Once the wing has been fiberglassed, sanded, filled and smoothed. The fuse is also sanded smooth. Then the first coat of primer is applied. For the finish, I was debating Latex vs Epoxy paint. I've known some guys that used Latex that looked great, but once out in the sun, it bubbled and blistered. So, while a little heavier, I chose to go with KlassKote epoxy paint. Advantages are that is pretty resistant to compounds that it will be exposed to as an RC plane. Also, it should adhere well without issues of bubbling and blistering. Disadvantages are that the whole painting process will take a little longer, and there is a little more of a weight penalty.
After sanding the first primer coat, imperfections are revealed and fixed as necessary. In the fiberglass parts (fuse, cowl), pin holes in the weave are very evident after the primer coating. These were filled with Bondo body putty, sanded smooth and then re-primed. The sanding, filling and primer was repeated until all pin holes were filled.
Next was to put the panel lines on. To do this 3-view drawings of the plane were used to determine where to apply the lines. The lines were lightly marked, and then 1/64" chart tape was applied on these lines:
To create an "indented" panel line, primer was spray in a few coats over the chart tape. The primer is then slightly sanded to expose the top of the chart tape. The chart tape is then pulled off, leaving a recessed panel line.
With the panel lines established, the 3 view drawings were again consulted to find locations of stringers, bulkheads and access panels. These are all locations to recieve rivets. Drawings of the frame also showed where single and double rows of rivets were to be applied. Aluminum tape was used create the access panels. Glue was used to create the rivets. The glue used was Sobo fabric glue, diluted by 20% with water, and placed with a 25 gauge needle.
Color next. The bottom was painted with Insignia White, the top Non-specular Sea Blue, and the sides Intermediate Blue. The primer and paint added a total weight of approximatley 6.5 oz to wing and fuse.
Now that the base color is done, the specifics for the particular plane being modeled is applied. For this model, I chose number 35 of VB-16 circa April 1944. This plane was piloted by Lt. George Glacken. His gunner was RM Leo Boulanger. Glacken was awarded the Navy Cross and Boulanger the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 20, 1944.
Bomber Squadron VB-16 was on the second USS Lexington CV-16, the first USS Lexington CV-2 was damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7, 1942 and scuttled on May 8, 1942. What is unique about VB-16 is that many Navy planes did not have unique nose art that many of the Army planes sported. However, VB-16 painted their emblem on the nose of their planes.
The following image appeared in Life magazine in 1944. The emblem on the nose shows a bird holding a telescope and a bomb, appropriate for the Scout Bomber Douglas (SBD).
The National Insignia, number and emblem are added to the plane. The "OK" on the Life magazine image appears to be chalked on the panel that houses the 50 cal ammo for the pilot's left gun. This appears to be a temporary marking, probably indicating that ammo box is fully loaded. Assuming it was temporary I chose not to include it.
The SBD had both navigation and formation lights. The navigation lights consisted of wing tip lights (green on right, red on left) as well as a tail cone light (white) and a fuse light, just forward of the vertical fin (also white). The three formation lights on the top of the plane are all green. These are lights on the top of the wing tips and one on the fuse, just forward of the fuse navigation light. I used Electro Dyanmics Sun-vis lights, these show up very well in daylight. I glued the lights in the wings and tail cone, then installed blisters over the lights. For the fuse lights, I attached the blisters first, mounted the two lights to a piece of balsa, and glued the balsa from the inside of the fuse.
