Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver in 1/72 Scale

This is a kitbash of the 1/72 scale Heller and Matchbox kits of the Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver, built with a Quickboost resin engine and Starfighter interior and decals.

The SBC-4 represents a Marine aircraft from VMO-151, they flew from May 1942 until July 1943 in defense of Samoa. They would obviously have had a very tough time against Japanese carrier groups in the SBC, so they hoped to catch the enemy off-guard:

“The War Plan to repel the expected Japanese attack was not particularly orthodox. We assumed the approach of the Japanese invasion force would be detected and shadowed by U.S. submarines. When the force was in range, not radius, of the SBC-4, we would launch all available aircraft and fly out to the attack. Obviously, on the return flight, the SBCs would run out of gas and ditch in the ocean. Then, the commanding General’s PBY-5A would land in the water and pick up the crews. I’m not sure if the plan would call for an open ocean take-off, but it certainly was not the sort of plan that inspired confidence in our survival.”

– Col. John B. Berteling, USMC, Ret., in SBC Helldiver in Action, Squadron Signal Publications.