[Military Model] SBD-3 Dauntless 1-2/2006 1/33 (Halinski)

    After several small parts, SBC Dauntless is done.

    It takes about a year and a half year to finish it.

      

      

    After cleaning up my desk and schedules, I will upload more photos of the complete SBD Dauntless.

    Hello Seo,

    congratulations to another outstanding plane finished !

    It is a prould moment when these flaps which demand so much work have been installed !

    Did you do a Zero already?

    Kind regards

    Zaphod

    Quote from Seo-by-the-Bay

    Thank you so much for your kind encouragements. Dieter, Zaphod and Till.

    Till, I used a well-known method.

    Canopy molds were formed with parts in the paper kit and the paper canopies were filled with epoxy to harden them.

    I used a heat gun to soften a sheet of a 0.2 mm thick PVC film (In US, I could easily get this PVC film. The PVC film is for a binding cover) and then I pushed the mold to wrap the mold with the film. I heard that you might expect better results with polystyrene. I could not get the PS film easily.

    Thanks a lot.
    It´s the same way I do it, except I use simply wax to fill the moulds.
    I just asked because your result is so nice.
    In Inwalds manual a description is seen that he seems to use thermoplastic (?) plastics, lays it over the moulds and heatens it, so it nestles against the mould.

    Quite funny.

    Is das Kunst, oder kann das wech?

    Zaphod,

    Thank you very much for your kind encouragement.

    Yes I made one Zero around 2007. It was one of my Second Halinski model.

    Hmmm... I was thinking P-38 Lighting could be my next but the Zero could be a good selection for a next model.

    Thank you for your suggestion.

    I remember Halinski has 4 Zero models. One with grey color and three with green color. I like a grey one but it is an old model published as Halinski 3/2005. Later Halinski upgrade the model kit with flaps, publishing it as Halinski 3/2015 but it had a green color. I thought I might build a grey one with flaps. The old model kit needs a few modification in the main wing frame and needs flap parts from the later new model kit.

    Quote from Gummikuh

    Thanks a lot.
    It´s the same way I do it, except I use simply wax to fill the moulds.
    I just asked because your result is so nice.
    In Inwalds manual a description is seen that he seems to use thermoplastic (?) plastics, lays it over the moulds and heatens it, so it nestles against the mould.

    Quite funny.

    Till,

    I actually tried a similar technique using thermoplastic film, but I couldn't get it to work quite right. Gravity alone wasn't enough to pull the film over the mold—the 'natural sag' just didn't work. I even built a DIY vacuum platform to try and pull the heated film down and wrap the mold completely. It helped a little, but the results weren't great. For proper vacuum forming, I think I’d need a much better heater and a stronger vacuum pump.

    I also experimented with heat-shrink tubing (the kind used for wire insulation). That worked to an extent, but the film thickness was an issue after shrinking; it became too thick and started looking opaque. Plus, the uneven thickness meant the optical clarity was not uniform over the place. To top it off, the canopy would often shrink a bit more after being removed from the mold, so the final size was off.

    In the end, I’ve decided to stick with my 20-year-old tried-and-true method: epoxy molds and PVC film. I picked up a budget heat gun from Amazon for about $30, and it turns out you don't need a high-end industrial one—1800W is plenty for 0.2mm thick PVC film. While PVC isn't perfect, it’s cheap and easy to find in letter-sized sheets.

    A couple of tips from my experience:

    1. Heat an area at least 10cm in diameter evenly until you see a slight bulge form.
    2. Press the mold firmly into the center of the heated area, and use your thumb and index finger to wrap the film tightly around the base of the mold.

    I hope these would be helpful.

    (Gemini helped)

    ich habe tatsächlich mal eine ähnliche Technik mit Thermoplast-Folie ausprobiert, aber ich habe es nicht wirklich zufriedenstellend hinbekommen. Die Schwerkraft allein hat nicht ausgereicht, um die Folie über die Form zu ziehen – das „natürliche Durchhängen“ (sag) hat nicht funktioniert. Ich habe mir sogar eine eigene Vakuum-Platte gebastelt, um die erhitzte Folie nach unten zu ziehen und die Form komplett zu umschließen. Das hat zwar ein bisschen geholfen, aber die Ergebnisse waren nicht berauschend. Für richtiges Vakuum-Tiefziehen bräuchte ich wohl ein wesentlich besseres Heizelement und eine stärkere Vakuumpumpe.

    Ich habe auch mit Schrumpfschläuchen experimentiert (die, die man für Kabelisolierungen nutzt). Das hat bis zu einem gewissen Punkt funktioniert, aber die Materialdicke war nach dem Schrumpfen ein Problem; die Folie wurde zu dick und wirkte irgendwann trüb. Dazu kam, dass die ungleichmäßige Dicke die optische Klarheit beeinträchtigte. Zu allem Überfluss ist die Haube oft noch etwas nachgeschrumpft, nachdem ich sie von der Form genommen hatte, sodass die Passform am Ende nicht mehr stimmte.

    Letztendlich bin ich bei meiner 20 Jahre alten, bewährten Methode geblieben: Epoxid-Formen und PVC-Folie. Ich habe mir eine billige Heißluftpistole für ca. 30 $ bei Amazon gekauft. Es hat sich herausgestellt, dass man kein industrielles Profigerät braucht – 1800 W sind für 0,2 mm starke PVC-Folie völlig ausreichend. PVC ist zwar nicht das allerbeste Material, aber es ist günstig und in Briefbogengröße (Letter-Size) überall zu bekommen.

    Hier noch ein paar Tipps aus meiner Erfahrung:

    1. Erhitze einen Bereich von mindestens 10 cm Durchmesser gleichmäßig, bis sich die Folie leicht nach außen wölbt.
    2. Drücke die Form fest in die Mitte des erhitzten Bereichs und umschließe sie eng, indem du die Folie mit Daumen und Zeigefinger unter der Form straff zusammenziehst.

    Ich hoffe, das hilft dir ein wenig weiter!


    Hello Seo,

    the newer Zeros from Halinski have more details, the landing flaps e.g.

    If you have not done a P-38 than one of those would suggest itself, perhaps the one that brought down Yamamoto and then a Zero which acompanied Yamamoto´s last flight.

    Kind regards

    Zaphod

    Quote from Seo-by-the-Bay

    I actually tried a similar technique using thermoplastic film, but I couldn't get it to work quite right. Gravity alone wasn't enough to pull the film over the mold—the 'natural sag' just didn't work. I even built a DIY vacuum platform to try and pull the heated film down and wrap the mold completely. It helped a little, but the results weren't great. For proper vacuum forming, I think I’d need a much better heater and a stronger vacuum pump.


    A couple of tips from my experience:

    1. Heat an area at least 10cm in diameter evenly until you see a slight bulge form.
    2. Press the mold firmly into the center of the heated area, and use your thumb and index finger to wrap the film tightly around the base of the mold.

    I hope these would be helpful.


    Hey, Seo,

    thanks for your explanations. My experiences - and therefore my preferred method - are similar.
    Regarding the use of thermoplastic film...: Inwald mentiones so stick small strips of plastic to the sheets. I´m not sure, if I understand this ritht, but I guess, these strips are used to pull the plastic over the mould.

    Regarding your method: you may avoid hot fingers if you create an template which hole is some 2mm larger than the the mould. Pin the plastic sheet to the template - or fix it with clamps (?), then go on as you do. If you now push your mould through the heated plastic it shoud fit perfectly.
    It´s sometimes a bit tricky to estimate the time of heating and the thickness of the plastic. Usually 0,2mm´s will do, but for, lets say: the bombardiers place of the B25, and the B26 it had the be 0,4.
    The picture shows the Mould and template for the Hobby Model Cutlass.

  • Wolfgang Pesek January 5, 2026 at 8:20 AM

    Added the label Completed

    Hello Seo,

    thank you for the fantastic pictures ! She looks as if she is ready to tumble along the flight deck and to take off in search for Shokaku and Zuikaku.

    Kind regards

    Zaphod

    Hello Seo!

    A wonderfull Plane! Congratulations! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

    Mit besten Grüßen aus Hagen

    Christoph


    "Der Mensch ist nur da in der vollen Bedeutung des Wortes Mensch wo er spielt und er spielt nur da, wo er Mensch ist."
    Friederich Schiller

    :!: Im Übrigen bin ich der Meinung, dass es den "Hohenhof" in Hagen als Kartonmodell geben soll :!:

    Quote from Zaphod

    Hello Seo,

    thank you for the fantastic pictures ! She looks as if she is ready to tumble along the flight deck and to take off in search for Shokaku and Zuikaku.

    Kind regards

    Zaphod

    I am glad you liked the Dauntless. I like the movies of the old and the new Midway.

    Quote from Matthias K.

    Amazing, Seo, an incredible result! Many Thanks for showing us your work.

    ... and please, never give up building this beautyful warbirds!

    Regards from germany!

    Matthias

    Matthias, Thank you so much for your kind encouragement. I still can see pieces of paper model parts with magnifying glasses. I am on my way.

    Quote from christoph

    Hello Seo!

    A wonderfull Plane! Congratulations! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

    Christoph, Thank you so much for your kind encouragement.