1:48 HobbyBoss TBM Avenger

 

This is a kit that challenges the definition of what a good kit is. It's a complete paradox. The decals are bad, the instructions are bad, it's badly engineered, there are major fit issues, and you get the feeling that this just hasn't been road tested before release. But it's a good kit all the same. 

The major hurdle is shoehorning the interior assembly into the fuselage. It just doesn't fit. Much of the interior detail broke up in the process, then I discovered the bomb bay doors have to be split into four pieces to display the torpedo. I chickened out and the bomb doors are closed.

Being that this is a carrier bird it has the option to have the wings folded away, so the wings have to be joined to wing stubs, where again there's been little thought as to how they attach, and the modeller is left to guess. Like the HobbyBoss A6 Intruder, the wings are precariously mounted and could fall off at any time.

Usually I have nothing but praise for HobbyBoss but I'm now spotting the pattern. They are mostly fine but they do have alignment issues that would make a 1980's Rover car builder blush. On this one the canopy assembly is particularly bad, and the instrument shield didn't fit at all. I ended up having to fashion one out of filler.

I came very close to abandoning this one as I started to lose my enthusiasm for it. I have seen it done well and was hoping to knock this one out of the park, but after all the faff I just wanted it out of the way. It's a shame because it would have really benefited from hairspray chipping and other advanced techniques.

Because of the fine surface detail, the weathering and finishing process was fairly simple - and quite effective, though I really don't like HobbyBoss decals. They don't really respond to decal softener solution. For all that, though, I did eventually manage to bash it into shape, and you can't really argue with the result. If it comes out this well then by default it's a good kit, but it has no right to be called a good kit.

At £25 you do get a lot of aeroplane and a lot of kit for your money. HobbyBoss is just the right level of detail without going overboard, and just within the affordable bracket. It's definitely not for beginners though. Better modellers than me have struggled with this one for the same reasons. I'm glad I bit the bullet though. It's an imposing beast on my shelf - and almost as big as a Phantom. The Avenger was not by any means small.