Academy TBM-3" USS Bunker Hill Airplane Model Building Kit, Navy

Love the way it looks now that it’s done and painted to my liking. It’s a fun build however it do a have a few flaws & lots of positives.Cons:Instructions are brief and not too detailed. There are times when you have to really think through a step to figure it out. The pictures are not the best either, can be confusing.Take your time! The details on the crew compartments are amazing! You see every details of the interior but take your time! The two fuselage parts will need to come together and if done hastily it would be offset.The pros: great detail, price, and the finished product is very nice!

It was fun to build, but the instructions were kind of a pain, I’m no expert builder at these models, but I have built a bunch of Lego models before. And also one of the light covers that go on the wing tips, one side is shorter than the other. That’s my only disappointment.

There is a lot of detail in this model...But I would NOT recommend this one for the newer modelers...A LOT of trimming and puttying...I actually like that part of model building, overcoming obstacles...The main obstacle with this model is the absolutely WORST instructions I have EVER seen...Trying to decipher and match parts was a real daunting task...But the finished product is fine....

I believe this is a re-boxing from the Accurate Miniatures, at least from what I've heard. You never know what you are going to get with these kits that you have no experience with. I took a chance and bought because of the great price on Amazon, it was cheaper than anything even on Ebay.Anyway, about the kit. I was very surprised when I opened the box. The plastic has perfect engraved lines on all the pieces and it looks very accurate to the naked eye. This kit is on my list to be built but I couldn't help myself and took the larger parts off the tree for test fitting. Everything fit perfect and all the panel lines lined up when taped together. I have a lot of model building experience and I can tell you that this is a great kit. I also test fit the clear parts and they fit great even better than a lot of high end kits. It's so nice that it has moved up on my list of future builds. Because of it's engineering and fit, I don't think you will need a lot of experience to make this into a nice model.

The TBM -3 airplane model was packaged properly and inspected all parts are intact. Will start assembling in a few weeks. The price of the model was fair. Parts and details are accurate

My first Acadamy model. Won't be my last. Very nicely detailed model. Very challenging build. One down side, could use better-detailed instructions, very vague...

This is probably the best Avenger in 1/48 you'll find. Based on the Accurate Miniatures molds, it has excellent detail and fits together nicely. The clear parts are very nice and there are several fit options (US vs UK, bombs, rockets, etc).I recommend pairing this with a resin pilot chair for more detail, but perhaps the most critical third-party item you'll want is the E-Z Mask for the canopy. The Avenger had a huge birdcage canopy and the masking could take seemingly forever. I got the E-Z Mask kit for this model and it was such a breeze, while the outcome looked fantastic. You'll definitely thank yourself for the masks on this model.

Though the kit is of high quality, the instructions are maddening! Be warned, unless you have considerable experiece, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible to build this kit.I have only built a dozen or so models in 1/48 and 1/32, and all my experiece has been with Tamiya, Revell, Hasegawa -- all with excellent instructions. This model's instructions appear to be done with crude and clumsy drawings which forces one to guess at what is necessary to put it together. Worse, even with careful attention, you may find yourself filing and sanding after considerable dry fitting to get parts to work together well.Finally in checking for other builders experiences on building this kit, some kits apparently have different instructions written and illustrated much better! I would love to get one of those perhaps 'updated' version.Overall, this is one miserable product, and I am amazed it is still being sold. Be warned!JIm Harris