hsr Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 This is my Italeri B-26K AKA A-26A Counter Invader. Before I started this kit I had read several reviews that either praised it to the highest or poo-pooed it faults. I can only conclude that these reviewers were either on drugs, or Italeri's payroll. I would put this at the bottom of the heap of Italeri's efforts. The fit was awful, and the accuracy questionable at best. I won't bore you with the details, but you can check out this site for more info http://www.usaf-sig.org/index.php/references/reference/113-kit-corrections-detailing/79-italeri-b-26k-invader-kit-corrections. The one high point was the decals which to even the vortex generators on the tail with only the minimum of Micro-Sol. One of the inaccuracies of this kit is the cockpit which might be accurate for a WW II or Korean War A-26 but is not for the K. There is at least 1 after market interior, but it would have taken too long to arrive so I skipped it. It turns out that was a good decision since I had one of the worst cases of dust infiltration into the cockpit I have had in a long time and you can't see much trough the dust anyway . Anyway I guess it came out alright, so here it is: Did I mention dust in the cockpit? But now fixed I am not sure what is next but it will either be the Italeri (spit) AC-130H or the Roden AC-123K. Enjoy 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 hours ago, hsr said: Italeri (spit) AC-130H You've done a nice job on that, pity about the dust storm in the 'pit. For all their inaccuracies, I've long been tempted by one of those, I reckon they look fantastic & your build has caught that well. Steve. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 45 minutes ago, stevehnz said: pity about the dust storm in the 'pit It used to be that I would leave the canopy off until the end, but then I would have an ugly seam around it that was impossible to fix and bothered me. Why spend all that time filling all the seams when you would guarantee you would be stuck with one at the end. Also I used to do all my painting by brush. Now I air brush everything and the cockpit would be hard to mask. So now I install the canopies when I am filling the other fuselage seams and blend them in. But is I don't seal it very when I will get dust inside, either from the sanding or when I spray the primer and then there is no way to fix it. So I have a quandary; do I an the canopy last and live with the seam, or live with the occasional dust storm. I guess I will have to take more care sealing the cockpit up before sanding or spraying. Thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 You done well its a pig of a kit to get right......looks great in the box....but not so great when the gluing starts rgds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 That's why in the box reviews are less then useful Thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 As another recent Italeri victim (Twice! ) you have my sympathies and my congratulations on seeing it through to a rather handsome model.....Hope I can do the same, but doubt it TBH! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 Good luck with it and thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 (edited) hsr, Don't beat yourself up over the kit- you have done about as good a job as can be done with all of its issues and inaccuracies. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the new-tool A-26C announced several years back by Special Hobby will (1) actually be released and (2) be a big improvement over all of the Italeri/Revell boxings. There is no excuse for a kit nowadays to be so poorly researched and produced; it's not like there aren't enough A-26B/C/K examples all over the place to examine. Italeri reminds me in many ways of the old Aurora- they always wanted to be the first to release a given type and took a lot of shortcuts. You did a very nice job on yours. Mike Edited July 14, 2018 by 72modeler corrected aircraft type 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 I can understand such things from the very limited run people, but Italeri is a major company and should be able to do better. The problem is that if anyone is going to make a kit of something it will be Italeri. And at least for kits that don't have a huge sales potential the other manufacturers will just rebox rather then making their own better version. If someone comes up with a better one I'll put it on my "rebuild" list Thanks Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaton01 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 4 hours ago, hsr said: It used to be that I would leave the canopy off until the end, but then I would have an ugly seam around it that was impossible to fix and bothered me. Why spend all that time filling all the seams when you would guarantee you would be stuck with one at the end. Also I used to do all my painting by brush. Now I air brush everything and the cockpit would be hard to mask. So now I install the canopies when I am filling the other fuselage seams and blend them in. But is I don't seal it very when I will get dust inside, either from the sanding or when I spray the primer and then there is no way to fix it. So I have a quandary; do I an the canopy last and live with the seam, or live with the occasional dust storm. I guess I will have to take more care sealing the cockpit up before sanding or spraying. Thanks I got some dust on the windscreen on an Airfix new mold C-47. To fix it I drilled a small hole in the side of the fuselage in the colored plastic and blew air in to clean it up. Worked pretty well. It was easy to fill and patch the small hole. You can use one of those pressurized air cans with the small tube they sell at computer stores. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 I might be able to go in through the wheel well which is directly below the cockpit. I'll have to think about it Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 11 hours ago, hsr said: I can understand such things from the very limited run people, but Italeri is a major company and should be able to do better. The problem is that if anyone is going to make a kit of something it will be Italeri. And at least for kits that don't have a huge sales potential the other manufacturers will just rebox rather then making their own better version. If someone comes up with a better one I'll put it on my "rebuild" list Thanks Howard Have you seen their P-47N? The defense rests! I was SO disappointed when I bought that one- so many mistakes and errors; so little time! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 Fortunately not, but I have enough experience with their kits to believe it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 On 7/12/2018 at 11:35 PM, jeaton01 said: I got some dust on the windscreen on an Airfix new mold C-47. To fix it I drilled a small hole in the side of the fuselage in the colored plastic and blew air in to clean it up. Worked pretty well. It was easy to fill and patch the small hole. You can use one of those pressurized air cans with the small tube they sell at computer stores. @jeaton01 Great idea! I drilled a small hole up through the front wheel well and blew it out with my airbrush compressor. The dust is still in there, but it cleared off the transparency I fell a lot better now. Bless you! Thanks Howard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaton01 Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Glad it worked! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealMrEd Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Way to hang in there hsr! Turned out nice. FWIW, I used to have the dust in the canopy problem myself. I then began dipping the entire canopy into Future or PMF and installing it. If I ran into the dust problem, I would also drill the small hole somewhere out of sight and then flood the cockpit with rubbing alcohol and shake it around, letting the dust settle to the bottom or out of sight. If it was real bad, I used Windex, which dissolved the Future on the inside, which normally took the dust with it. Be aware however, only do this if you use enamel paints for the interior; acrylic paints would be affected by the chemicals! Ed 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 I'll give it a try. I only paint with enamels, so there shouldn't be an issue Thanks Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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