The Little World

Having mastered the Mr. Color range of metallizer paints I do not cringe in fear from natural metal finishes. Indeed I welcome them where appropriate. Thus my delight in the pictures of the prototype Curtiss SB2C rolling out of the factory in the early 40’s. Still early enough to have the pre-war yellow wing. A pretty dive bomber.

I also wish to complement the old Matchbox designers and moulders for the work they did on it. The wings were agricultural enough, but the basic fit of everything else was spot-on. In particular, the two portions of clear canopy went in perfectly…and had distinctive framing that made hand painting very easy. It’s still a job you want to do sober, but well-defined crossbars make all the difference. You must have a good diagram and either sharp frame moulding or no moulding whatsoever.

Several of the in-flight photos of the prototype show crew in both stations – but as this is still not accepted as government property yet I decided to paint the Matchbox crew in white overalls. They could have been in checked shirts and dungarees for all I know. Do not look at their feet…

I also took the compromise decision to overcoat the wings with satin varnish after the decals were set and washed – but made a cardboard mask to protect the fuselage and tail feathers from any overspray. I didn’t want to dull the shine of the silver.

Am I lazy to not paint the wing walks? To rely on spares box decals to put them in? Not a bit – if there are precise spare decals this is the most economical way of employing them.

My sixth Yellow Wing naval airplane.