Azur 1/72nd scale Martin Maryland I, Finished

[Mr T]

My entry for this GB is the Azur Martin Maryland produced by MPM somewhere around the turn of the century. The Maryland was built by Martin as a contender for the contract to build a new light bomber for the USAAC in 1938, but lost out to the B25 Mitchell and A20 Havoc. However, as part of the drive to expand and modernise the Armee d'Air, the French ordered the type in quantity, and it entered service in 1940. French Marylands (or Martin 167F as they were designated) saw service in the Battle for France, and also with the Vichy regime in Africa. The British took the balance of the French orders, and as Marylands they served with the RAF and SAAF in North Africa as both bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. A handful were operated by the FAA, one being pressed into service in the hunt for the Bismarck in May 1941.

The Azure kit is moulded in grey plastic and has some resin parts, some of these I have lost, but I can cope with it. Surface detail is nice, but some parts lack finesse. The engines being a good example, and will be replaced and the air intakes on the cowling front will need work. There is not a lot on the Maryland, the Internet has some interior photos and there is an old Profile on the type. I also have a book about Taranto which a build of the kit that is going to be helpful.

I plan on doing an early British operated one, although details are not exactly common.

[modelling minion]

Great to see another Maryland in the GB and if this turns out anything like as good as your Andover it will certainly be a very nice model.

[Planebuilder62]

Hi Mr T

The nose transparencies are tricky to get together, there is a build somewhere here on BM to get an idea and come up with solutions. Maybe the 2 sides can have their common joining surface backed with plastic card to align them and make a strong joint. As this part of the nose is painted, that might work.

 

 

Regards Toby

[PeterB]

I have this in my "library".

Can't read the text but the pics have captions! A fair bit of detail on the construction - u/c etc and a few interior pics.

 

Pete

[81-er]

Welcome, Martin, very nice to have you joining us  I'm sure you'll do a great job of this one

 

James

[Mr T]

 Work has started on the Maryland. I like to deal with any 'major' issues first. In this case it is the wheel wells and lack of ribs on the tail control surfaces as these were partially fabric covered. Below you can see the wings with a start to the cut-out where the wheel goes when retracted.

Also, work has been started on the ribs, there are a lot of them. The plan is to add the ribs from Slaters Microstrip, and then sand down when they are the cement has fully hardened. There is a bit of artistic licence, as there are a greater number of ribs on the real thing, compared to what I am planning on doing,

After the control surfaces have been sorted, the engines will receive some attention, and then work can really get underway on the fuselage.

[modelling minion]

A nice start Martin, adding details like these will make a difference to the look of the finished model.

[jackroadkill]

Excellent work, sir!  I like it a lot.  I've a hankering to build one representing Adrian Warburton's machine at some point, but when that would be I have no idea - I'll watch yours coming together instead!

[Wings unlevel]

Nice subject choice and work so far. The kit looks like it has a few challenges (the wing to fuselage joins?) but no doubt is a comparative breeze after your Andover!

[Mr T]

The wing fuselage, and tailplane joints were obviously made by two different people who were not talking. The Taranto bookazine I have, suggests using spacers to help the fit, but that does seem to help much. I think I am just going, to quote Mr Tulip, 'get medieval' with the joint, preferably whilst under the influence any of the wide range of chemicals he took to try and get high, including those meant for trolls. 

Tonight I have finished adding all the ribs on the rudders and elevators. Going to let them dry before a bit of trimming and using some Tamiya thin to make sure everything is firmly attached before sanding down. As the Who said 'I Won't Get Fooled Again'. Tried the new engines left over from a MPM Hudson kit, and they seem to fit reasonably well. 

The prize for working out the identity of Mr Tulip will be a voucher for Afternoon Tea at a Patisserie Valerie in Yorkshire. We had one as a Christmas present, the only problem being that the Leeds branch shut on 2nd January 

[Dave Swindell]

9 hours ago, Mr T said:

The prize for working out the identity of Mr Tulip will be a voucher for Afternoon Tea at a Patisserie Valerie in Yorkshire.

Mr Tulip (other names unknown) is, along with Mr Pin, a member of the New Firm, a duo of interloping criminals in the The Truth.

 

Spoiler alert:-

 

Spoiler

Mr Tulip

Mr Tulip (other names unknown) is, along with Mr Pin, a member of the New Firm, a duo of interloping criminals in the The Truth. He is something of a contradiction: a remorseless killer with the refined soul of a true fine-art connoisseur., albeit works of art he would like to steal. He is differentiated from a common criminal by his habit of removing works of art from houses before committing arson, the ability to distinguish between priceless works of art and common forgeries, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of hundreds of years of great artists, artisans and their works. He is the muscle of the New Firm, and though an instinctive killer, recognises Mr Pin's cognitive skills, and leaves the thinking to him. He also suffers a mild speech impediment, causing him to often insert "—ing" mid-sentence (the suffix of an action verb without the verb itself). This hints that Mr Tulip's parental figures have left a lasting impression on his psyche, as he is someone who WANTS to swear but has been taught not to. It is also likely a commentary on the use and censorship of the swear "f***ing" in dialogue.

One major problem with Mr Tulip is not that he has a drug habit as such, but that he WANTS to have a drug habit, and has a tendency to buy and consume anything sold in little brown bags. Unfortunately he also has the ability to unerringly buy from the one man selling oven cleaner or chalk dust amid an entire city filled with purveyors of illicit narcotics, hallucinogens and stimulants. His primary skill in the New Firm is his apparently unlimited supply of anger, and that he has turned mindless violence into an art form.

Mr Tulip's past is hinted at being dark and fearful, a place even Mr Tulip is afraid to remember, but one of the memories he does have of his youth is the belief that as long as you have a potato, you'll be okay when you die. There are some hints that his family suffered from famine and he overheard that if there are potatoes to eat, the situation is not hopeless. His belief in this is quite firm, as "since they've believed it for centuries, it must be right". He is killed by Mr Pin near the end of the novel and used for a life raft as molten lead flows around the pair. Unfortunately, Mr Pin also steals his potato shortly before killing him, but Mr Tulip manages to retain the memory of a potato in the afterlife and Death allows him to reincarnate as a woodworm: the only woodworm to think 'this is —ing good wood!'

 

[jackroadkill]

12 hours ago, Mr T said:

The prize for working out the identity of Mr Tulip will be a voucher for Afternoon Tea at a Patisserie Valerie in Yorkshire

 

2 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

Mr Tulip (other names unknown) is, along with Mr Pin, a member of the New Firm, a duo of interloping criminals in the The Truth.

 

____ing harpsichord.

[Mr T]

Absolutely spot on, 'The Truth' is one of my favourite Discworld books. Now found tghat the Patisserie Valerie in Nottingham is still open, and so might go tghere wxhen we go gho see my Aunt in her Care Home

[81-er]

Looks like you've got a good start on correcting the issues, Martin. Hopefully this one puts up less of a fight than the Andover

 

James

[Mr T]

Thanks for the comments. The controls surfaces have been rubbed down, not sure if the effect is what I hoped for. A coat of paint/primer might give a better idea. Started on the cockpit last night. Some of the resin for cockpit detail and exhausts have been lost, and some work is required. I plan on sorting it out tonight with some other bits so that paint can go on. Certainly easier so far than the Andover or the Firebrand. 

[Mr T]

More work done, although my posting and pictures are lagging behind what I have done. The fiddly bits for the interior have been sorted out, the resin details have largely been replaced by odd bits of PE. For example, the control wheels are from a photoetch of handwheels meant for model railway use with a bit of the rim cut out.

Since the pictures have been taken, the basic cockpit colour has been painted. Not sure what colour the 1940 Maryland's would have been, but the direct purchase Buffalos seem to have had a pale green cockpit, and photos seem to show a light non-metallic colour. the engines have also had some paint prior to detail painting. Ideally, it won't be too long before there is a completed fuselage.

[modelling minion]

Nice work on the interior Martin.

I would imagine the insides would be in standard US interior green but that is only a guess.

[Graham Boak]

I believe they were in Aluminium (or Aluminum) as most US exports of that period were.  Possibly the cockpit would have been toned down?

[81-er]

You've added some nice bits of detail in there

 

James

[Mr T]

2 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I believe they were in Aluminium (or Aluminum) as most US exports of that period were.  Possibly the cockpit would have been toned down?

Looking at the photos, I am pretty sure that the undercarriage wells etc were aluminium, as is the cockpit of the prototype. However, looking at photos of pilots etc around the cockpits of RAF/SAAF operated aircraft, they look to be in a pale non-reflective colour. Could have been toned down especially as the asircraft did seem largely destined for the Middle East. We are probably never going to know. 

[dogsbody]

Some photos that I have gathered from various sources some years ago. One source was the booklet Monografie Lotnicze # 96 The Martin 167 Maryland:

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, no photos of the undercarriage bays.

 

 

 

Chris

[Mr T]

Thanks, I seem to have the same photos, I think they are of the prototype, I have seen them labelled as such. They proved useful in sorting out cockpits, although I have left the rear fuselage alone as I don't think there wiil be a lot of room after the turret has gone in. 

[Mr T]

More work on the Maryland fuselage. Everything has been painted and in place. The nose glazing has been added to their respective fuselage halves as I think it is going to cause less trouble later on. Fit is variable. A good fit at the top, but less good around the lower fuselage. Fortunately, it is an area that will be painted over as supposed to be skinned rather than window.

The engines are also shown prior to the fairly radical cutting/sanding to get them to fit the cowlings. The fuselage is together. Fit is a bit variable, and some cleaning up will be required, as well as filling the forward fuselage on the underside where there is a gap.

As there is a lack of locating pins or tabs, I have drilled holes for rods or tubes for the wings and tail.

[modelling minion]

You're doing a grand job on your Maryland Martin, she's taking shape very nicely.

[81-er]

She's coming along well, Martin. I think the locating dowels are a very wise precaution

 

James