MILITARY DIORAMAS by Paul Asaban

Photo Album 7 - Dauntless SBD

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Photo Album 1 - The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 2- The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 3 - The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 4- OS2U Kingfisher
Photo Album 5 - Flakvierling
Photo Album 6 - Building the Flakvierling
Photo Album 7 - Dauntless SBD
Photo Album 8 - Dauntless SBD
Photo Album 9 - Channel Gazing
Photo Album 10 - Stuka and Matilda
Photo Album 11- ME-109 and Spitfire V
Photo Album 12 - Anzio
Photo Album 13 - Anzio
Photo Album 14 - Bastogne Aftermath
Photo Album 15 - Normandy Ambush & more
Photo Album 16 - The First Time I Saw Paris
Photo Album 17- Aachen 1944
Photo Album 18 - Aachen 1944
Photo Album 19 - PT109
Photo Album 20 - "Corner Kick" Curtiss P-40
Photo Album 21 - Building "Corner Kick"
Photo Album 22 - Black Widow
Photo Album 23 - Assorted models
Photo Album 24 - Somewhere in Saudi (A-10)
Photo Album 25 - Top Gun Air Show
Photo Album 26 - Top Gun Airshow 2
Photo Album 27 - The Mother of all Battles
Photo Album 28 - The First Night - F-111
Photo Album 29 - My kids are in on the action - Christian's Dioramas
Photo Album 30 - My kids are in on the action - Nicole's Dinosaurs
Photo Album 31 - Coming Soon - Operation Market Garden
Photo Album 32 - The War Room
Photo Album 33 - Antique Ships Restoration Project
Photo Album 34 - Restoration Project II
Photo Album 35 - Restoration Project III
Photo Album 36 - Restoration Project IV
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WORLD WAR II DIORAMAS
"Tim Takes a Break"
Dauntless SBD

hiresfront.jpg

Above, right and above right: The venerable Dauntless SBD is the subject of my first round diorama. I have always named my aircraft and tanks after a close friend or family. This aircraft is named after my company GM, Trish. Her lucky number is the plane number, and the serial number is her birthday. Her husband Tim is napping under the tree. The groundwork is Celluclay, the tree trunk is cardboard tubing, and the bark is done by ripping up strips of paper towel, dunking them into a solution of water and white glue, and wrapping them in a spiral around the tree. Once dry, the edges of the paper towel are slightly lifted with an exacto knife, giving the effect so often seen on palms in the South Pacific. The branches and leaves are cut from a silk plant.

rearviewl.jpg

Above: A rear view of the SBD, showing the open dive flaps and the faded fabric of the control surfaces.

SBDfront.jpg

nameplateclose.jpg

Above: A close up of the aircraft dedication. Tim's name is under the canopy slide as the pilot.

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SBDOverview3.jpg

Tim2.jpg

enginecomptdone.jpg

Left and above: The open engine compartment of the SBD. All the details are scratchbuilt. On the next page, you will see the before/after pictures. This model is an old Matchbox kit that I have had for years. The engine and cockpit detailing took about 30-40 hours. The original kit was very poorly detailed. The "super detailing" here was done with thin sheet plastic, thin wiring, spare parts and metal jewelry parts.

crewcabincloseL.jpg

Above: A close up of the crew compartment, showing the twin machine gun mount.