1:72 CMR Martin AM-1 Mauler

[Navy Bird]

Here I am just starting the build of the CMR 1:72 Firebrand, and I'm off starting another build thread. This time it's the CMR 1:72 Martin AM-1 Mauler. For those of you who aren't acquainted with this aircraft, it was a late war design for a naval torpedo bomber and strike aircraft that was intended to replace the Curtiss Helldiver. It was powered by the monster P&W R-4360 Wasp Major radial. In a small sense, it was similar to the Firebrand which was under development at the same time on the other side of the puddle.

 

The Mauler went into service in 1948, but was removed from the front line by 1950 and lasted in reserve squadrons only until 1953. Just 151 were built, with both development and service being troublesome. Along the way, though, the Mauler set an unofficial record for a single engine, piston powered aircraft by carrying 10,648 pounds (4,830 kg) of ordnance (three 2,200-pound torpedoes, a dozen 250-pound bombs plus its 20 mm guns and their ammunition) on 30 March 1949 (purloined from Wikipedia). This earned the AM Mauler the nickname of "Able Mabel," although this soon degenerated into "Awful Monster" once its deck handling became better understood.

 

It was replaced by the Douglas AD Skyraider which was, shall we say, a wee bit more successful.   

 

The CMR kit is one of their earlier efforts, and does not show the exquisite detail and extensive multimedia components as their later kits, such as the Firebrand I'm currently building. As usual it comes in CMR's heavy cardboard box with a side view painting on the cover:

 

 

I got a good deal on this kit several years ago, as it was an "over-run" (how do you do that with resin?) that did not include any decals. Nonetheless, it was too good of a bargain to pass up. So I pounced. (Actually, I just liked the name "Mauler.") The wing is cast in a single piece of resin, just like that of the Firebrand, and the main gear struts are supplied in both resin and white metal. Two vacuform canopies are included, as is typically the case with CMR, and I will no doubt use them both because I have never yet met a vacuform that I haven't mutilated.

 

 

It appears I get three choices of props, so I best pay attention to whatever resources I can find. I kinda like the one in the middle. Luckily, I managed to pick up a copy of the Ginter volume on the Mauler so I've got some good information to work from. This 84 page book not only includes sections on each squadron that flew the Mauler, but also a lot of drawings from the pilot's notes plus some from Martin. Invaluable stuff. Steve Ginter is my hero!

 

 

And a bunch of fiddly bits:

 

 

The assembly instructions consist of exactly one page, shades of Monogram circa 1955. CMR also included several photocopied pages of Mauler detail photos, no doubt of one of the few remaining aircraft. The Eagle Strike decal sheet is one that I had in my stash for USN/USMC Reserve Skyraiders, and it has most of what I will need.

 

 

As can be seen from the instruction sheet, this looks like a pretty simple build. But it's resin and you know how that goes. I won't be able to really start this for another 10 days or so, as I'm off to Florida to get away from this white stuff that keeps falling out of the sky. What's the deal with that anyway?   

 

Here is the nicest of the three remaining Maulers, on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola (USN photo). I wonder if I can make mine look this nice?

 

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[giemme]

Weird.

Interesting.

I'm in

 

Ciao

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Saving a seat for Mike @72modeler 

[Navy Bird]

And I'll be honest right up front (I'll be frank if you'd rather): I am NOT going to fold the wings, lower the flaps, pose the control surfaces, or open the dive brakes. I am too old for that kind of stuff!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[72modeler]

23 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

And I'll be honest right up front (I'll be frank if you'd rather): I am NOT going to fold the wings, lower the flaps, pose the control surfaces, or open the dive brakes. I am too old for that kind of stuff!

 

Cheers,

Bill

Uh, oh.....I think I hear the sirens of the AMS Police in the distance! 😜

Mike

[Navy Bird]

5 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

Uh, oh.....I think I hear the sirens of the AMS Police in the distance! 😜

Mike

 

They must be headed elsewhere - this will be an out of the box experience.   

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Except for the parts that aren't in the box.

[72modeler]

Bill,

 

I have been up close and personal with the Mauler at the NMNA at Pensacola. It is a BIG mutha! Look at the F7F in the background and then look at the Mauler again. It is HUGE and the landing gear struts  are massive! The Navy bought some as a backup in case the AD Skyraider was a dud...we all know how that story turned out! Only single-engined carrier aircraft that is bigger is the AF-2 Guardian, which the museum also has.

Mike

 

I just now noticed that the "sit" looks off in some of the photos I have seen of CMR kit builds- looks like the gear struts are either too long, or the oleos might be molded in the extended position, or were mounted incorrectly by the builder. Since you have the Ginter book, I would check the kit struts against the drawings or photos. Just wanted you to be aware of this possible issue.

Edited January 24, 2020 by 72modeler
added text

[CedB]

3 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

I wonder if I can make mine look this nice?

No doubt in my mind Bill  

 

2 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

I am too old for that kind of stuff!

Gaaah, you youngsters!  

 

Watching with the usual interest matey.

[Tailspin Turtle]

Propellers: The AM-1's purchased under the original contract (BuNo's 22257-22355), used the Curtiss electric propeller that had cuffed blades and rounded tips.
The aircraft purchased under the subsequent contract (BuNo's 122388-122437) used the Hamilton Standard prop with squared off tips.

 

Incidentally, you whippersnappers are lucky to have the likes of CMR kits. For a model built from the Airmodel "kit" (which comes with no cockpit, engine, propeller, landing gear, or decals) see https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2020/01/172-airmodel-am-1-mauler.html

 

[Hamden]

 

I've not come across this beast before so will sit quietly in the corner and learn as well as watching another Navy Bird masterclass in resin building!

Hope your Florida trip goes well

 

         Roger

 

[stevehnz]

Watching. !

Steve.

[giemme]

11 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

And I'll be honest right up front (I'll be frank if you'd rather): I am NOT going to fold the wings, lower the flaps, pose the control surfaces, or open the dive brakes. I am too old for that kind of stuff!

 

Cheers,

Bill

Yeah, sure. Keep telling that, we may sometimes even start believing you.....

 not!  

 

Ciao

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Slightly (?) nutty and impractical design attempting to squeeze every final spark from the cooling embers of pre-jet age?  Tick.  Navy Bird?  Tick.

 

I’m in.  Never heard of it.  Definitely in.

[Navy Bird]

12 hours ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

Propellers: The AM-1's purchased under the original contract (BuNo's 22257-22355), used the Curtiss electric propeller that had cuffed blades and rounded tips.
The aircraft purchased under the subsequent contract (BuNo's 122388-122437) used the Hamilton Standard prop with squared off tips.

 

Incidentally, you whippersnappers are lucky to have the likes of CMR kits. For a model built from the Airmodel "kit" (which comes with no cockpit, engine, propeller, landing gear, or decals) see https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2020/01/172-airmodel-am-1-mauler.html

 

 

Thanks Tommy! Nice work on the Airmodel kit - I've never been able to successfully build a vacuform. Sounds like it was the definition of "bare bones."

 

Cheers,

Bill

[rob85]

18 hours ago, 72modeler said:

It is a BIG mutha! Look at the F7F in the background and then look at the Mauler again.

No mike that’s just far away 😂 I joke, it’s pretty darn big!

 

looks cool Bill, I know there will be no wing fold etc, but you will be modelling it with three torpedos and 12 bombs right.... I’m right aren’t I?!

 

Rob

[Navy Bird]

On 25/01/2020 at 11:55, rob85 said:

looks cool Bill, I know there will be no wing fold etc, but you will be modelling it with three torpedos and 12 bombs right.... I’m right aren’t I?!

 

There is that possibility, yes.   

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

Some work has been done, mostly the removal of parts from their casting blocks, and subsequent cleanup. The vertical tail had an interesting connection to the casting block, which resulted in a lot of sanding. Thank the fingernail industry for sanding sticks.  The fuselage on the right shows the block on the inside of the fin that must be removed; that on the left shows the other fuselage half after removal. You can also some of the typical resin "flash" on the right.

 

 

The cowling as a ledge cast on the inside which is where the engine face will set. It's hard to see in this photo (this cream coloured resin is difficult for me to get a good photo of) but the ledge is not formed well, and has a lot of gunk in it. Perhaps the mould was dirty?

 

 

The engine face must set down nicely, and not protrude past the front of the cowling so it won't interfere with the front cowling face. As you can see here, it sits proud, so we must fix that.

 

 

I used a Dremel with a small cylindrical grinding tool to deepen the ledge - maybe you can see it in this photo:

 

 

In any event, the engine face now sets the way it should, and won't interfere with the cowling front face.

 

 

Once the spinner is on, the engine face is pretty much invisible. Unfortunately, the front face is a wee bit smaller than the cowling, so some putty is in my future. But then, isn't it always?   

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Courageous]

Good steady progress Bill.

 

Stuart

[Terry1954]

I'm in, late again. Love a Bill build. Love a CMR build. Love a Naval build. Nuf said.

 

Terry

[Navy Bird]

Nothing fancy - I splashed some paint in the cockpit, added some ancient True Details photoetch harnesses, faked the instrument panel with bits from the Island of Misfit Stickers, brushed on a wash made from Future and Tamiya NATO Black, and I think we can close the fuselage.

 

 

 

Since CMR was kind enough to provide two vacuform canopies, and therefore two opportunities to get the cut correct, I'll pose the canopy open. I suspect you won't be able to see much though. The control column with be added later so I don't break it off whilst masking the cockpit prior to painting. Speaking of painting, I have one choice - Glossy Sea Blue. Which is OK, as it's my second favourite colour after Extra Dark Sea Grey. If I do one of the Reserve unit Maulers, I can add an orange stripe around the rear fuselage to spice it up a bit - but that will depend on how I can source the decals. The kit came without any, so I'm using two Skyraider sheets to kludge the squadron markings. I haven't completed that exercise yet. Soon.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Learstang]

Nice cockpit there, Bill! Speaking of giant single-piston-engined Navy aircraft, I have a Planet Models Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate. Talk about huge - it's almost the size of a B-25! Who knows, watching your build may actually make me get back to working on it. Now where did I put it...

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[Navy Bird]

1 hour ago, Learstang said:

Nice cockpit there, Bill! Speaking of giant single-piston-engined Navy aircraft, I have a Planet Models Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate. Talk about huge - it's almost the size of a B-25! Who knows, watching your build may actually make me get back to working on it. Now where did I put it...

 

The Skypirate has a bigger wingspan, is taller, and has a larger empty weight than the B-25. And it's just 7 feet shorter in length. You're right - it's a big beast. Now start building it! I've wanted that kit for a while, and I'd love to see how it goes together.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[CedB]

Nice internals Bill  

[TheRealMrEd]

Heads up, Bill!

 

 

I don't think it's supposed to go this way.... LOL

 

Ed

 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by TheRealMrEd

[Learstang]

Now that explains why the Mauler had landing problems - the tail wheel was on backwards! By the way, Bill, I did find my Skypirate, so I took it out and who knows, maybe do a little work on it. I've cleaned up the parts on it, and it looks like a nice, well-moulded resin kit.

 

Regards,

 

Jason