Today marks the anniversary of the 1942 Battle of Midway, a four-day battle that was a turning point of the World War 2 Pacific War. For the Japanese it was a disaster that permanently weakened their fleet; for the Americans it was key to gaining the initiative, six months after Pearl Harbor. For the US intelligence community it was a triumph - codebreakers had cracked Japanese secret plans, so US commanders were warned of the date and location for Japanese attacks.
Over the next few days we’ll be having a look at some of the models relating to Midway. Today it’s the turn of the Douglas SBD (‘slow but deadly’) Dauntless dive bomber.
From big to small then, Trumpeter’s 1:32 kit (top picture) is an excellent rendering of the aircraft, and at this jumbo size, you can pack in a huge amount of detail and finish.
Accurate Miniatures offers a 1:48 Dauntless (middle picture) which is one of the very best at this scale. On the AM site, there is a multi-page build feature, which is hugely useful if you plan to make the kit. Even if you don’t, it’s still worth a look.
While you’re there, do have a look at the AM gallery, which shows some awesome models.
Among the ready-built diecasts, Corgi’s Dauntless (bottom pictures) is a good 1:72 offering, with a nice swing-out bomb release. On the real aircraft, this was a feature to ensure the bomb cleared the big propeller spinning just in front. There is a well-priced and handsomely-boxed Midway Dauntless on offer at the moment via Amazon.
Megahobby sell the Trumpeter kit here. You can visit Accurate Miniatures here, and the AM gallery is here. The Corgi Dauntless on offer via Amazon is here.