TBF-1 Avenger
Over Midway and Guadalcanal

Sword, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Jim Bates

           
The TBF Avenger is one of those military types that despite being well known, also qualifies as underrated.  Designed as a torpedo bomber, the Avenger sank over 30 Japanese submarines, took part in the sinking of the battleships Yamato and Musashi, and even has a V-1 kill to its credit.  Flown by former president George Bush, and crewed by actor Paul Newman, it entered the public consciousness due to the loss of Flight 19 in the Bermuda Triangle during 1945.  (These Avengers later reappeared in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in the California/Arizona desert.  Ok, not really…but…)  The Avenger was the largest signed engined type operated during World War II and was one of the few single engined types fitted with a power operated turret.  Designed as a torpedo bomber, the AVenger served as a bomber, anti-submarine warfare type, and had a long career in aerial dressing and firefighting in the US and Canada.  Quite a few later TBMs survived to fly at airshows and exhibited in many museums worldwide.

The TBF-1 was the first production variant of the Avenger, and unfortunately, got off to a very inauspicious start when five of the six Avengers of VT-8 participating in the Battle of  Midway were shot down.  The only aircraft to return to base was heavily damaged, with one killed and the other crew members injured.  But after this poor showing, the Avenger went on to do what was required for the US Navy to win the war in the Pacific.  Avengers operated by the British Fleet Air Arm were called Tarpons, until sanity prevailed, and they were re-designated Avengers.

The TBF-1 differed from the later TBF-1C in that it has no guns in the wings, and a .30 cal. gun in the fuselage in front of the cockpit.  The arrangement of windows in the fuselage also differed from the later variants and the antenna mast in the cockpit was mounted further forward.  Finally, it appears that most TBF-1s (and Tarpons) had a crew station behind the cockpit.  While this feature exists on most restored Avengers, during wartime there was no seat in this location on the TBF-1C and the TBM.

The Avenger in 1/72

The first Avenger I built was a 1968 issue released by Lindberg.  I can remember the rivets and the blue plastic, but I can’t remember which version the kit purported to represent.  I’m sure no serious modeler would consider building it these days.  Airfix added a TBM-3 to its range in 1966 and Frog did a Tarpon in 1973.  Both are products of their time, the Airfix kit having more rivets than Lindberg’s offering, but are still decent products today if you aren’t scared by raised panel lines. 

In the late 80s, Academy/Minicraft announced a TBF-1.  I was very excited by the kit until I had it in my hands.  Clearly "inspired" by the Frog Tarpon, it retains the bulged windows of that variant, but the modeler is instructed to add them to the insides of the fuselage!  Again, you can build a decent Avenger out of it, but after Hasegawa’s release of a new tool TBF-1C and TBM in mid 90s, why would you? 

These Avenger kits are emblematic of what Hasegawa was producing at this time: beautiful moldings, sharp detail, good recessed panel lines, and inadequate cockpit and wheel well detail.  But they only did the wartime TBF-1C and TBM. 

A few years ago, Sword started issuing Avenger kits of the later model TBMs including the Canadian and British versions without the turret, and the airborne early warning variant.  Recently they have followed these up with the earliest Avenger, the TBM-1. 

The Avenger is another high end short run kit from Sword.  The kit consists of two runners of grey plastic and one with the clear parts. 

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Thumbnail panels:

There are no locating pins provided for the main parts, but there are locators for interior parts.  While “inspired" by the Hasegawa kit, Sword has added additional detail in the cockpit and the wheel wells.  All the necessary features of the TBF-1 and Tarpon Mk. I are included.  For the most part the molding is quite clean, though there are some parting lines to remove and the wheels are a tad blobby.  Surface detail is recessed and very well done.

The cockpit includes the floor, two seats, two fire bottles, an instrument panel with recessed detail and the necessary bulkheads.  The turret consists of a base, gun, mount, and seat.

All flying surfaces are molded fixed.  The landing gear are finely molded, with each gear leg consisting of two parts, a wheel, and landing gear doors.  The main landing gear wells are constructed from four plastic parts with detail molded in both the tops and bottoms of the wing.

The clear parts are quite well molded, reasonably clear, with well defined panel lines.  Unfortunately no masks are included.  (Masking the turret on an Avenger gives me nightmares.) 

The TBF-1 had a small hinged portion of the canopy that covered the area between the turret and the main canopy.  This is provided in the kit, but be aware that it appears it folds into the main canopy, when not extended over the turret.  The instructions do not make this clear.  The bulges are included for a Tarpon, but of course not needed for any of the schemes in the kit.

Markings 

Decals printed by Techmod are included for three options.  All are in the blue grey over light grey early USN scheme with the early stars without bars. 

The famous sole Midway survivor is included along with an aircraft from VT-8 on board the USS Saratoga in 1942, and an Avenger from VMSB-131 at Guadalcanal in 1942.  The main markings and lots of stenciling is included.

It is nice to finally have an out of the box TBM-1 in 1/72 scale.  While it will probably be a bit more difficult to build than the Hasegawa kit, it will be worth it to build an accurate replica of a VT-8 Midway TBF without the need of conversion.  The additional detail in the cockpit and wheel wheels is also a nice touch.

Thanks!

Jim

For more on this review visit Modelpaintsolutions.com.
https://modelpaintsol.com/reviews/sword-1-72-tbf-1-avenger-over-midway-and-guadalcanal

Text and images copyright © 2021 by Model Paint Solutions.

Text and Images Copyright © 2021 by Model Paint Solutions
Page Created 1 July, 2021
Last updated 2 July, 2021

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