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1/48th scale Marauder Mk.I- Monogram kit with Lone Star resin conversion set- FINISHED!


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Hiya Folks,......another one which I have fancied doing for ages is a 1/48th scale Marauder Mk.I of 14 Sqn RAF. I I have been researching their camouflage schemes for years and had been sure that some wore a version of the Temperate Sea Scheme which was added to those that were painted in the desert scheme when the role of the unit was changed from the expected light bomber role to that of maritime reconnaissance and strike. This can just be made out in photos of the real aircraft and when I liased with crews who flew the type thanks to the 14 Sqn Association lone behold I was proved to be correct! A number of aircrew recalled that some of the Marauders were painted in a sea scheme and one provided a copy of a painting that he made of his own aircraft just after the war;

H13-%20Deramore%20Marauder%20painting_zp

And here is a log book entry,......note the camouflage on the Marauders in the drawing;

h14a-%20George%20Gilbert%20Graham-%20Log

The aircraft that I would like to model is `DominiumTriumph' flown by the CO, Dick Maydwell;

H9-Dick%20Maydwell%20in%20front%20of%20D

H8a-Dick%20Maydwell%20at%20the%20control

Note the camouflage on this aircraft. Then look at these photos of a Baltimore wearing a version of the Temperate Sea Scheme commonly applied in the Med theatre which looks to have used Extra Dark Sea Grey or US Sea Grey with US Olive Drab,....a darhker scheme making use of locally available colours and possibly applied to prevent fading which was common with the usual British TSS scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey. The undersides of the Baltimore are Azure Blue andt the Marauders may have had this colour applied with the desert scheme,....but I have a feeling that they retained the US Neutral Grey undersides.

H41a-colour%20baltimore%20temp%20sea%20s

the colours and demarcations almost vanish in b&w;

H41b-_zpsffxhlmkb.jpg

 

I am also thinking of adding a torpedo from a Tamiya Beaufighter;

H12-torpedo_zpsjsr4mnig.jpg

 

Here is the 1/72nd scale Marauder Mk.I that I buil following my research into colour schemes, using the Valom kit;

30h%20finished_zpsye5klngb.jpg

And here is a thread for my 1/72nd scale model;

 

 

The Model;

Anyway,....on with this build,.....here is the Monogram 1/48th scale kit;

DSCF9010_zpshvzh3lgf.jpg

And here is the Lone Star conversion set,....whose instructions are rather vague,....especially where to cut the wings off!;

DSCF9009_zpsa2pdg8xx.jpg

I also bought the Lone Star decal sheet as the nose art names will be of use,.....there are some very tempting USAAF schemes on there too!;

DSCF9007_zpszwzd3lxc.jpg  

Here are the wing parts together;

DSCF9011_zpsgjwgy9gy.jpg

And the tail fin;

DSCF9012_zps3rufmkwo.jpg

And the tail;

DSCF9013_zpsob2le8df.jpg

 

So whether I get it done before the end of the GB,.....we`ll see eh,.....wish me luck!!

 

I`m now painting the interior parts and will start some cutting soon!

Cheers

             Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Currently very much into Marauders (still reading 'Marauder Man'), so this will be great to watch. :) 

 

In your post you wrote 'Dominion Revenge', but it looks like it should say 'Dominion Triumph'?

 

In the photo with those words, is that combat damage that can be seen below and aft of the canopy? :o !

 

Looking forward to this.

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

 

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Following with great interest, since I"ve been looking into similar schemes recently. Look forward to seeing your progress.

(The Baltimore photo you posted was much of the inspiration for the Frog 1/72 build I posted last week---including the flashy red wheel covers!)

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3 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

Currently very much into Marauders (still reading 'Marauder Man'), so this will be great to watch. :) 

 

In your post you wrote 'Dominion Revenge', but it looks like it should say 'Dominion Triumph'?

 

In the photo with those words, is that combat damage that can be seen below and aft of the canopy? :o !

 

Looking forward to this.

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

 

You are of course correct Tony,.....I meant `Dominion Triumph'......my 1/72nd model features `Dominion Revenge'! The photo does show patched up battle damage too,..... they were often flown back with holes in them! 

 

It is said that the Marauder`s were named after RN Subs and ships based in the Med and HMS Triumph was indeed a sub from the Malta based 10th Sub Flotilla,.....but some of the names do not correspond with serving RN vessels of the time.Here are the names that I could find;

 

Dominion Revenge- FK375

Dominion Thunderer- FK149

Dominion Triumph- FK142

Dominion Upholder- FK370

 

(HMS Revenge and Thunderer were battleships (although the latter had been decommissioned in 1926!) and HMS Triumph and Upholder were submarines operating in the Mediterranean, mostly from Malta.)

 

The Marauder Mk.I`s ( which cost $102,659.33 each to build) operated by 14 Sqn were from a batch of 52 which were equivalent to the USAAF’s B-26A-MA and B-26A-1-MA versions that were delivered under Lend Lease terms to the RAF due to a delay in deliveries of the Martin Baltimore. Most were delivered directly to North Africa and judging by photos taken during these flights at least some bore US markings, however four crashed during their delivery flights, some were lost in the USA before delivery and four were sent to the UK for trials purposes although these were later sent on to N. Africa too as numbers available in the Middle East began to dwindle due to accidental and operational losses. One aircraft which did not leave North America was FK115 which was stripped to bare metal, given a solid nose and named `Helzapoppin' for use by 45 Group in Canada.

 

I`ll keep dropping in some more facts during the build,

Cheers

           Tony

 

 

 

Edited by tonyot
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Thanks for your kind comments everybody,.......I`m jumping in at the deep end with this one and just hope that I can do it credit as it it well outside my comfort zone,......but I really want a 1/48th scale Marauder Mk.I! ,........best thing to do is stop worrying and just get on with it I suppose!! 

Well time to check over my references and see what changes need to be made apart from the new tail, shorter wings and new tail gun position as the conversion set instructions are quite vague.

Looking at the fuselage, as well as replacing the raised panel lines with engraved ones,.... quite a lot needs to be done such as;

Removing the armour plating moulded onto the nose;

DSCF9027_zpsjxsk4tds.jpg

Removing the air baffles from the front of the waist windows,.....and the waist windows themselves would need to be filled in and new ones cut out while the portholes in the rear fuselage need to be filled in too;

 DSCF9026_zps83z5ht2j.jpg

 

Well here,....the nose armour has been sanded away and the fuselage has been sanded smooth and re scribed, plus a bulged section below the nose has been cut out to be replaced with a `flat' resin item;

DSCF9041_zpsazasuikq.jpg

The rear fuselage portholes have been filled in, the baffles removed, the waist windows have been attached ready to fill in and new windows have been marked out in front using black pen ready to be drilled and cut out,.....the new resin tail position can also be seen where the kits rear gun position has already been cut away;;

DSCF9046_zpsizukheus.jpg

DSCF9039_zps60dpcf5f.jpg 

Here is the fuselage taped together showing the rescribing etc;

DSCF9040_zps4qr6gude.jpg

And here is the interior painted up;

DSCF9020_zpsafxgzxzc.jpg

Here is the cockpit in closer detail;

DSCF9022_zpsgmrj4ets.jpg

DSCF9024_zpsgckrsjqe.jpg

 

This evening I have cut out the new waist windows and also cut the wings,.....which was a bit dicey! The resin outer wings have been attached too and I`ll post photos in the morning when I get some daylight,

 

Cheers for now

                         Tony

Edited by tonyot
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25 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Hell's bell's Tony is there anything left in your stash? Nice to see this one I love the Marauder and the monogram kit is a safe bet in your hands!

I wouldn`t bet on it Steve,.....I`m right out there on a limb comfort zone wise with this one and could cock the whole thing up at any minute,....I hate having to saw up wings and things,....especially when it isn`t along a panel line and there are no measurements,.......the nacelles have to fit into the part of the resin wing too,.......so all a bit scary!

 

I`ve got quite a big stash Steve so haven`t even dented it,........ I could put some model shops to shame!! I`ve even less room to display the finished models though,

 

All the best mate

                               Tony

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As long as you don't run out of kit's Tony,I'm nearly finished the Hurricane and may do something later for this GB I have AMT's Boston in the 

small stash with an RAF MTO scheme.

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I love the Boston,.....that would be a great idea mate. If you have an old Airfix Buccaneer kit the 24 Sqn SAAF unit insignia was also used on the Boston in the desert, and would look very nice,.....the SAAF roundels could be retrieved from the old Airfix Spit Vc.Seafire III kit and would make it look different...... 

BOSTON-SAAF-3

 

saaf%20jan12%2018%20col.jpg.opt856x551o0,0s856x551.jpg

The above is colourised and should probably be in the desert scheme,.....with the dark areas being Dark Earth and light areas Mid Stone.

Image result for buccaneer saaf

 

Cheers mate,

                       Tony

 

Edited by tonyot
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very interesting Tony

 

one point, the Mono kit is famed for being a sod for gaps,  you may wish to not glue the inner wing leading edge, to avoid a step in the upper wing/fuselage joint, a gap in the LE being easier to deal with.

 

also scraping back the nacelle on the point that joins the wing may help,  I still have my unfinished putty queen from my youth,  and these are two areas I'd  do differently now for  sure.

 

It's a bit late, and may well not apply to early Marauders, but certainly later B and C models have different interior colours than what  is usually thought.. OK, here's one I  did earlier...

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234921509-148-revell-b-26b-marauder-finished/&do=findComment&comment=1075548

 

 

Looking at the conversion parts, I'm now wondering if this could be  done with just good old  fashioned kit butchery....

 

great project and fascinating research!

 

cheers

T

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Thanks for your kind words and advice fella`s,....all much appreciated.

While visiting the States on holiday some years ago I was lucky enough to see the early B-26 housed at Kermit Weeks Fantasy of Flight Museum which I believe has now closed down, here are a few of the many photos that I took at the time;

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Of course the British Marauder Mk.I`s had the later style cowlings with twin air filter housings on the top as opposed to the flat style used by the first USAAC/USAAF B-26`s and here is another photo of my subject for this model,....Dominion Triumph,..many Marauders appear to have a darker colour applied along the upper nose and fuselage and apparently this is caused by a different thickness of aluminium and this effect totally vanished from other angles of photography,....very strange!.;

H10a-%20DOMINION%20TRIUMPH_zpsotjepffg.j

and another depicting a TSS camouflaged Marauder Mk.I;

h11b_zps0vm6zidt.jpg

Both of the above are thanks to the 14 Sqn Assiciation and its head honcho Mike Napier.

Here is another view of my 1/72nd scale model;

30c%20finished_zps4wfnior3.jpg

In reality the camouflage colours merge into each other when seen with the naked eye but in photographs they appear more starky separated,....very strange!

 

A bit more history,.....

Here is a bit more history, taken from an article that I wrote recently about the Marauder Mk.I in RAF service;

The highly experienced 14 Sqn had been flying Blenheim Mk.IV`s in the light bomber role during all of the major battles fought in the Western Desert, with short rest periods in Palestine and Iraq in between but by mid 1942 it was the last operational unit flying the Blenheim in North Africa and due for a rest from ops. As luck would have it the first Marauder Mk.I`s began to arrive in the Middle East around this time so 14 Sqn was selected as the prime candidate to fly the new type and under the leadership of pre war RAF regular Wing Commander Wynne S.G. `Dick' Maydwell DFC it moved to Fayid in the Canal Zone of Egypt during August 1942 to commence conversion. To help with this the unit was assigned a cadre of experienced USAAF instructors led by Colonel Flint Garrison.

In fact the only crash during the work up period was made by USAAF Col. Flint Garrison and he was the most experienced B-26 pilot on the squadron! In his defence the crash was totally beyond his control and was caused by a lorry driven by Egyptian workmen which crossed the runway just as Marauder Mk.I, FK157 was landing The resulting crash totally wrecked the Marauder and killed three of the Egyptians on the truck but none of the aircrew were injured and the aircraft was stripped for spares before being struck off charge. The B-26 was regarded as something of a hot ship by USAAF pilots but most of those affected were straight out of flight school and the 14 Sqn crews already had plenty of operational experience and so were not unduly affected  Just like most RAF units of the time the aircrew of 14 Sqn hailed from all four corners of Britain and its Empire (as the current Commonwealth was then known) plus occupied Europe so Englishmen, Irishmen, Welshmen and Scots rubbed shoulders with Kiwis, Canadians, South Africans, Aussies, a Kenyan, a Rhodesian and a Dane and they soon took to their new mounts which they found to be a much faster and more capable aircraft than their old Blenheim’s. The conversion and work up period went well despite the early short winged Marauders reputation as a “Widow Maker” in USAAF service. This was because of the relatively high landing speed and high wing loading of this version which caught out many inexperienced.

 

Cheers for now,

                           Tony

 

 

Edited by tonyot
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My, oh my, we are a busy bee!

 

Looking forward to watching this one develop. So :eat: and :drink:ordered in!

 

Christian, exiled to africa

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Busy bee indeed Christian,.....here is todays update;

The wings have been cut and assembled,......very scary but it looks like I got away with it,...... the resin outer wings are in place and the flap hinges on the upper wing have been filled in as the early Marauders had split flaps;;

DSCF9047_zps1npdoqmf.jpg

Here are the split flaps on the real aircraft;

W16a_zpswkevmyuh.jpg

Here is the resin tail section assembled;

DSCF9048_zpsygo7cfsu.jpg

Here are the newly cut out waist windows with the kit windows covered with filler,.....it will take some effort to blend in the unused windows,..ho hum;

DSCF9049_zpsugh04lhx.jpg

To try and avoid it becoming a tail sitter I have filled a plastic bag with fishing weights and then wrapped this in masking tape. The tape will be painted black to disguise it;

DSCF9053_zpsczjijwoi.jpg

Although the fuselage halves have not been joined yet,....her is the main airframe dry fitted together;

DSCF9051_zpsilgpb1f7.jpg

 

Cheers for now,

                          Tony

 

Edited by tonyot
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Cheers lads,.......well I joined the fuselage halves last night but didn`t realise just how much sanding the joints would need,.....not helped by the plastic being very hard, needing a metal file to make an impression in some areas! The resin rear gun position was added too;

DSCF9056_zpsiox95dle.jpg

 DSCF9057_zpscqm0uhrk.jpg

The waist windows have been a bit tricky to sand smooth but after a few applications of super glue and plastic dust,....with a sanding session in between I think that I am almost there;

DSCF9059_zpsid4agzfy.jpg

To check how smooth the resulting area is,...I have sprayed on a coat of the same silver used on one of my Mustangs,....as this shows up every little blemish.

DSCF9062_zps2pj7gahv.jpg

And here is the full fuselage,....also showing the resin section added under the nose,.....this took quite a bit of fettling to fit with the help of a bit of filler;

DSCF9063_zpshqgvenpf.jpg

 

Here the wings have been dry fitted again after another sanding session, as has the resin tail.

DSCF9066_zpscfg3fyva.jpg

After the resin rear gun position was added the kits glazing was measured against the vacuformed clear clamshell doors in order to determine where to make a cut using a razor saw;

DSCF9064_zpsa4kudcfe.jpg

DSCF9065_zpsvjxrjrzr.jpg

And here is the real thing;

W24_zpsjgeqc2ip.jpg

The clear doors were usually slid down inside the gun position leaving the gunner more room to wield his single hand held  machine gun.

 

So we`re getting there and hopefully the sanding is almost finished!

 

Cheers for now,

                          Tony.

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