UP FRONT thanks to Brengun for sending us this Gem… This kit is a re-release of Brengun’s earlier Dauntless. The A-24 was used by the Army Air Force in several theaters of operation, and pretty well seems to have been as successful in operation there as in Blue water conflict. (Midway anyone?).

Total time in work: 3 hours over a week including paint and decals. NO filler.

The kit has only the box and decals as a difference from previous release. The end-opening box arrived in the usual condition of such items (flattened) but this did not impact the plastic or the remaining contents.

I was a bit more careful on this build than the last iteration. Not using the Micro photoetch aftermarket helped. (Yes, it provides that little extra “detail” but is a bit too much for my hand-eye coordination). I also used “itty bitty” kabuki tape dots from Gundam stuff to mask the wheel on the tires… such cool stuff we have available to help these days.

The gear follow-up doors are included, as is the centerline bomb and two wing bombs… I only used the dive trapeze and centerline bomb.

Decal markings included are for one AAF A-24, the subject of the box art. There is also an option for a “Free French” A-24; extremely colorful with the tricolor tail and black/white ID bands. I did have one minor issue with the decals themselves (Minor to me but major for those without extra resources): The decals were offset on registration; by this I mean the red surround was not printed where it should have been, which is unrepairable by repaint in this size. I replaced them with a set from Mark 1’s 1/144 generic red-outline U.S. Insignia decals, which were perfect in registration and performed well. The rest of the Brengun decals worked well, it was just the stars and bars that prevented full marks.

I painted the whole model with Duplicolor spray primer, which provided the underside neutral gray color, and after masking sprayed the upper side color. The self-etching primer I like from Duplicolor has a faded OD color to it that seems to match WWII color chips. Remove the masking, paint the interior green zinc chromate, black the guns, Clear coat, decal, attach the bits and paint with flat finish.

Although the canopy is a bit thick, it was extremely transparent and with a bit of 0000-5 paintwork the framing was done. (I can’t imagine trying to mask this thing… it was just about 3/8 of an inch long). The interior detailing is clearly visible, and the overall effect says “Banshee”.

1/144 is where Brengun excels… this kit is low in parts count (33 including the canopy) and a couple of the parts are not used (the -5 engine cowl)… The model provides a well-proportioned, unique addition to the growing ranks of 1/144 aircraft. I don’t recommend it to little ones due to dexterity issues, (tweezers are pretty well a requirement).

Thanks to Brengun and IPMS review leadership for the opportunity!