Book

Comprehensive Series Scale Model Aircraft Manual Number 1 -
Building Trumpeter's 1/32 Scale SBD-1 Dauntless
Mike Ashey Publications
30 Pages

Review

Sometimes acquiring and wanting to build a new kit can be daunting for modellers, especially novice builders. A series of books from Mike Ashey Publications might just be the thing you need. The first book, or manual, in the series covers the building and finishing of the Trumpeter SBD-1 Dauntless in 1/32 scale. The manual is printed on gloss paper, with the cover and back printed on card stock. It comes unbound, but does include three holes punched along the side for adding to a binder, if desired.

The manual consist of up to six images per pages, all printed in good looking color with descriptive text. Each image and text provides instruction and tips for building steps along the way. The manual covers the build from the start of construction to the completion of the painting. In this manual from Mike Ashey Publications it even includes the use of aftermarket parts to add that extra details.

Reading through the manual, it provides very useful information and tips for building the Trumpeter SBD-1, it is almost like an in-depth instruction manual in ways. The information also includes how to deal with small flaws you may encounter in the build. This manual includes a great set of step on how to complete and detail the cockpit for this kit using the Eduard cockpit set. And for novice builders, this should prove to be very helpful, especially if you have never tackled using an aftermarket set for detailing the cockpit. The steps even include how and when to paint parts, with color choices for the specific aircraft.

Once the contruction is complete, the manual walks your through the masking and painting process. What is not included in the finishing steps is details on the applicaton of the decal nor steps on weathering.

The instruction also deals with how to use certain tools and a little bit of scratch building. Even for some intermediate modelers may find useful information, including tips with dealing with unexpected build issues, like gaps where the wings meet the fuselage.

Overview

Overall this is a great manual from Mike Ashey Publications for building the Trumpeter kit, point out areas that may need extra care, and walking through the assembly and finishing of the SBD-1 Dauntless. The images and text provide some very useful information, that will be very helpful for novice to intermediate builders. It could also provide some useful information for more advance builder about the kit and expectation prior to the build. I do have to say, while not much of an aircraft builder myself, I have found some useful information I will be looking to apply to my next aircraft build. I would definitely recommend this manual, not just for building the specific aircraft, but for useful model aircraft building tips.