1/72 Martin M167 Maryland SAAF

[JimmyZ]

And at last it's time for this much awaited group build.

My contribution will be a SAAF 16 Squadron Martin Maryland based at Addis Ababa, Abyssinia in mid 1941, which isn't exactly North Africa, but I got approval to build it.

I'm 99% sure I'll be building a Maryland with serial 1604 for which I have a nice color profile as well as b/w photo (along with a/c log details and plenty "stories") in Graeme Gibson's excellent book Path of Duty about 16 Squadron's journey from 1939 to 1943. Off course I cannot post the profile and photo because of copyright.

There were two Marylands active with 16 Sqn at the time (1603 & 1604) and was used for recce, bombing, strafing and also for dropping propaganda leaflets on the Italian's.

1604 was written of on 20 June after crashing on the aerodrome.

As far as I understand these were Maryland Mk.I's originally intended for the French before the armistice, which means I have to make some slight modifications to the Mk.II kit. The props of these Mk.I's were Hamilton Standard's with diagnostic cuffed blades, which means I will have to try put cuffs on the props (already having nightmares because if that ). There's less aerials on the Mk.I, but that's an easy fix, and the paint scheme is a bit of a mystery. As far as I can figure out these were still in the French scheme when delivered to the SAAF - olive drab over light blue grey - vs. the one's intended for the British which were dark green / dark brown over sky.

Apparently the SAAF *may* have applied a "chocolate brown" to the Maryland's uppers in the theatre, but I don't think there's solid proof of this. I chose to paint my subject olive drab over light blue grey like the profile of 1604 in Path of Duty.

Hopefully that's enough info to peak your interest in this subject. And with that's here's the kit I'll be building.

And here are some sprue shots (suprisingly low part number for a bigger kit)

The clear parts

And some resin bits

These are the decals I'll be using. Since I'm not aware of any decals for the subject I'm building, I have sourced all the necessary markings from different sheets.

These sheets provide me all the decals I'll need.

And I received these for the fuselage numbers. These Maryland's didn't carry fuselage codes apart from serials.

And here is the instruction sheet. Not the best but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Can't wait to get started.

Cheers

Jimmy

[Caerbannog]

Nice choice. Beware with Martin interior colours. See the discussion here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29389-martin-interior-colours/

The Maryland seems to be aluminum laquer inside - not green as given in the instructions.

Rene

[rob85]

Nice to see a Maryland getting done, and a scheme that sounds a bit different.

Nice!

Rob

[JimmyZ]

Nice choice. Beware with Martin interior colours. See the discussion here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29389-martin-interior-colours/

The Maryland seems to be aluminum laquer inside - not green as given in the instructions.

Rene

Thanks for the info Rene. I wasn't aware of this. I even had my US interior green pot of paint thinned and ready

I've been doing some research on it, but haven't found much apart from someone else who painted his Maryland's interior aluminium (didn't give a reason). Well, still a day or two left, so I'll see what else I can find.

Jimmy

[Caerbannog]

The XA-22 prototype which later became the Maryland was silver inside:

http://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/martin-167-maryland-xa-22.html

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000571282

Looking at this pic I would go for aluminum...:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Martin_Maryland_39_Sqn_being_armed_c1941.jpg

Dunno if this is of any help:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5608/15452378656_b75e839331_c.jpg

I wanted to contribute with a Martin Baltimore here (Classic Airframes) and would have used Aluminum paint for the interior. But I already bit more than I can chew with my Concorde in the Airliner GB so will probably build the Baltimore another day :-(

Rene

[JimmyZ]

The XA-22 prototype which later became the Maryland was silver inside:

http://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/martin-167-maryland-xa-22.html

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000571282

Looking at this pic I would go for aluminum...:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Martin_Maryland_39_Sqn_being_armed_c1941.jpg

Dunno if this is of any help:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5608/15452378656_b75e839331_c.jpg

I wanted to contribute with a Martin Baltimore here (Classic Airframes) and would have used Aluminum paint for the interior. But I already bit more than I can chew with my Concorde in the Airliner GB so will probably build the Baltimore another day :-(

Rene

Thank you Rene.

I did come across the pictures in the second link, though I wasn't sure that if the prototype was aluminium inside it meant any production versions would be too.

The photos in the other two links both help, thanks.

I also came across this photo in the link below of a French Maryland. Looking at the rear bulkhead (the rear-most part of the cockpit) which is partly visible looks aluminium? Definitely too light for interior green.

http://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/maryland/martin-167f/

I am comfortable now with painting the interior (cockpit and otherwise) as well as the wheel wells aluminium.

Pity about you not doing the Baltimore for this GB, I would have liked to see it here.

Cheers

Jimmy

Edited August 18, 2016 by JimmyZ

[JimmyZ]

I also stumbled upon a lot of info on operational use of Marylands here for anyone who is interested.

[JimmyZ]

Footage of SAAF Marylands in flight. Very cool.

https://youtu.be/0sPyGNk2HwQ

I suppose I should get started with my build instead of watching videos....

[Mottlemaster]

I also stumbled upon a lot of info on operational use of Marylands here for anyone who is interested.

Excellent info .Thanks for posting . will help me loads with mine

[JimmyZ]

So I've made a decent start on this build.

First things first. Cleanup.

The fuselage insides has got these nasty ejector marks.

Easy enough to get rid of with the right blade.

And gone.

I'll get it smooth with some 220 grit sandpaper.

And it's like it was never there.

And the wings insides has the same markings.

Dry fit of the fuselage. I need to find a way to strengthen the wing joint which won't be very strong like this. Also the fuselage halves has got no locator pins.

Not a dryfit of the wings. I needed to glue something to feel like I actually did some modelling. No locator pins here either.

The cuff-less propeller blades are already worrying me. I have a few ideas of how to make cuffs, but they are bad ideas. Anyone?

Jimmy

[dogsbody]

Have you looked at the IWM site?

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=Martin%20Maryland

Chris

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon Jimmy

Very Interesting subject

I have this box in my stash but I don't think I will have time to build it for this Gb , I will follow your buid ..

Patrice

[JimmyZ]

Have you looked at the IWM site?

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=Martin%20Maryland

Chris

I have not. Some very good photos there that will surely help! Thanks Chris.

Good afternoon Jimmy

Very Interesting subject

I have this box in my stash but I don't think I will have time to build it for this Gb , I will follow your buid ..

Patrice

That's a pity Patrice, but I do understand. After all, I have a Ventura and a Beaufort fit for this group build that I won't be doing due to time constraints.

And thanks for the follow. I have made more progress, but have not had time to resize, upload and post the photo's. I'll post them sometime tomorrow.

Cheers

Jimmy

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning Jimmy

I have already started 3 builds for this Gb and I also plan to build a Blenheim Mk IV I hope I will be able to finish them all ..

Patrice

[JimmyZ]

Finally I have some time to post an update.

As i have mentioned before the wings and fuselage are butt joined, which doesn't look like it will be very strong. I'm betting it will be one bump and it will break. So I decided to put in a shaft to give it more strength.

I drilled a hole of the exact size of a metal rod I salvaged from an old CD-ROM drive, in the fuselage sides.

I did a dryfit and it works pretty well.

I then decided not to start with the cockpit first as the instructions say, but with the engines. I started by painting the appropriate areas black, after which I dry brushed silver over the cylinders to bring out a more metallic feel than black.

I then added blue for the reduction gear housing (if that's even what it is). I think it's too light though, and needs to be plenty darker. Will fix that later.

I then added some silver electrical wire, two for each cylinder, which I got from photos of a Wright R-1820 Cyclone, which powered the early French Marylands.

Next I painted the inside of the nacelle's aluminium, which will be visible in the main gear bays.

And glued the halves together.

Lastly I painted a part of the wing aluminium which will be visible in the gear bay.

That's it for now, but I may have another update a bit later.

Cheers

Jimmy

[rob85]

Really good update Jimmy glad to see you stuck in

Rob

[JimmyZ]

I've got a bit more progress to report. Feels like it's going slow, but I don't want to rush this build, and there's plenty of time.

I removed the tape after the glue dried, and used some Tamiya's Surface Primer on the joints. Have I mentioned his kit feels very short run?

Every singe thing that is glued needs cleaning up (more than usual I mean)

And then I glued on the radials. I also darkened the blue bits a little, and it looks better now.

Business end of two Wright Cyclones.. I like it.

I hate it when I only notice something AFTER I've painted it. In this case, the propeller hub has no real way of attaching to the engines (unless I missed something). It will be tough to glue the props on straight this way. So I had to improvise again by cutting a hypodermic needle in half.

I carefully drilled small holes into the engines, and will do the same for the resin prop hub. That way I have some way of securing the prop and lining it up while the glue dries.

I left it at that as I didn't feel like doing the propeller hubs just yet. But I did glue the front part of the engine nacelles, and left it to dry.

Until next time!

Jimmy

[Mottlemaster]

Jimmy , i am following your build closely as you have already prevented me painting my wheel wells interior green (just in time ) .

Alistair

[dogsbody]

This is an image of C-47 production, showing a P&W R-1830 being fitted to a Douglas C-47. You can see the gear casing colour.

I know the Maryland was delivered before the US joined in WW2, so this may not be accurate for your kit.

Chris

Edited August 24, 2016 by dogsbody

[SoftScience]

Ooof! Those butt-jointed resin props are going to be a nightmare. Can you poach appropriate propellers from a different kit?

[JimmyZ]

This is an image of C-47 production, showing a P&W R-1830 being fitted to a Douglas C-47. You can see the gear casing colour.

I know the Maryland was delivered before the US joined in WW2, so this may not be accurate for your kit.

Chris

What a good quality picture! Which we could see more of this quality color pics of WWII aircraft.

Yup that's a Pratt & Whitney. The (early) French version had the Wright Cyclone R-1820's, which is a single row 9 cylinder radial.

You can look on Wikipedia here. The 6 SAAF Maryland I's (1601 -1606) came from the French order had Hamilton Standard cuffed diagnostic airscrews, which the Maryland II's with P&W's did not have.

Wish I could share the photo of my subject in "Path of Duty" but that would not be legal (damn copyright!).

Ooof! Those butt-jointed resin props are going to be a nightmare. Can you poach appropriate propellers from a different kit?

My thoughts exactly. I did go through my stash already looking for cuffed 3 blade props, but came up empty

[dogsbody]

What a good quality picture! Which we could see more of this quality color pics of WWII aircraft.

Yup that's a Pratt & Whitney. The (early) French version had the Wright Cyclone R-1820's, which is a single row 9 cylinder radial.

You can look on Wikipedia here. The 6 SAAF Maryland I's (1601 -1606) came from the French order had Hamilton Standard cuffed diagnostic airscrews, which the Maryland II's with P&W's did not have.

Wish I could share the photo of my subject in "Path of Duty" but that would not be legal (damn copyright!).

My thoughts exactly. I did go through my stash already looking for cuffed 3 blade props, but came up empty

Wikipedia also says this about the ex-French Marylands:

Just before the Franco-German Armistice, the remaining 75 planes on the French order were signed over to the United Kingdom. Thirty-two aircraft had been completed to French specifications and were converted to British requirements in the UK. Engines were changed from the Cyclone 9 to the Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp and various weapons and instruments were replaced. The last 43 of the order were completed as required by Glenn Martin. All these aircraft received the designation Maryland Mk.I. A further 150 aircraft had been ordered directly by Britain with two-speed superchargers on their Twin Wasps and were designated Maryland Mk.II.^[3]

^Chris

Edited August 27, 2016 by dogsbody

[JimmyZ]

Wikipedia also says this about the ex-French Marylands:

Just before the Franco-German Armistice, the remaining 75 planes on the French order were signed over to the United Kingdom. Thirty-two aircraft had been completed to French specifications and were converted to British requirements in the UK. Engines were changed from the Cyclone 9 to the Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp and various weapons and instruments were replaced. The last 43 of the order were completed as required by Glenn Martin. All these aircraft received the designation Maryland Mk.I. A further 150 aircraft had been ordered directly by Britain with two-speed superchargers on their Twin Wasps and were designated Maryland Mk.II.^[3]

^Chris

Oops! Well the kit comes with the 9 cylinder single-row radial. Will be difficult (and pointless) trying to dress it up as a 14 cylinder two-row radial. I think I can live with it.

Something that till doesn't make sense though is the fact that these 6 SAAF planes had the Hamilton Standard props with diagnostic cuffed blades, as per photo of the subject I'm building. I would think that as far as these two enigine types on the Maryland goes, the cuffed props = Wright cyclone, and un-cuffed props (like most Marlylands had) = P&W.

Another thing I think I read is that some of the Marylands that arrived in South Africa were still sporting french livery (roundels and such). I'll have to go double check that, but there's a photo of one of these taken in Durban just after assembly, if I'm not terribly mistaken.

I could off course be very wrong

I did make some progress on the weekend, I took the tape of the engine front covers. Again the joins look horrible.

So I sanded it, and then painted some silver over it to show any problem areas. Worked quite well.

While waiting for it to dry I worked on the interior. Unfortunately one of the seats broke and left a nasty hole...

...nothing that PPP can't fix though

I also started painting the interior bits silver.

More soon.

Cheers

Jimmy

[DaveyGair]

Neat work so far Jimmy, I like the engines a lot, its suprising what a bit of paint and wire can do

[Mottlemaster]

Jimmy, i am just about to start painting the interior of my Maryland but i was going with interior green (this is Warburtons aircraft ) do you think i should be going with silver ?

Alistair