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Monogram A-26C Invader, 1/48


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This is the Monogram A-26C Invader, finished as used by l’Armée de l’Air in Algeria in the late 1950s.  Apart from the kit it includes Quickboost engines, True Details wheels, and Albatros decals, and a bugger of a lot of filler.  The Buccaneer I posted a little while ago is a notorious filler hound.  I may have given the impression that it was unique in that respect.  But it’s not, and here's the proof.

 

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The Invader is yet again that classic Monogram combination: decent detail, with iffy fit.  Every major joint needs filler somewhere.  The integral spars locked the wings at almost the perfect angle, but even that had to be backed up with filler and plastic card.  By far the worst area is the tail.  The assembled tailplane slips into a slot between the fin and the tailcone.  It fits quite tightly, but don’t be deceived.  While the contours of the tailcone match left to right, the slot on the right is lower than on the left.  The effect is to dip the whole tailplane to the right, and also to cant the fin a few degrees that way.  My solution was to lift that side with a couple of plies of thin card and fill the resulting gaps.  The fin is now upright; I think the right end of the tailplane may now be slightly high, but it barely shows.

 

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All of the transparencies need their mating surfaces sanding somewhere to get them to fit, especially the roof panel.

The Invader is a notorious tail-sitter, so much so that Monogram provide a clear prop.  But as you can see, I did manage to get mine to sit right, even though it has the glass nose.  There’s just enough space for lead: under the bomb-aimer’s floor, either side of the nosegear bay; between the cockpit and the nose; and behind the engines.  I nipped small slices off a sheet of roofing lead - they’re much easier to mount than little bits of shot.

 

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Engines: I’ve posted about this before, so in summary, don’t waste your money on the cowlings.  The engines are fine but the integral cooling gills are too small, so I mounted mine on the kit’s parts instead.  Then I added 110 little bits of wire for the ignition system and the pushrods.  I don’t understand why Quickboost make exquisite engines and then leave them so bare.  But they do include holes where you can fit the pushrods.

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Wheels: like many from True Details, they could use pumping up.  The kit was actually the ProModeller version, which has slightly less flattened wheels, but they suffer from the common injection-moulding problem that the tread pattern doesn’t go all the way round.

 

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Decals: an odd mixture.  Colour density was excellent.  Colour accuracy less so, since the blue in the roundels was lighter than the blue on the rudder.  This might have been deliberate, as what we call “French blue” seems surprisingly variable.  However, the rudder stripes were also far too big and too stiff to conform to the edges, so I threw them out and used paint instead.  The blue is Humbrol 47 Sea Blue, the best match I could get in a rush on a Sunday afternoon, moderated with a slight rub of lilac pastel.  That stiffness was also a problem when one decal folded over.  It wouldn’t unfold and cracked instead.  And, oddly, after only a couple of days some of them started to crack in situ, and I’ve not been able to get them flat again.  I know I didn’t use enough Klear, but I don’t think that’s the cause.  Overall: I’d be careful of this lot.

The paintwork is Halfords Appliance White and Halfords Matt Black.  Both are excellent, and I found that retouching with Citadel black is almost invisible.  Weathering is chalk pastels.

Finally, my thanks to our very own Mike, who swapped me the fuselage parts for my solid-nosed ones a terribly long time ago.

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27 minutes ago, pigsty said:

Finally, my thanks to our very own Mike, who swapped me the fuselage parts for my solid-nosed ones a terribly long time ago.

:lol: you beat me to building mine!  I remember your visit and you're right it really was a long time ago.  I can't for the life of me picture your face though, but I can remember a dog (probably Zan back then) jumping up at you and spilling the drink I'd just given you all down your front.  Funny what the mind remembers & doesn't, isn't it? :hmmm:

 

Nice job BTW :yes:

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Very very nice, (another) one of my favourite airplanes.  I have the gun nose/fire bomber kit and hope to someday convert it to a glass nose.  I will file away your build tips for future use.  Also, Paul Budzik has started a build series on the B-26 on his site.  Worth a look if you haven’t already seen it.

http://paulbudzik.com/models/monogram-a-26-Invader/monogram-a-26-invader.html

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

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5 hours ago, Mike said:

I can remember a dog (probably Zan back then) jumping up at you and spilling the drink I'd just given you all down your front

Oh yes, that does ring a bell.  Also the classic conversation:

"Have you come far?"
"Surrey."

"I said, have you come far?"

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  • 1 year later...

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