who did this. I wonder if he is a member? Did anyone else pick up any of his planes?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-18-CUSTOM-MUS ... true&rt=nc

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:51 pm
by CanberraPaul
That is a really top notch piece Jon!!! Well done Mate!!

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:40 pm
by [CAT]CplSlade
There are a number of guys over at LargeScalePlanes.com who do rebuilds of 21C planes so it could be one of them. There are at least two guys doing P-38s right now, one of whom has machined all his own landing gear which is totally awesome.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:45 pm
by rschaap
I was lucky enough to pick up the "Old Crow" P-51. Your right he does some nice work. I will post some pictures in a day or two.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:13 pm
by Coreyeagle48
Greetings:

Being the SBD lover I am I put in a bid for and won the Dauntless he was selling. Would have loved the Avenger or the Zero too but glad to see Jnewboy got it and honestly I couldn't afford to buy more than one.

Hopefully the SBD is as cool as it looks in the pictures.

Corey

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:20 pm
by supersonicfifi
Guys, I saw the EBAY listing but can you post some more pictures of your models, .... In details. I always enjoy the great work of gifted modellers . Good catch ! Well done

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:27 pm
by Coreyeagle48
Greetings:

Also the model you got Jnewboy is a replica of the sole surviving Avenger out of the six planes that attacked the Japanese carriers from Midway Island. The aircraft were supposed to be on the USS Hornet, but missed the ship and stayed on land. I have a book with several photographs of this particular plane, given the damage on the model matches what is shown in these photographs, this is what the builder must have used to build the plane.

Interesting to note that during the attack the rear gunner was killed. Most photographs of the plane show the gunner's station covered with a tarp as his dead body was still in the plane at the time the photos were taken back on Midway Island.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 6:21 pm
by Jnewboy
supersonicfifi wrote:Guys, I saw the EBAY listing but can you post some more pictures of your models, .... In details. I always enjoy the great work of gifted modellers . Good catch ! Well done

Here are some pics I snapped today. The cockpit is insane! so much detail!! I asked him where he got the seatbelts but all he said was "they are photo etched parts" I asked him from where but he has not responded yet. Anyone know where you can get photo-etched seatbelts?? They may be in 1/24?? they look great!!!

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Coreyeagle48 wrote:Greetings:

Also the model you got Jnewboy is a replica of the sole surviving Avenger out of the six planes that attacked the Japanese carriers from Midway Island. The aircraft were supposed to be on the USS Hornet, but missed the ship and stayed on land. I have a book with several photographs of this particular plane, given the damage on the model matches what is shown in these photographs, this is what the builder must have used to build the plane.

Interesting to note that during the attack the rear gunner was killed. Most photographs of the plane show the gunner's station covered with a tarp as his dead body was still in the plane at the time the photos were taken back on Midway Island.
Yes, and the damage on it reflects the battle and is well done! even down to the ball turret taking damage, even made some metal frame work on the tail damage!

Its a intresting story about them at Midway, how they pulled the Zero fighter cover down to the deck to destroy them allowing the Dauntless divebombers to have a clear bomb run. I always wondered if that was brilliant tactics or just luck.

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Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 9:48 pm
by snake
Excellent weathered and damaged Avenger, Jnewboy. A great buy for the price. 8)

And the cockpit detail is quite amazing.

The seller put a lot of time and effort into this model, and you reaped the benefits.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:38 am
by slogan
That's superb, what a find.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:00 pm
by rschaap
Here are some photos of my P-51D "Old Crow" flow by Bud Anderson during WWII.

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I was lucky..the guy is an awesome builder.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 2:16 pm
by Coreyeagle48
Greetings

My SBD is in route. Can't wait to see it. I hope it looks as good as the P-51 and Avenger you guys got.

Corey

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:23 pm
by Coreyeagle48
Greetings:

The SBD arrived today in the mail in the middle of the snowstorm.

Packing by the seller was good, almost too good in my opinion. The packing was so taped and wrapped that it broke the radio aerial about 1/4 of the way from the top. A drop of glue fixed it, but where the break happened is noticeable and detracts from the model. You model guys out there, a good way to hide the fix? The other curious feature is that while doing the detail work, the builder must have broke the central dive flap because it is glued in the open position. The other flaps work. A little bothered by the pack job only because there should have been no packing material anywhere near the wire, especially taped packing material. It was basically asking for the wire/radio aerial to be damaged. I know this can happen when buying built models, but I really think a less congested packing strategy would have avoided this issue.

The work itself is wonderful. The cockpit detail is wonderful and I like the addition of the seat belts, addition of wiring for the cylinders and the panel line details. The seller really turned the Merit Dauntless into a nice piece. Glad to have it in my collection.

Here are some photos of it.

Corey

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Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 6:01 am
by pickelhaube
all of these models are very nice .

you guys need to invite this guy to come on our forum .

:D

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 6:49 am
by Studly
pickelhaube wrote:all of these models are very nice .

you guys need to invite this guy to come on our forum .

:D
Your Not wrong Pickle i would love to see some of his other work too :D

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 9:45 am
by Dauntless
Very nice Avenger Jnewboy! 8)

Always wondered when someone would make one from a 21st TBF.
Looks like he modified it for the cowl gun that was on the early model.
Unbelievable detail for the interior. :shock:
The regular Atlantic editions are already high priced, and the Bunker Hill even higher, so I think you got a great deal considering.

Btw, it was the obsolete Douglass TBD Devastator that kept the Zeroes busy on the deck while the SBD's remained un harassed high above.
With one sole survivor Ensign George Gay who watched the battle floating in the sea.
Those Avengers were destined for the Hornet as Corey mentioned. One wonders if the outcome would have been different had VT-8 received their new torpedo bombers.

Beautiful Old Crow and SBD too.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:58 pm
by Jnewboy
My Avenger is the only one to make it back to Midway island, is was very shot up. Rear turret gunner dead. I think the pilot got the distiguished flying cross. Yes without those coming in first and pulling all those zeros to ground level things may have been very differant that day.

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Notice in the last photo the bullet holes and damage to the tail which is consistant with the model.

I asked him to join the forum but got no response. I think he sold his whole collection and is out of the hobby. :( I dont know that for sure but just the fact that he had 7 or 8 planes for sale all at once and his tone when he would respond to my questions. It made me quite sad actually.

Re: 1/18 Custom Midway Avenger

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:18 am
by Black_Dragon_One
Jnewboy wrote:Image

I was looking through ebay a week or so ago and found a guy selling a customized Spitfire that looked fairly good so I started looking through his other items and he was selling several customized 1/18 planes and a totally repainted Avenger in Midway markings! It looked great in pictures and I was planning on someday making one for myself. So I put the one I had in storage still MIB up for sale and got $155 for it and won this Midway Avenger for $179! So it worked out really well but my biggest suprise was yestarday when it showed up at my door. It has not only been repainted but amazingly detailed interior, bomb bay, gun pod, engine and more! plus battle damage that looks real! The paint has both post shading and preshading, antenna, all sorts of details. My hat is off to the guy who did this. I wonder if he is a member? Did anyone else pick up any of his planes?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-18-CUSTOM-MUS ... true&rt=nc
This plane got a good home...