Martin B26 Marauder - RAF / SAAF - Raul Hrubisko

diamant · May 5, 2023

Hi,

Finally we are about to start this new series. One of the challenge of this project is the size of the aircraft selected. I do not want to think about doing the Lancasters, B17 or B24.

As I posted here we selected 12 models to do.

Marauder (RAF - SAAF) next project - Hrubisko Series - Aircraft WWII - Britmodeller.com

1) Martin B26 Marauder Mk I FK115 Heelzapoppin 45 Group Communications Flight (later 231 Squadron) Dorval, Canada

2) Martin B26 Marauder Mk I FK130 F 14 Fayid Egyptlate 1942

3) Martin B26 Marauder Mk I FK138 Cap Don McVicar Uk September 1942

4) Martin B26 Marauder Mk I FK158 Miami Florida July 1942

5) Martin B26 Marauder Mk IA B-26 FK375 D 14 Fayid Egypt late 1942 (desert scheme)

6) Martin B26 Marauder Mk IA B-26 FK375 D 14 Fayid Egypt 1943 (TSS scheme)

7) Martin B26 Marauder Mk II B-26C-30-Mos FB482 Uk March 1944

8 Martin B26 Marauder Mk II FB485 10 OTU Shandur RAF Egypt 1944

9) Martin B26 Marauder Mk III HD402 Uk June 1944

10) Martin B26 Marauder Mk III HD500 Z 30 SAAF Sqdn Italy April 1945

11) Martin B26 Marauder Mk III HD511 H 30 SAAF Sqdn Pescara, Italy September 1944

12) Martin B26 Marauder Mk III YY 3 Wing SAAF Lt Col A.C. Jandrell DSO DFC SAAF 1945

We already have 8 kits and 4 more are comming during the following weeks.

I have been working on pointing out all the differences between each version in order to modify the Mk II (B) kits to the Mk I and Mk IA and doing all the homework to send the "order" to the production factory (my father´s houses).

Cheers

Santiago

marvinneko · May 5, 2023

Wonderful that you and your father can work together on something constructive like this.

I did a little web search and was amazed to find an article by your father for IPMS Stockholm describing this project way back in 2003 when he had completed Spitfires.

In his article he said it would take him 20 years and he wondered what he would be doing by then.... well, it's 2023... 20 years later... and he's doing Marauders. Wow.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210517223229/http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2003/11/stuff_eng_hrubisko_spitfire.htm

diamant · May 5, 2023

Hi David, @marvinneko

Thank you very much for your comments. Yes, we uses to work together and we truly enjoy doing it in this way.

Yes, that was the beginning of this approach to the hobby. If I remember correctly there are a couple of articles on IPMS Stockholm about some of our series (Tailess, Miles, jets, Hawker Tornado, Typhoon, Tempest, Fury family, etc.).

We have done more than 900 since then. Some of them are like a dreams come truth like the “Gliders collection with 76 models, All the CAC (Boomerang, Wirraway, etc) with 47 models, all the Pursuit (P36, P38, P39, P40, P43, P47, P51, P59, P63, P66) with 243 models, the German captured aircraft with British markings with 139 models, 7 helicopters, 9 Rotary wings, Fulmar (22), Defiant (26), Barracuda (18), Hurricane (111), Walrus (16), Lysander (28), Welkin (5), Vengance (22), and many others.

Here is the progression of our collection after almost 20 years. I think that the numbers are quite good.

I have been posting most of these series on this Forum.

Cheers
Santiago

marvinneko · May 5, 2023

@diamant Thanks for those charts. Very impressive.

I can't help noticing there is just one Canadian plane? 🤔

We played a huge role training thousands of airmen from UK, NZ, AUS, USA (pre Pearl Harbour), Canada and even Norway and Poland in our BCATP facilities. We also had a lot of our own airmen on the front lines. I realize you have lots already on your list but I gotta highlight the massive contribution of Canada during WW2-- which we paid for-- like a billion dollars for assembling all the training facilities and running them, sourcing and running aircraft, bringing in civilian pilots to chauffeur trainees.... plus thousands of lives lost. We forgave the UK debt at the end of the war. I don't mean any pressure or criticism... just a Canadian highlighting what we did

diamant · May 5, 2023

@marvinneko

Hi.

Thanks!!

Please forgive me since English is not my first leangue. It is a missunderstood.

There is only 1 "Canadian" plane on the list because this is what we have till now

We do not have it FLEET 50K

We do not have it FLEET 60K Fort

Canada To built FLEET F-16 Finch

We do not have it FLEET Cornell

The "country" on the list is related where the plane was "designed".

So we have only one kit of the Fleet F-16 Finch. For example, as per the infomation we have now we would need at least four kits of the Fleet 60 K Fort which is almost impossible. One of the issues that we have in mind when we select a type is the availability of the kits.

Every time we select a type we try to represent as many as possible including the ones used by UK, NZ, AUS, Canada, SouthAfrica, etc. Even trying to cover all the different schemes colour camouflage, markings, versions, etc for each air force (RCAF, RNZAF, RAAF, RAF, SAAF). For example on the B26 we have choosen 3 SAAF ones.

Moreover, we have some good friends in Canada (Carl VIncent, Jim Bates among others) who has been helping us a lot with references, information, photos, etc. For example, 17 out of them 126 P40 were used by the RCAF in Canada or by RCAF squadron outside of the country. We even check on the captured ones if there were used by RAF, RAAF, RCAF, etc in order to represent the most of them.

Sometimes it take me more time to do the reseach than the time need it by my father to actually do the kits.

Another examples, I have already selected a couple of RCAF Tiger Moth for that series.

I hope to have been clear enough. Any piece of advice is welcome.

Cheers

Santiago

Edited May 5, 2023 by diamant

marvinneko · May 5, 2023

@diamant my apologies for my misunderstanding of your data. Where designed. Got it, Yes, and Carl shared his fleet finch article with me and it seems it was not a very good plane 🙃

Edited May 5, 2023 by marvinneko

marvinneko · May 5, 2023

32 minutes ago, diamant said:

Sometimes it take me more time to do the reseach than the time need it by my father to actually do the kits.

@diamant as a followup.... I think your research must be an amazing resource. Have you considered making it available on the web? It would probably be invaluable to modellers around the world.

For instance... captured planes are really interesting to me. I am interested in Axis planes.... but would prefer to make them in captured Allies markings as I have no wish to use symbols of hate on my kits.

marvinneko · May 6, 2023

I apologize for my string of posts here. It just occurred to me that if you needed more copies of a rare kit you could use a vacuforming process to copy parts. You and your father seem to have extraordinary skill with attention to detail and model-making so I'm sure it would be very doable.

diamant · May 13, 2023

On 5/5/2023 at 6:05 PM, marvinneko said:

diamant as a followup.... I think your research must be an amazing resource. Have you considered making it available on the web? It would probably be invaluable to modellers around the world.

Hi

Yes, we have some information. I thought about it but I do not have time for that right now. I barely have time to do the research for our projects.

On 5/6/2023 at 1:16 PM, marvinneko said:

I apologize for my string of posts here. It just occurred to me that if you needed more copies of a rare kit you could use a vacuforming process to copy parts. You and your father seem to have extraordinary skill with attention to detail and model-making so I'm sure it would be very doable.

Thanks. Yes, my father has different strategies depending on the side and type of part that he must clone. In this case, for the marauder he has copied the spinner for the Mk I .

We have started this new project. The main challenge now is to build 4 Mk I from and 2 Mk IA from the B/C kits.

We decided to recover one B26 built decades ago.

He is building 2 kits at the same time

We will need a couple of spinners.

I wonder if any of you could help us. It was impossible for us to get a copy of the 3 draw views of the Mk I or Mk I A versions. We still not understand the differences on the tail and elevators.

Kind regards

Santiago

marvinneko · May 13, 2023

14 hours ago, diamant said:

I wonder if any of you could help us. It was impossible for us to get a copy of the 3 draw views of the Mk I or Mk I A versions. We still not understand the differences on the tail and elevators.

Have you posted in the Aircraft WWII forum? You can put the request in the topic name to draw attention.