Small Scale Military Headquarters

I just found my first TBM and it is missing the crew door.
Question is, do TBF's have holes in the formation light position or do they have blue lenses in the holes?
(These are not the Red/Green nav lights)

I am trying to get a replacement door and need to get lenses if there supposed to be there.
If not the oh well.

TIA
Stevan

I believe that was a hot topic a while back, there are just holes.

On my early WM one, the later one I got with screw covers in still in the box

DH

Not screw holes, these are in the formation light position.
About 1 3/4" in from the wingtip.

The sort of tear drop shaped holes on the top of the wing? I have a complete Gen 1 (no screw hole plugs) Avenger and they are just holes--no lenses. And I just looked at a co-workers Gen 2 and they are the same way. So it looks like if you want lenses, you will need to make them.

Both "generations" of the Atlantic Avengers did not have the nav-lights and neither does the "Flight 19" Avenger. Only the holes are present. The Flt. 19 Avengers do have the radio mast, however.

Regarding the missing door, if you can take your Avenger back and at least switch the fuselage piece, then do so. If you got it from a small retailer, let them know the problem and see if they can contact 21c for a replacement. That's what I've done with my "Flight 19" Avenger that came from BCA with its canopy cracked.

For what ever reason, it seems that I've seen alot of QC issues with the few Avengers I've seen (apart from the initial missing screw caps) such as various broken or misaligned parts, paint smudges, and the like. Some of these problems are inevitable in a large production run, but others could easily be rectified with a little better quality control inspection of the products at the factory level and shouldn't occur with something one pays so much for at the retail level...

I've seen fewer such defects with assortments of the smaller planes, including the Bf-109s, Migs, Sabers, and P-51s. Has anyone else noticed this?

I've seen fewer such defects with assortments of the smaller planes, including the Bf-109s, Migs, Sabers, and P-51s. Has anyone else noticed this?

I think with larger more complex birds there is more chance for small QC issues. More moving parts, more paint surfaces, more printing, more details....this is why I see large planes as more trouble than they are worth in a lot of ways from the manuf. point of view - they will be more expensive so they will cater to more of a collector crowd and in turn will be subject to more scrutiny. Taking back a $40 plane for paint smudges is one thing, but the cost of taking back multiples of a $90 bird plus s&h could prove problematic...

I also think the production on the Avenger was rushed big time. Otherwise, the Gen 1 version would have never made it into stores. But I think 21st was trying to make up for 2+ years of delays as well as meet a Christmas availability date for Walmart (and we saw how that worked out--some a few weeks before, some showing up a couple days before or even after). Which meant more screw-ups made it through QC and less training for the production labor.

Back to the original post....The teardrop holes in the upper surfaces of both wings near the tip and forward are for ID lights, not navigation lights. There are supposed to be blue lenses in both wings, but for unknown reasons all S1 (haven't personally seen an S2 yet) Avengers do not have them. It is very simple to make them, though. Any hobby shop worth it's salt will have plastic stock, including clear plastic rods. Use a Dremel or file to rough out the lens at the end of the rod. once it's sanded smooth, dip the rod in Future Floorwax and let it dry for about 24 hours. When dry, the slight scratch marks left by the sandpaper will pretty much disappear. Cut the end off the rod and sand flat. VIOLA instant lens. To give it a blue color, drill slightly into the backside of the lens and make a dimple. Paint with blue paint and from the topside it appears to be a blue bulb.

Thanks for the responses, but if you read my post, I know they're not Nav lights.

They're formation lights.
ID lights are the Red/Green/Amber lights on the underside of the fuselage or starbord wing.

They are tear drop shaped, not flat.
They have a translucent blue lens, not clear.

Just thought I would clear that up since I spent time on a 1:1 TBM's wing.

so any one want to volunteer to makes these light for us..

I'm sure they will be on later versions.
I can't imagine 21st going to the trouble of putting holes and not pluging them.
Why not just leave them filled?

Will probably be like the screw holes, just rushed into production.

I Hope!