!HU A.F. Scrub TBM3 Avenger repaint project

[l'iguane]

Hi everyone,

This post to present a repaint project covering civilian TBM's Avengers that were used as water-bombers and sprayers. They were mostly used in the US and Canada on forest fire.
As A.F. Scrub just released a beautiful TBM3-U on flightsim, there is a bunch of repaints to be done on both TBM3 he released before and this new one.


I would like to give a special thanks to A.F kind help, he modified his previous TBM3 model to make it looks like a water bomber / sprayer model (modern pilot, retardant tank and spray boom). No timeline yet, A.F will probably release the tanker/sprayer model when I will have complete a few liveries then additional repaints will follow slowly. I am maybe a bit optimistic on the number of repaint to be done, it will mainly depends on my free time.

Here are a few WIP screenies of the stock TBM3 used for templates


Tanker-25 with the retardant tank


The Assam Dragon


I hope you will like it !

I'm a bit busy until early april, I will get back to paintwork at that time
To be continued

L'iguane

[l'iguane]

I added the retardant drop effect from the Tracker by Milton Shupe. It looks pretty good and realistic

[nigel richards]

Mmmmm!

Interesting start to that lovely looking TBM-3, l'iguane - always nice to see someone taking on a personal project :-)

Take your time and enjoy being creative

Thanks for sharing.

[wbuchart]

This is really something to look forward to!

[Mick]

Very nice work on those paint jobs!

I've been very pleased with Scrubby's post-war Avengers so far, and I've been eagerly awaiting the fire bomber.

I've been tempted to do some painting of the military ones, since the classic era is one of my favorite periods and the US Navy is one of my most favored genres. Alas, the scope for authentic repaints is limited by the fact that Navy planes in those days tended to all look very much alike. I could change squadron codes, but that's about it, and I'd wind up with paints that look alike except for the codes.

The civilian borate tankers offer so many more attractive liveries! Alas, most of those complex paint schemes and unique, non-standard lettering and markings are beyond my humble abilities to paint. So I'm really glad that you're doing them!

I like what you've shown us so far and I hope you have more in the works.

[ViperPilot2]

Mick,

A.F.'s TBM-3 would make a great Template for the -3R, which was used as a Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) aircraft.

If you made a couple of Postwar Repaints for this variant that would be just marvelous!

[Mick]

Mick,

A.F.'s TBM-3 would make a great Template for the -3R, which was used as a Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) aircraft.

If you made a couple of Postwar Repaints for this variant that would be just marvelous!

Well, I might just do that. But before I start something like that, I'm going to wait a while to see if we get an actual -3R, which I believe had a different arrangement of glass and sheet metal in the rear cockpit, where the turret used to be.

But if we get a -3R, the paint job it comes with might be enough.

Despite my great interest in the Golden Age, and my current commitment to do the skins for the modified early model PBY, I'm presently more involved with the Classic Era, since my ongoing project is to recreate "Flight Simulator 1954 - A Half-Century of Flight" on my current confuter. I still have months of work on that before I do any more expansion on my recreated Golden Wings. In either sim, US Navy aircraft are high on my favorites list.

There is, however, one major difference, from a painter's point of view, between the US Navy's aircraft in the Golden Age and the Classic Era. Before WW2 that Navy had that great, colorful system where no two airplanes of the same type in the whole Naval Air Force were colored and marked the same. So, for example, the dozens of PBY squadrons, each with unique tail colors and markings and each with color-coded sections within the squadron, present literally scores of opportunities to paint PBYs that all look different from one another. In the post-WW2 era, the Navy's planes mostly looked alike. Aside from a few specialty schemes, like the drone controller/utility scheme on the TBM-3U, the Navy's planes were all overall glossy Dark Sea Blue and only differed in their tail codes and individual aircraft numbers. I love that overall glossy Dark Sea Blue livery, but there's not much motivation to painting multiple skins of any aircraft type that all look exactly alike except for their squadron codes. One of each type is enough in most cases; maybe a couple if I plan to use them as AI or static objects at specific bases and I want them to be marked for the appropriate operating units.

Meanwhile, I came upon some photos pf a TBM-3U in the utility scheme, but with USDA Forest Service marks. It doesn't appear to have had a borate tank, and being operated by the USDA rather than a contractor, I believe it was an airborne controller's plane rather than a borate bomber. It can be done now, without waiting for the borate bomber model, and it would serve as a nice companion to the borate bomber paints that we'll be gifted with soon. If I can find a little time I might just paint that skin and put it up in the library. We'll see if my presently-frantic schedule allows that. Watch this space...

We'll see how this all shakes out. For my part, I just hope Scrubby keeps cranking out post-war Avenger variants! I never expected them and I'm extremely happy to have them.

[Mick]

While we wait for a TBM borate bomber, we can fly an un-converted TBM-3U in USDA Forest Service markings. Uhe apparent lack of borate bomber mods and ownership by the Forest Service rather than a civilian contractor suggests that "Gila" was a Fire Boss plane, used to direct fire fighting efforts rather than for direct attack.

All I did was erase the markings from Scrubby's excellent paint job and add new ones. It's uploading as I type this.

Attached are photos of the real "Gila" before it got its nose art and after, and a screenie of the virtual "Gila"

[Mick]

Looking at the screenie, it occurs to me that this plane could really use a new prop - one that's a bit more visible. I know there are some excellent props out there, but since I've done practically no flying since I got back into the hobby, what with setting up scenery and painting planes, I don't know right off the top of my head which ones might fit the TBM. Can someone suggest a really nice replacement spinning prop texture?

[ViperPilot2]

Your Repaint looks awesome, Mick!

[Mick]

Your Repaint looks awesome, Mick!

Thank you!

But it's Scrubby's paint job that looks awesome. All I did was delete some markings and add a few other ones.

I didn't even draw the gila monster artwork. I just copied it from the original photo, which is much higher resolution than the copy attached above. (Even so, Gila looks sorta fuzzy if you look closely.)

[SPman]

Very nice work on those paint jobs!

Alas, the scope for authentic repaints is limited by the fact that Navy planes in those days tended to all look very much alike. I could change squadron codes, but that's about it, and I'd wind up with paints that look alike except for the codes.

The New Zealand Airforce had a couple of TBF's postwar in Silver & and Silver with black and yellow diagonal striped undersides as Target Tugs. They're quite colourful....

http://hsfeatures.com/features04/tbf1ag_1.htm

[wbuchart]

Bump.....

[l'iguane]

Free evening working on the Avenger, more to come




L'iguane

[ViperPilot2]

Ooooh, I like, I like!

Alan

[Mick]

Very nice !!!

[wbuchart]

Yeah...

[l'iguane]

The Avenger package will be available in the evening, covering all the liveries above

L'iguane