Dauntless

so i spent ALOT of time on this model as i wanted to make it better. i used a small drill bit and battery operated drill to drill out the individual holes for the air brakes. i couldnt believe how much better it looked once it was in paint and mounted. i started with just doing one side to see the difference and what a difference it makes. WAY more realistic but took a ton of time to drill the holes out then sand the edges down but, again, it was well worth it. the aircraft itself went together well with no real gaps or filler needed. the cocpit is quite bare but dressed it up with some paint and such. could have been a bit better but it looks great for being such a cheap kit.

This was the first Monogram kit I ever built back in the late fifties after having done a number of Revell kits. It was the first WWII kit I built. I was pleased with all the moving parts, something new. I ended up building all the navy WWII Monogram kits of the time. it was my first exposure to a specific scale, as revel kits at the time didn't say much on that subject. The kit has worn its age well. Compared to more recently issued kits, it doesn't have a lot of detail at all; but the parts fit together well and is a great kit for a young novice builder. I find (in all kits) the action figures a bit hokey. The price of the old Monogram kits now issued to be a very good bargain for a social security guy, even with the lack of detail. A very nice kit for the money.

The Douglas Dauntless model was very easy to build, and I strongly recommend it for beginners. Overall, it had many nice features including a spinning prop, retracting landing gear, opening dive brakes, and even a dropping bomb. Revell's Dauntless also had a decent amount of detail. Its decals did not look the best, but they worked. On the down side, however, the dive brakes were hard to open and close. Also, the landing gear retracted fairly well, but, it was sometimes difficult open them again. Still, on the whole, this aircraft is excellent for beginners and is one of the cheapest models on the market. (And it retains quality and includes good features.)