Fellow Modelers,
Below are photos of Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale TBF-1 Grumman Avenger WW2 Torpedo Bomber built in 2011. The Trumpeter kit is excellent and very well engineered. It is a complex kit to build, but not a difficult kit to build. This model was converted from a TBF-1C to an early production TBF-1 which required the following:
-Re-locating the middle fuselage windows
-Adding a “gun trough” on the right side fuselage behind the engine cowling for the .30 caliber gun
-Scratch building a second cockpit behind the pilot section, including basic flight controls
-Removing all panel lines, holes and rivets of the .50 caliber guns in the wings
-Adding photo-etched seatbelt details, stretched sprue levers and landing gear brake lines. One modification not added was the small, sloped canopy fairing between the turret and main canopy section. I believe the only way to do this is by vac-forming a clear piece over the turret, and then doing some serious cutting and shaping.
The model carries the markings of “8-T-1” (Bureau Number 00380), which was the first Avenger delivered to the U.S. Navy and the sole survivor from the VT-8 (U.S.S. Hornet CV-8) land-based attachment of six airplanes stationed on Midway Island. I included the red and white rudder stripes and red circles on the star insignia, which is the scheme the airplane had from late March to mid-May 1942. By the time the Battle of Midway took place (June 4th-6th), the rudder stripes had been painted blue and the red circles painted white. The only other marking change was that the fuselage star insignia size was enlarged. “8-T-1” was heavily damaged while making an attack against the Japanese fleet on the morning of June 4, 1942, but made it back to Midway Island-crash landing with just one main landing gear down. The pilot who flew the plane at Midway was Ens. Albert Earnest. His crew was RM3/c Harry Ferrier (radioman/tunnel gunner) and SEA1/c Jay Manning (turret gunner). Manning was killed and the other two wounded. A post battle inspection showed the airplane had been hit by at least sixty-four 7.7mm bullets and nine 20mm cannon shells. After being sent to Grumman for evaluation it was scrapped due to the extensive damage. Ens. Earnest was awarded two Navy Crosses at Midway. One for his determined attack against the Japanese fleet, and the other for bringing his aircraft back intact for post combat evaluation. Ironically when Earnest returned to Midway, he was twice waved off from landing because it was thought his one wheel landing might block other planes from the landing strip. He was ordered by radio to go to a higher altitude and bailout, but his radio was damaged and he never heard that order. He later said he would not have done that anyway. The first actual aircraft photo is of 8-T-1 in late March 1942 and the others show how it appeared after it crashed landed on Midway Island. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Phillip1
