Author Topic: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane  (Read 4701 times)

Offline robunos

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Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« on: January 14, 2021, 11:16:37 PM »

Okay . . .
Time for the next one !
This one's going to be the old Matchbox Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, and I'm going to one of the old pre-war colourful paint schemes, with the yellow wings.
Now this aeroplane has one of those weird retractable undercarriages, where the wheels pull up into the fuselage, leaving the outsides exposed. I want a fixed gear, so the first job is to fill in all the wheel wells.
The kit fuselage parts have a partial wheel well moulded in, so that has to go. I used a combination of knives, files, and a Dremel to do this. Here's the job in progress, from the inside,





and the outside.





Next step was to add a piece of 10 thou plastic card, as a backing for the infill.





I cut four discs of 10 thou, to fill where the wheel would go . . .





and glued them in place. It turned out I needed another disc each side to build up to the required level . . .





Once these had dried down, I attached the kit undercarriage doors, and filled any remaining large gaps with scrap plastic. At this point I assembled the fuselage, and filled any remaining gaps





After trimming off any excess plastic, I filled with correcting fluid, and left that to dry.


That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2021, 03:37:09 AM »

Okay, another update . . .
While all the filling on the fuselage was drying, I turned to the engine. Like a lot of kits of this age, the engine is of the 'half cylinders on a flat plate' type. These can look good when done right, but a dry-fit with the cowling showed that the engine came right to the front, so some improvement was needed. After thinking about it, I drilled small holes where the 'cylinders' met the 'crankcase',





then using a combination of fine saw and knife, removed the plastic between the 'cylinders'. I then finished the job with a fine file.





When painted, and with the inside of the cowling painted black, this will be much improved.
The same could not be said of the wings. When cut in half, and offered up to the fuselage, the look was not right. So, off I went to the 'Spare Wings Box'TM, and came back with the surplus wing from my OWB Grumman Duck build.





A rough try looked much better, so I went with them. I split them in two, and trimmed the roots to match the fuselage. Still looking good. There were large holes in the underside, where the cabane struts fitted. I thought I still had the parts, but couldn't find them, so I used plastic card.





I was going to fair off the leading edge piece, then realised that left as it was, it would be perfect for the undercarriage design I was going to use, so I didn't . . .
That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline apophenia

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2021, 03:33:53 AM »
Some nifty surgery there. So, your 'HellDuck' will be low-winged?
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2021, 06:20:58 AM »
Yes, it will, I've had the pencil and paper out tonight, doodling out the shapes for the undercarriage . . .  ;)


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2021, 12:22:45 AM »
Some nifty surgery there. So, your 'HellDuck' will be low-winged?


Ha !! ISWYDT . . .   ;D  Now I'll have to find a way to work in 'Su-34' somewhere . . .


Okay ,back with the build . . .
After painting the inside of the cowling black, and adding a strip of 10 thou, to support the exhaust pipes, I glued the engine inside the cowling. I think the improvement was worth the effort . . .












After filing, sanding, and generally cleaning up the filling work on the fuselage, I ended up with this.






A lick of paint will show if any more work needs doing.
I then attached the wings, and left them to dry down thoroughly.









In the mean time I made the undercarriage legs. I was aiming for a 1930s US style spats-y, trousers-y look, but with the wheels still exposed . . .






Once the wings had dried properly, I attached the u/c legs to them.









Rather than make my own axles I added the stub axles from the kit u/c legs. I also added the kit tailwheel at this point . . .



That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2021, 06:45:20 AM »
You can tel this is a Matchbox kit, just from the trenches! Great job closing off the wheel wells and fixing the engine!

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2021, 02:15:59 AM »
In the mean time I made the undercarriage legs. I was aiming for a 1930s US style spats-y, trousers-y look, but with the wheels still exposed . . .

A bit like this?



Looking good BTW.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2021, 05:46:54 AM »
In the mean time I made the undercarriage legs. I was aiming for a 1930s US style spats-y, trousers-y look, but with the wheels still exposed . . .

A bit like this?



Looking good BTW.


Kinda, but on my Build the wheels will sit to the sides of the legs . . .   ;)


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2021, 01:44:50 AM »
Dual wheels per wing or simply showing - perhaps a bit like the XP-31:

All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2021, 07:55:46 AM »
More like this . . .





cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2021, 01:03:21 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2021, 06:40:54 AM »

Okay, another small update . . .
The canopy on this model comes in three parts, so that you can build the model with it open, if you so wish. I wanted it closed, so I glued the separate parts together. I then found that the fit on the model was poor, so a bit of filing and fitting was required . . .





and finished.





I then fitted the engine and cowling, but forgot to take a picture.   :-[
A first coat of paint revealed that some more filling and filing on the fuselage was required, so that's now in progress . . .
That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2021, 12:17:43 AM »

Okay . . .
another quick update, the silver base coat completed, now it's off for lots of coats of yellow on the wings . . .





That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2021, 06:13:43 AM »
High Speed Silver - it works!  :smiley: Looks fast just sitting there.
Cheers,
Moritz

"The appropriate response to reality is to go insane!"

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2021, 06:37:54 AM »

Okay . . .
Update time !
I finally have the wings painted yellow . . .   :D





Next step is to paint the cowling and tail surfaces . . .
That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline apophenia

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2021, 09:47:21 AM »
'Golden Wings' ... lovely  :smiley:  So, fess up. How many coats did it take to get that perfect saturation of yellow?  ;D
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #16 on: February 19, 2021, 06:26:35 PM »
Only six, or is it seven ? But I'm still tempted to give it another one . . .   :o


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline finsrin

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #17 on: February 19, 2021, 07:15:57 PM »
 Helldiver appears compatible subject for monoplane conversion.  Gunna be a good one !

Offline Robomog

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #18 on: February 19, 2021, 07:22:22 PM »
Congratulations on an even yellow  :smiley: :smiley:

Mog
>^-.-^<
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2021, 06:10:05 AM »

Okay . . .
A quick update, the painting of the tail and cowling is done (and yes, I did give the wings another coat . . .).





So next is touching up, then decals . . .
That's All For Now, Stay Tuned . . .


cheers,
Robin.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2021, 07:57:20 AM »
Evolving quite nicely

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2021, 06:03:52 AM »
That last pic looks like a design straight out of Crimson Skies. Neat!  :smiley: Yellow and blue would suit the Broadway Bombers.
Cheers,
Moritz

"The appropriate response to reality is to go insane!"

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #22 on: March 30, 2021, 09:30:27 PM »





Okay . . . this one's ready to take it's place on the Flight Deck.
Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, USS Enterprise, late 1930s . . .



































That's All folks !


cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline Faust

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #23 on: April 01, 2021, 09:28:15 AM »
That, good sir, is ridiculously awesome!

I love it! Congrats on great execution on a fantastic idea!

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #24 on: April 01, 2021, 12:40:44 PM »
That does look quite right.

Offline finsrin

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #25 on: April 01, 2021, 01:41:01 PM »
Passes as real deal monoplane.  Great colors too.  :smiley:

Offline apophenia

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Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #26 on: April 02, 2021, 03:23:08 AM »
Beautiful! And the yellow wings look perfect  :-*
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, a One Wing Biplane
« Reply #27 on: April 02, 2021, 04:45:07 AM »
Thanks again, Gents . . .   :-[    8)
The blue could be a bit lighter, but I didn't have one the correct shade, and of course, at the moment, I can't just pop to the LMS . . .
It does match the roundels, though ! ;)
The yellow came out Ok eventually, but the surface is a bit rough, close up . . .


cheers,
Robin,
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .