Douglas Decimator

[sequoiaranger]

>[sequoiaranger] I plan to, if possible, find a photo of Manning, reduce it, and put it (as if it were a framed picture) on the empty middle seat of the Decimator, so Manning could ride, in spirit, with his old crew on the new mission to "decimate" the Japanese carriers at the Marianas.<

[new info]

I was hoping that acquisition of the relatively new book on Torpedo 8 that I knew had pictures of the aircrews,  "A Dawn Like Thunder-the True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight", might have a pic of Manning. It didn't, I'm sad to report. But it gave me some new insight.

The shot-up TBF 8-T-1 was hoisted aboard the rear deck of a seaplane carrier and taken to Pearl for aeronautical engineers to study as to how it survived but was "guarded" all the while. In a storm at sea enroute, a few servicemen slept under the plane to be out of the rain (sort of), and in the morning their bedrolls were all bloody. The rain had washed out the rear turret and blood had dripped through the bullet-ridden fuselage onto the bedrolls. It was Jay Manning's blood.

Since I can't find a picture anywhere (and barely mention) of Jay Manning, I am changing the tribute to a "bloody bedroll" in the middle seat of the Decimator. Actually this is more "fitting" since rather than an image, it will, in fact, be part of Jay Manning on the mission. I may use a "US Navy" blanket instead, since I remember them from sleeping under them as a kid---a kind of off-white blanket with a Navy-blue edging and the block inscription US Navy on it, also in navy blue.

I have made slight progress in the cockpit area of the Decimator (only about 1/2 hour of devotion), putting in a scratchbuilt-and-fitted, wall-to-wall bottom deck upon which I can attach the aftermarket interior parts (nothing picture-worthy). I put in the side-supports for the deck on the walls of the fuselage. Soon I will have a "cockpit module" That I can attach to one side of the fuselage and then, of course, attach the two sides of the fuselage together and begin the PSR to shape it all together the way I want it.

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Still watching this and I like the way it's going so far......

Ian

[sequoiaranger]

Slow progress. I made a "US Navy" blanket out of a fine paper napkin, put a decal stripe across it, and the letters "US Navy". Now it looks "official" (photo---real Navy blanket). They were an off-white in color, more like a bleached tan.





I painted the blanket a tan-white (source white napkin to the right of it), rolled it up and "blooded" it (remember, dried blood is NOT red, it is a deep red-brown), so it is now ready for the middle seat. As you can see, I'm GETTING THERE, though very slowly. Problems, Problems, Problems. I ended up cutting off the blocky arms of the gunner, as his hands were "fixed" holding what must have been a single .30 cal machine gun, and my TWO .50's are much wider. He now has individual arms/hands the right distance apart to hold the MG's, but the arms are unequal (kinda like a fiddler crab) in size. Hopefully the fact that they are on opposite sides of the machine gun complex will diminish the effect of the inequality.

[sequoiaranger]

While I was away on my recent trip to the Northwest (rained all day, EVERY day), I learned that Bert Earnest, the would-be "pilot" of my Decimator model, died two weeks ago. I am truly saddened. I am a member of the "Midway Roundtable" discussion group, of which Bert was a member, and I was savoring telling him about the Decimator when I got it finished. ;-(  (Hey, where is a "frownie" that would go with the punctuation marks?)

All the more reason to hasten the completion of my tribute model.

[sequoiaranger]

WHEW!

With meticulous measurement and careful installation, I have completed construction of the cockpit interior of my Decimator.

The Dauntless aftermarket resin interior kit(s) was helpful, but the Dauntless was skinnier and shorter (two places instead of the Decimator's three) than the Decimator, and I ended up putting in some additional flooring, a bit of ribbing, and bits from the Devastator to round out the cockpit. I was JUST about to close up the fuselage, when I test-fitted the rear gunner assembly and noticed that it was too wide to be put in post-closure. Now I will have to pry the gunner off the seat, and glue in the seat before closure. The pilot, stick, instrument panel, gunsight, rollover bar, DF loop, rear gunner and MG assembly can be put in post-closure.

I'll paint the interior prior to closure, too, by merely spraying that "Apple" green and adding a bit of color to fiddly bits.

Once the fuselage is closed, and a SMALL (if there is truly ever such a thing) bit of PSR on the fuselage is done, the rest of the model is an "OOB" kit and will go together quickly. I still need to build the other two "Whopper" torpedoes (and paint them), but now the majority of the real work of the kit is done.

I AM EXCITED!

[sequoiaranger]

I have made SOME progress on the Decimator. I got the fuselage closed up, some PSR work done on the cowl from the engine to the windscreen, attached the wings, and did some ventral work. The cowl is glued on (I made a special prop-hub assembly that would spin, yet allow post-painting attachment), but the prop/spinner is just temporarily attached for the photo. The "plywood" stabilizer fins of the central torpedo *JUST* touch the ground, so I think I need some bigger wheels (current aftermarket ones shown in photo are the same size as standard Skyraider) to raise the fins (no other possibilities   ) a little. The windscreen shown is simply an Airfix Devastator one I pried off an old "beater", for show. A nice, clear, aftermarket Squadron Devastator canopy will go on the final version that will show off some of my (rather un-characteristic for me) elaborate interior. Two more torpedoes will go on (one per wing pylon) plus some fiddly bits like cowl flaps, LG doors, antennae, etc., As well as the crew and rear MG. But...

The Decimator beast looks like a Devastator-on-steroids, though, eh??





Now I'm involved in making some custom HO-scale (1/87) limousine-like cars for my brother for Xmas, so the Decimator will take a back seat for project work until the cars get done.

[jcf]

Looks believably a member of the Douglas stable, like a cross between the abortive 1939 VTB project and the Skyraider. 

Jon

[Sauragnmon]

Quite the beastie, Craig.  She looks pure unadultured mean.  One thought - alter the tail gear maybe?  If you extend the tail leg a little, you might achieve more results at clearing the torpedo fins than by raising the MLG height.

That said, she's taking shape well.

[chrisonord]

Hya Craig,
would you like me to make it a propper engine??
It would look rather nice with a turbo prop motor don't you think??
It is really starting to look good now Craig
Chris.

[sequoiaranger]

>would you like me to make it a proper engine??  
It would look rather nice with a turbo prop motor don't you think??   <

Put a Turboprop on it and it would be a "Skyshark". I like the way it is, in that the "small" motor up front relative to the fuselage is JUST what the Devastator looked like. Remember, "we" are trying to replicate the LOOK of the TBD while upping its capability.

JCF--re: the Douglas "stable"--I may use 1/48 Dauntless wheels to boost height (keeping the wheels "in the Douglas family" rather than the 1/48 Mustang wheels I contemplated) AND keep the "plain" wheel look of the Devastator. The Mustang and Skyraider had demonstrably spoked wheels---not bad, just....dunno. The Dauntless mainwheels on the Decimator did indeed raise the torpedo fins off the ground just the right amount, and their increased diameter vis-a-vis the Skyraider wheels makes the Decimator look more like Devastator proportions, again. Still a W-I-P.

Saur: Raising the tail puts the "angle of attack" too low, IMHO, so raising the mainwheels is the key. Longer LG whilst keeping the wheel diameter "small" is still a possibility, but I like the look of the larger Dauntless wheels.

[Brian da Basher]

That's some excellent progress, SR! I really like the four bladed prop with the pointy spinner. Nice touch! I hope you get those cars done soon and can post another update to this wonderful project!

Brian da Basher

[jcf]

Dauntless 'disc' wheels would definitely be the business.

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

The Decimator beast looks like a Devastator-on-steroids, though, eh??

H*ll yes.... luvvit !

Ian

[sideshowbob9]

The Decimator beast looks like a Devastator-on-steroids, though, eh??

H*ll yes.... luvvit !

Echos my sentiments exactly! 

[sequoiaranger]

SSB9, ItHG--Thanks. Wait 'til she gulps down some anabolics and hoists aboard two more torpedoes! Her muscles will be bulging THEN!

BdB--the "pointy" nose spinner came from an Aichi Ryusei. I have a thick, double-sided sticky thingy to hold the spinner onto the hub temporarily, so it sticks out farther in the pic than it will when I'm done. The Devastator had a long, but narrow propeller hub sticking out. The Skyraider had nothing, so I added the Ryusei's small hub to have a protrusion and a slightly different look. Funny that the Douglas Skyraider had nothing, and the similar Martin Mauler had a fat spinner that covered almost the entire cowl.

I may post the cars' progress on the appropriate thread here.

JCF--Yes, the Dauntless disc looks better to capture the look I want (see below comparison). With the oversized torpedoes and oversized landing gear, it ALMOST makes the Skyraider/Decimator look like a 1/64 Devastator. I like it! When I get the light blue-gray top coat on, and the "8-T-1" on the side, I think spectators will do a double-take!