Imsjim - Strombecker SBC-4 Spotter Model

[lmsjim]

This is another of the six WWII Spotter Model kits that Strombecker sold. I got it at the same time I picked up the A-20. As you can see from the photos this guy was in pretty bad shape. The builder did a fair job but used a lot of putty on the tail and wing roots. The other issue is I think he used a wood burner to put the wing and tail control surfaces on. These are cut very deep and will have to be filled.

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I started by taking as much as possible apart. I then sanded off all the paint. This took a while since whatever type was used it was hard to remove. It actually took a couple of evenings of sanding. I then filled in all the areas that needed it including of course the control panel grooves. I then sanded the putty out and reshaped the model.

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The first thing I glued on was the horizontal stabilizer since it had a piece that went over it that had broken off when disassembling. I also thought the cabin top had been sanded down too much so I glued a piece of basswood on top of it and sanded it down to match the correct profile. I then glued the two lower wings together being sure I had the correct angle. When dry I glued the lower wings to the fuselage. I then added two card fillers behind the wings and started putting in the wing joint. This ended up taking a lot of time since I wanted to get it right.

When happy with all the joints I glued the wing struts and supports on but left the top wing off. I then filled in and sanded around the struts and only when everything looked good I glued the top wing on.


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I then sprayed the whole model with Tamiya sky gray as a primer so I could check for more flaws. I did some filling and sanding.


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The real odd thing about this kit is why Strombecker released it as a Spotter Model. The SBC-4 was pretty much obsolete before the war started. Only the Marines still had some flying except maybe some Naval Reserve Units. I decided to paint it in the more common and I think colorful prewar colors. By the way this is the only bi-wing model Strombecker ever made.

I then sprayed the nose with Tamiya gloss black. After it was dry I masked off the engine area and sprayed both the engine cowling and wing top with Tamiya white. I then sprayed the same areas with Tamiya red for the red cowling and red "V" on top of the wing. After this paint had dried I masked the engine cowling and "V" and sprayed the wing top with Tamiya yellow. I then remasked the entire wing top and sprayed the rest of the model with Tamiya chrome silver. It was then given a couple of coats of Future floor wax to get the surface ready for decals.


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More to follow

Jim

[lmsjim]

Continued

Decals

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There is a problem with the insignia sheet. As I mentioned above I had decided to not make this a WWII bird because the Navy did not use them but instead I modified the original decal sheet. When cleaning up the paper sheet I also added red circles to the stars.  I printed the wheels and U.S. NAVY markings on clear laser decal sheet and the rest on white. The reason for printing the wheels on the clear was the center of the wheels is actually the same color as the model which in this case is silver so by making them clear the silver shows through.

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Thats it for a while since I am going to be working on my Railroad during the Holidays

Jim

[lastvautour]

Excellent work as ususal Jim. Thank you for sharing. It is inspirational.

Lou

[Oceaneer99]

Nice work, Jim.  Is your canopy painted on or decal?

Garet

[lmsjim]

Decal although I did paint it a light blue using Corel.

Jim