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1/72 Airfix B-26?????


Corvi

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Given the cost of kits nowadays, and the cost of the only modern (and even better) alternative,  It's not unreasonable, being equivalent to two Airfix Spitfires.  Which is a lot better proportion than when it came out.  It's a pretty good kit, with only the large gaps for the moving control surfaces letting it down.

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Might be a tad steep, but if it builds into a nice finished model  (which I've heard it will) then 19 quid I'd consider a fair price for a b-26, of course I'm dissapointed there wasn't an RAF option included,  dread the idea of doing the NMF option (I have a discast B-26 in OD/NG already) 

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It's a good kit: it's a lot better than the Frog / Frogspawn and Revell kits, which are the only other 1/72 alternatives to the unavailable Hasegawa kits for a later long-wing B-26. (The Monogram Snap-Tite can be made into a decent early short-wing variant but is also long out of production and hard to find on this side of the Atlantic. I don't know anything about the short-wing Valom kit.)

 

At around a third of the likely price of what a Hasegawa reissue would be priced at, I reckon the Airfix kit is worth the money.

Edited by Work In Progress
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It was a revelation when it came out, having an unprecedented level of interior detail in an Airfix kit. 

I've built it a few times, firstly the original release in the OD/NG boxtop scheme and on one of the other occasions using the decals for the "headline" scheme from the Matchbox kit, which turned out nicely.

It needs new guns, and I recall being unhappy that the wing tabs were visible inside the otherwise quite nicely detailed bomb bay. Definitely one of my favourite Airfix kits and interesting as being conceptually different from the Do17E/F which came out the same year (and was the same price) but was a much simpler kit. 

 

John 

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I’m currently working on an early edition of this kit, having built one a few years ago, and it still holds up well.  

 

Interior detail is good in cockpit, wheel bays and weapons bays.  Surface detail is very fine, albeit raised, for the most part with some recessed access panels.  Fit also is generally good although the engine nacelle-to-wing joints need some work.  The intrusion of the wing locating tabs into the weapons bay can be dealt with by trimming them flush to the inside of the fuselage halves before assembly and sheeting over the inboard face of the wing root with thin plasticard.  The gun barrels definitely need replacing and the decals in my example are yellowed beyond belief.  Most of the small transparencies are marred by sink marks but the main canopy, nose transparency, dorsal turret and tail turret transparencies are OK.  

 

This is still a kit worth building, notwithstanding the lack of a credible or affordable alternative.  I don’t have an example of the Valom kit but apparently the fuselage is significantly over-sized in diameter.

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glad to hear the old kit is a good one. i went looking for a newer one recently and was shocked at the price. The airfix i should be able to get off someone here. Love the weathering of the invasion stripes on the one pictured. That's what i figured they should look like.

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48 minutes ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Love the weathering of the invasion stripes on the one pictured. That's what i figured they should look like.

may just be a bad attempt at removing them.

a 70's Airfix catalogue has this image and then the model overlaid the photo

anyway here's  the real  'Dee Feater'

 

fd8b0f77d767f1f6640afba6916ff67c_L.jpg

 

 

which I found by googling  'B-26 Marauder deefeater'

 

seems there is another shot as well

USAAF-42-96142-B-26B-Marauder-9AF-98BW-3

 

which was new to me.

 

as an asdie it  looks like the 397th retained the stripes for a long time.....

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSANgHNVfyGiKqI-GN2FNZ

 

 

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What has been said about the Airfix kit is correct; other than correcting the wing tabs protruding into the bomb bay, I would replace the props with Quickboost  P-61 props or steal two from a pair of P-47 kits- doesn't matter which brand, as they are all pretty good. The best ones are the ones from the Monogram Snaptite short tail B-26, of which I have a pair of kits...good luck on finding any more! You might also get the Squadron or Falcon transparencies. I have the Valom short-tail Marauder, and the fuselage is 'way too fat...I was hoping to do 'Dominion Revenge' but was so disgusted with the shape issues, that I am considering crosskitting the Monogram kit  with the Airfix kit or the wings/tail of the Valom kit. Wish Hasegawa had engineered their B-26 for all three major variants- with separate center and rear fuselage sections and wings, they could have done short-tails, B's and F/G's. (The separate center section would be needed for the F and G variants, which had increased wing incidence.)

Mike

 

Plastgic Surgeon- your Marauder looks very, very good!

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5 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

What has been said about the Airfix kit is correct; other than correcting the wing tabs protruding into the bomb bay,

The ends of the tabs aren’t bearing against anything inside the bay and are therefore not supporting the wing-to-fuselage joint.  I’m not 100% sure if installing the bombs will help to hide the tab ends completely.

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It's been quite a while since I looked at the B-26 in any detail but as far as the wings protruding into the bomb bay goes there must be some sort of carry through for the spars. If I'm remembering this correctly they passed above the roof of the bay, so maybe the Airfix roof needs to be lowered a tad? 

As I said it's been a while and I could be wrong. 

In any event the inclusion of a Cartograf decal sheet in the new boxing would seem to me to make the new release quite a bit more attractive at the current price.

The very last thing I need is anything else in the stash, but...! 

 

John 

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1 hour ago, 72modeler said:

... Wish Hasegawa had engineered their B-26 for all three major variants- with separate center and rear fuselage sections and wings, they could have done short-tails, B's and F/G's. (The separate center section would be needed for the F and G variants, which had increased wing incidence.)

Mike

 

Plastgic Surgeon- your Marauder looks very, very good!

I think Hasegawa did two fuselages for their B-26 kits with increased wing incidence for the F/G. Small difference but noticeable if the fuselages are compared. The bomb bay and wing spar parts are the same for both the B/C and F/G but the spar protrusion locations in the wings are different as I recall. It was something I wanted to check when the F/G was released. Unfortunately all my B-26 kits are currently unavailable for a quick recheck and since the kit releases were more than 10 years ago ... it is possible my memory is faulty.

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3 hours ago, stever219 said:

The ends of the tabs aren’t bearing against anything inside the bay and are therefore not supporting the wing-to-fuselage joint.  I’m not 100% sure if installing the bombs will help to hide the tab ends completely.

On the last Airfix Marauder I built I removed the wing locating tabs, as they forced the sit of the wing a little to high, resulting in an unsightly ridge. There's plenty of material for a decent, strong butt-joint.

 

All in all, I think that the B-26 was one of Airfix's better kits from yesteryear and considering what you get in the box, not unreasonably priced. Compare to the forthcoming 2-seat Me 262!

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2 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

I think Hasegawa did two fuselages for their B-26 kits with increased wing incidence for the F/G. Small difference but noticeable if the fuselages are compared. The bomb bay and wing spar parts are the same for both the B/C and F/G but the spar protrusion locations in the wings are different as I recall. It was something I wanted to check when the F/G was released. Unfortunately all my B-26 kits are currently unavailable for a quick recheck and since the kit releases were more than 10 years ago ... it is possible my memory is faulty.

Corect.  I have both the B/C and F/G kits from Hasegawa, and they indeed have different fuselages.  Hasegawa also included different bulkhead/spar peices to fit the different fuselages.  

 

I toyed with getting the Valom early Marauder, but both the fuselage and the price tag were noticeably too fat. 

 

SN

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7 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

may just be a bad attempt at removing them.

a 70's Airfix catalogue has this image and then the model overlaid the photo

anyway here's  the real  'Dee Feater'

 

fd8b0f77d767f1f6640afba6916ff67c_L.jpg

 

 

which I found by googling  'B-26 Marauder deefeater'

 

seems there is another shot as well

USAAF-42-96142-B-26B-Marauder-9AF-98BW-3

 

which was new to me.

 

as an asdie it  looks like the 397th retained the stripes for a long time.....

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSANgHNVfyGiKqI-GN2FNZ

 

 

Not to stray off topic much, were the invasion stripes a water based paint? Just was wondering if that's why they were so weathered.

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7 hours ago, lasermonkey said:

On the last Airfix Marauder I built I removed the wing locating tabs, as they forced the sit of the wing a little to high, resulting in an unsightly ridge. There's plenty of material for a decent, strong butt-joint.

 

All in all, I think that the B-26 was one of Airfix's better kits from yesteryear and considering what you get in the box, not unreasonably priced. Compare to the forthcoming 2-seat Me 262!

I usually file the slot slightly deeper to allow the wing to sit higher or lower as required, helping to maximise gluing area by using as much as possible of what’s left of the tab.

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4 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

may just be a bad attempt at removing them.

a 70's Airfix catalogue has this image and then the model overlaid the photo

anyway here's  the real  'Dee Feater'

 

fd8b0f77d767f1f6640afba6916ff67c_L.jpg

 

 

which I found by googling  'B-26 Marauder deefeater'

 

seems there is another shot as well

USAAF-42-96142-B-26B-Marauder-9AF-98BW-3

 

which was new to me.

 

as an asdie it  looks like the 397th retained the stripes for a long time.....

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSANgHNVfyGiKqI-GN2FNZ

 

 

4

I'd seen that first photo during my build, so exactly the look I was after.

Invasion stripes were removed and obliterated at different time, and from different parts of aircraft,

and I'd guess always the lowest priority job - amongst a LOT of other things to be done.

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Yes. That isn't natural weathering of the invasion stripes: it's intervention by the ground crew. You will also see some post D-Day USAAF aircraft with the white painted over with a darker colour on the upper-surface stripes. Note that the lower stripes remained crisp and highly visible.

Edited by Work In Progress
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15 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

I think Hasegawa did two fuselages for their B-26 kits with increased wing incidence for the F/G. Small difference but noticeable if the fuselages are compared. The bomb bay and wing spar parts are the same for both the B/C and F/G but the spar protrusion locations in the wings are different as I recall. It was something I wanted to check when the F/G was released. Unfortunately all my B-26 kits are currently unavailable for a quick recheck and since the kit releases were more than 10 years ago ... it is possible my memory is faulty.

Yes, they did- I have one of each. I was mainly commenting on how they could have engineered their kit to cater to the three major variants; with slide molding, different fuselages is just as easy, I guess, and avoids having to clean up the join between separate sections. Me personally- I would have preferred the short wing/tailMarauder  and a B-26B to the F/G; a lot more variety in color schemes and markings...but what do I know? (I'm not ridding myself of my two Airfix kits just yet, as I always thought it was one of Airfix's best at the time- streets ahead of the awful Revell kit, as they say in the UK!)

Mike

 

BTW, and most of you probably already knew this, but I just discovered recently why so many Marauders have paint that is massively chipped and scuffed to bare metal; it seems that Martin dispensed with using zinc chromate primer on the exterior surfaces of the B-26, with the AAF's blessing- I guess to save weight and man hours in production, which is why in many photos the paint is completely gone and you don't see any chromate primer underneath. Flak Bait is a very good example of this. (I'll take Marauder Trivia for one thousand, Alex!)

Edited by 72modeler
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