Ixo Daunltess Opinions

[aferguson]

I'm thinking of picking up an Ixo Daunltess. I like the early war markings and i can get them dirt cheap (which makes me a bit nervous). Other than the inked panel lines is there anything wrong with it that i'm not seeing? I'm not an expert on the Dauntless. The only thing i noticed is the canopy shape might be off a bit but i plan to open up the front and rear sections of it, so that's not a big issue.

[Epap]

Except for that thing sticking out from under its tail---easily trimmed off----the IXO SBD, d inked panel lines or not----is one of the best in the series, AF. I don't know how it sits on its gear as mine is displayed on its stand, but its a decent---if not HM quality----looking model.

[aferguson]

Great, Epap...just what i wanted to hear. I'll be putting it gear up, like you. The HM equivelant has inked panel lines as well (!).....i guess they did that in their early days? To be honest i don't like the HM tooling as i find the cowl detailing very heavy handed, especially the rivets. The Atlas Dauntless has a botched paint scheme, so the only option for an early war SBD is Ixo..

For some reason they are still selling cheap (~$22 shipped) so that made me nervous that it was crap...glad to hear it's not.

[Epap]

Just to be clear about the IXO SBD, AF, while it is not a total wash out like many IXOs, and the inked panel lines do not look so bad on this model---in my opinion-----the HM version is still a much better buy---at the right price. For example, here's one---in light gray---that can be had fairly cheap:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobby-Master-SB ... 2ebaf4607a

[aferguson]

hm.....well i can get a Corgi Dauntless, which is the same mold as HM, for much less than that and it has Midway markings. But i don't like the heavy rivets around the cowl.

I can eliminate the inked lines on the Ixo and it's $23.50 shipped. I'm not a huge Dauntless fan, so the Ixo will do fine for now. Some day i'd like to get a Midway one with open dive brakes, if one's ever made.

[aferguson]

As an aside, i came across an interesting colour pic from WWII of Dauntlesses around the time of Midway. Note the patchy way the paint has faded......some areas seem to be almost unfaded while others heavily faded. What's interesting is the regular lines of the unfaded areas, especially near the tail. It's like something was normally blocking the sunlight while it was on deck. Maybe a shadow from some structure? Or maybe it was repainted in that area to apply new markings or cover repairs?


http://thomas41.deviantart.com/art/SBD- ... -421184003

[Dauntless]

I find it odd that some Navy aircraft early 1942 had a large star on the fuselage nearer the rear cockpit, while others had it near the tail. All the Lexington aircraft, Devastators, Dauntless, and Wildcat I do believe were with the little tail insignia.

I think the pic shows where they overpainted the little insignia around the tail and moved it. Along with painting over the candy cane rudder and removing the red dot if any. I have an Enterprise Wake Island raids Devastator that has the large insignia during the same timeframe.

[[CAT]CplSlade]

If you notice it is there is a patch of paint on the cowling the same shade. Since both have the "4" in them, I think perhaps those are craft that were reassigned and given new call signs which necessitated prepping the area to hide the old sign?

[aferguson]

right.....perhaps a larger marking was painted over in both areas and replaced with the small '4'. US Navy markings during the early stages of WWII seem to be a bit of a mixed bag. A noticable lack of clear standardization....much seems to have been left up to the individual unit or carrier commanders and their perceived needs eg large stars for friendly recognition vs small stars for better camoflauge.

[Epap]

Here's a link to a brief but interesting commentary on the subject of USN markings in the spring of 1942:


http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/G ... si/00.shtm

[Dauntless]

That's interesting, explains why the Enterprise aircraft were painted with larger insignia, on the other hand doing that caused maybe large enough red areas to confuse it with a meatball.

Guess the Lexington didn't get to it before she went down with many, but not all of her planes.

[Coreyeagle48]

Aferg:

The picture you found was part of a color set Life magazine did in 1943. There are several other photographs from this "media" flight and you can find most of them on the Internet. A lot of folks who aren't too sure about these photos identify them as being from the Battle of Midway. That isn't accurate. These photos were actually taken in 1943 and the squadron photographed is a United State Marine Corps unit stationed on Midway after the battle had taken place. The flight is clearly a training flight, as other images in the series show the aircraft carrying smaller practice bombs on the one underwing attachment.

As for the different color patches, this unit was on Midway so the aircraft were weathered and used hard. The different colors do in fact represent paint repairs and marking changes. Security was also paramount during this time and many aircraft had their actual unit markings censored in photographs. Another photograph in this series shows a Dauntless flying in this formation with its rear stabilizer damaged and its cowling badly dented. On most of the aircraft in the group, a lot of the blue paint has faded to an almost light gray color. One of the aircraft in the group also wears an eight ball marking under the front cockpit in one of the photos, very unusual as well.

Corey

[aferguson]

very interestng, Corey. Thanks for the info.