Kit: No. 72014/72015
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Siga Model (Ukraine), available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663
Price: $19.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 56 parts, decals.
Pros: Interesting subject, latest kit comes with complete complement of weapons, well-printed decals
Cons: Parts cleanup needed all around, no locators for cockpit tub, small parts too thick for the scale, decals too thin, lack of important details
The brief service life of the Martin AM-1 Mauler (1947-1953) was overshadowed by its competing design, the legendary Douglas AD Skyraider. The Mauler had great load-carrying capability, but performance failures and design flaws limited its career to three years in active-duty squadrons, and another three in Naval Reserve units.
My sample of Siga's new Mauler is labeled an early version and has no underwing ordnance or even pylons. Siga's companion kit, a late model, No. 72014, has externally stored rockets, bombs, and torpedoes. That late kit is a combination of the early Mauler (No. 72015) and Siga's separately available U.S. Aircraft Weapons set (No. 72312). Apparently the early kit is no longer available.
My sample had a lot of flash and many mold seams to clean up. The soft plastic didn't cut evenly, so I had to clean all the sprue attachment points. Although the detail is average, Siga missed the unique combination flap and speed brake assembly on the wings - a prominent feature of the Mauler.
None of the parts is numbered on the sprues, so you have to search the parts map in the instructions to locate items in the construction steps.
The instructions include clear assembly drawings with paint guides, as well as good four-view drawings of all three markings options. The decal sheet is well printed and provides markings for the first production Mauler and two service test aircraft stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
Assembly was straightforward, and the fit was not too bad. However, the parts were thick and required test fitting and sanding. Surprisingly, seam filling was minimal. The absence of locator pins in the model made cockpit installation a little tricky. Test fitting helped get me through this.
The kit includes parts for two different propellers: a Curtiss unit with round tips and a Hamilton Standard prop with square tips. The blades for both are individually molded. The instructions suggest the Curtiss for the early version, but the aircraft flew with either style at any point in its career.
Once assembly was completed and the model was cleaned with Polly S Plastic Prep, I painted it overall with Testor Model Master dark sea blue and top-coated the decals with Polly Scale semi-gloss clear.
The decals were so thin that they tended to roll under the paper when I tried to slide them onto the model. Once on, Solvaset did a good job of snuggling them down.
The model is close in scale to the dimensions in Bob Kowalski's Naval Fighters Series Martin AM-1/1Q Mauler (Ginter), but the cowl looks too rounded and doesn't have the characteristic built-in offset to the right to counteract engine torque.
The model took about 20 hours to finish, mostly spent on sanding and cleaning up parts. I recommend Siga's Mauler to modelers seeking to advance their modeling skills or to those who just can't live without a Mauler in their collection