Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 A British fighter prototype which first flew in May 1944. Sadly, the MB5 never went into production, despite having excellent performance and handling characteristics. It looked superficially similar to the P-51 Mustang and was of a similar size. However, whereas the Mustang was powered by a Merlin engine, the MB5 had a Griffon engine - 1,000 hp more than the Merlin!!! By the time the MB5 flew, the RAF was looking forward to becoming a jet force. There were also concerns that a small company such as Martin Baker would not have the resources to put such an aircraft into series production. I will be using the new AZ Model kit, built pretty much OOB. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 So nice to see a Martin-Baker subject Enzo. A great British company, still going strong Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I love that plane! There is a fantastic profile shot of it flying across an airfield at about 20 feet up. Nice to know that AZ Model do a kit of it too. Looking forward to your build! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 1 hour ago, AdrianMF said: There is a fantastic profile shot of it flying across an airfield at about 20 feet up. You mean this one? http://www.martin-baker.com/about/mb1-mb5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Oh yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 A beaut photo that, I think it's just taken off, looks like the main gear just clearing away. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 On 3/6/2017 at 3:30 PM, Enzo Matrix said: It looked superficially similar to the P-51 Mustang and was of a similar size. However, whereas the Mustang was powered by a Merlin engine, the MB5 had a Griffon engine - 1,000 hp more than the Merlin!!! Closer in size to the P-47, in fact! The MB5 was fully six feet longer than a P-51D. She was a big, beautiful beast. Would have eaten wunderwaffen for breakfast like they were wunderwaffles. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 My AZ MB-5 has finally arrived from the big H, along with some Mosquito bits. Do I make a start on the MB-5 for this GB (the fact the Enzo hasn't updated for a while gives me pause...) or do I keep on truckin' with the Mossie? Decisions, decisions... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 On 12/03/2017 at 3:17 PM, Procopius said: Closer in size to the P-47, in fact! The MB5 was fully six feet longer than a P-51D. She was a big, beautiful beast. Would have eaten wunderwaffen for breakfast like they were wunderwaffles. I recall reading somewhere that a good start for wings for a scratch built MB5 or MB3 too for that matter, were the wings from a F6F & they're blooming great planks of things, Steve. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Looking forward to this one . AZ have released some 'what if' boxings, but I like to see the real prototypes built. Such a purposeful look to this aircraft. Great choice Enzo Best regards TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 16 hours ago, Rob G said: the fact the Enzo hasn't updated for a while gives me pause... Give it a go. The kit is really nice. I haven't updated for a while simply because - as usual - I've bitten off almost as much as I can chew! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 Okay, here we go. Hold on tight, rider! Let's start with the sprue shots. Although this kit is a recent release, I think it was tooled some time ago. It is a typical short run kit, albeit very well produced. The more modern AZ kits, such as their Bf109 family are more mainstream. The MB5 has no locating pins on the fuselage halves and wing parts. The wings also butt joint to the fuselage. It shouldn't be a problem as there is a lot of area to glue which should make a strong joint, but I'll add a spar just to make sure. No sooner said than done. The cockpit parts are okay - no huge amounts of detail but they are perfectly adequate. I have added a seat harness using Eduard superfabric sets. As with many kits of British "bubbletop" fighters, the cockpit cutout follows the edges of the canopy. This is inaccurate on aircraft such as the Spitfire, Typhoon and Tempest and I'm assuming that the same is true of the MB5. AZ do provide a part to fill this area which I will fair in with filler when the fuselage halves are joined. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) Note that the tailplanes and fin of the MB3 are also present on the sprue - I have the Navy variant and the instructions actually show these being fitted to one option of the MB5, although this is not properly explained on the sheet. (They weren't. Or were they?) PS Just to clarify matters, the Griffon 83 at 2340hp had a lot less than twice the power of the Merlin in the Mustang, which in the P-51D ran to over 1700hp, or 2000hp with the 130/150 octane fuel. I don't know which fuel was specified for that power output in the Griffon, so perhaps it had some in hand as well.. Edited March 20, 2017 by Graham Boak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 This will be interesting. After many years of seeing that MB-5 photo, I still cannot work out if it looks awesome or awful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 5 minutes ago, Graham Boak said: Note that the tailplanes and fin of the MB3 are also present on the sprue - I have the Navy variant and the instructions actually show these being fitted to one option of the MB5, although this is not properly explained on the sheet. It seems that the MB5 originally flew with the tail of the MB3 and small tailplanes. This boxing provides markings for this version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 13 minutes ago, PLC1966 said: This will be interesting. After many years of seeing that MB-5 photo, I still cannot work out if it looks awesome or awful. Awesome! Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I've not seen that about the small tail in my sources, and I'm a little surprised. However, I'll stick with the "not properly explained" in the kit instructions. One point I recall seeing many years ago but can't track down now, is that the MB5 was designed with identical symmetrical tailplanes part and starboard, so only a single spare kind need be kept. To reflect this, the underside of the tailplanes was painted in the uppersurface camouflage. None of the photos I can find show this -or the underside of the tailplanes however painted! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 What a wonderful piece of engineering, from an engineers point of view it was a dream to work on, from a pilots point of view the cockpit and it's layout outclassed everyhthing before and as a flying machine it just looked sooo right, good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Great choice Enzo, looks like a Mustang on steroids With you all the way cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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