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1/72 Martin Maryland


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This was bought very cheaply from @mike romeo stash (thanks, Martin) with the original intention of airbrush practice as and when my new man cave would be
 ready for occupation. I think it may be a very old Nova kit but I'm not sure and it did present a few fitting problems especially the canopies. As I wasn't familiar with
the aircraft I did a little research and discovered that a Martin Maryland and her crew had become heroes in May 1941 and played a leading role in one of the pivotal battles of WW11.

The Royal Navy had been desperate to locate Bismark before she was able to create havoc in the Atlantic, but the weather had closed in grounding most reconnaissance aircraft. Such was the seriousness of the situation, Fleet Air Arm Commander Rotherham got to together a volunteer crew, took a Maryland which was usually used as a target tug, 

and with an impressive display of blind navigation flew to Norway and located the fjord that had been Bismark's last known location. The cloud cover was so low that they had to descend to less than 100 feet before the surface was visible. At this height, they made a perfect target for the German AA batteries and suffered substantial damage, but stayed long enough to establish that the battleship had sailed. It was this early warning that enabled the Royal Navy to quickly locate the pride of the Kriegsmarine and as they say, the rest is history.
 

With this in mind, I decided not to use it as an airbrush mule and get my best hairy sticks out and try to do AR 720 justice. The finish is in 1941 Fleet Air Arm colours, dark earth/green over sky using Humbrol and Tamiya acrylics.

 

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15 hours ago, Beard said:

I think that's the Frog kit, it's been re-boxed by Eastern European manufacturers several times over the years, but, regardless of it's provenance, I think you've done a good job of it.

Thank you for your kind comments Beard. They are much appreciated.

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21 hours ago, Colin1967 said:

Fantastic build Sir ! :goodjob:  and it's great to see a fellow 'hairy stick' painter too.  I would be interested in seeing how you get on with your airbrush, good luck for that Sir.

Best regards Colin.

Thanks, Colin. The intention is to try a cheap airbrush to see if I can improve on my 'hairy stick' results.

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20 hours ago, glatisant said:

Excellent. Built one myself. Painting the clear parts is a right pain. Yours looks the part.

Thanks, glatisant. Yes, the clear parts were a pain especially the long join on the cockpit. Certainly put the Micro Krystal Klear to the test, along with my patience.:frantic:

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On 11/21/2017 at 4:01 PM, RidgeRunner said:

A nice build. It looks like you've used South Africa roundels? Or maybe it is the colour cast on the image?

 

Martin

Hi, Martin. Thanks for that. The roundels were in the kit but I hadn't noticed how badly they had faded until you mentioned it, but I guess after 30 years or so it's not surprising.

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On 11/21/2017 at 4:08 PM, russ c said:

Nice work on that old kit

 

20 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Great job,nice to see a build of the old Frog/Novo kit.

Thanks, Russ and Steve. I have a way to go to match your standards though.

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2 hours ago, Vinnie said:

Hi, Martin. Thanks for that. The roundels were in the kit but I hadn't noticed how badly they had faded until you mentioned it, but I guess after 30 years or so it's not surprising.

 

Well I guess that is it, mate. They just looked so orange in the centres.

 

Martin

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