Hasegawa 1/72 scale B-26B/C Marauder

Kit: No. E26
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Hasegawa, from Dragon Models USA, 626- 968-0322, www.dragonmodelusa.com
Price: $41.95
Comments: Injection molded, 182 parts, decals
Pros: Accurate; good fit; great cockpit; detailed landing-gear wells and bomb bay; excellent decals
Cons: Tiny parts make the interior tricky; requires careful fitting of horizontal stabilizers

Kits of Martin's Marauder have been available to 1/72 scale builders for decades - Frog, Revell, Airfix, Matchbox, Monogram's Snap Tite - but it's been decades since a new kit has appeared. Hasegawa corrects that situation with a brand-new, great-fitting kit that shows attention to detail - although you'll need some experience with small, closefitting parts before jumping on this one.

The light gray and clear plastic moldings feature fine, recessed panel lines. Clear parts are acceptably thin for the scale. The interior includes a full flight deck, a fine bomb bay with door actuators, and great landing-gear bays. You can model the bomb bay and the aft ventral gun hatches open or closed. The nose-gun arrangement is optional, too, and there are other options for future issues, such as alternate control yokes, antennas, and two slightly different cockpit canopies. Interestingly, the upper and lower horizontal stabilizers are molded in clear plastic, apparently to make it easier (?) to feature two tiny windows for the tail gunner in the aft end of the fillet.

Assembly went according to plan. Study the instructions - there are some holes to open for the nose-gun packs. Also pay careful attention to the bomb bay parts. The fore and aft door actuators look the same but have different pins; they won't fit if you get them mixed up. Note that the bottom beam (part F1) is shown upside down in Step 2.

I was impressed with the fit of the engine nacelles to the wing, and the wings to the fuselage. Watch out installing the clear horizontal stabilizers; the part bridges an opening in the rear fuselage. A bit of the mating portion of the fuselage isn't covered, and it's difficult to notice the mismatch because of the clear plastic. You'll see it once you paint it. It's a minor problem I chose to ignore.

Nose weight is needed to balance the model on its tricycle gear - but there's not much room for weight forward in the nose. Hasegawa makes no mention of this issue but does provide a clear tail-support pedestal. That's OK with me. If you want a more realistic look for a diorama, you'll be gluing the nose wheel to the groundwork anyway.

I painted with Testors Model Master enamels. Photos of the remains of Flak Bait at the National Air & Space Museum show a faded neutral gray and a slightly greenish olive drab. I mixed sand with British dark green for the top color, and British medium sea grey for the bottom. To represent the extensive wear on this airframe, I sprinkled kosher salt over a Floquil platinum mist undercoat, then rubbed off the crystals after the overcoat to reveal the paint underneath. (For more on this technique, see the July 2003 FSM.)

The decals are beautifully printed and went on with no problem. Instead of airbrushing a clear gloss over flat enamels, I applied a diluted puddle of Future acrylic floor polish and, while it was still wet, laid down the wet decal and wicked away excess Future. A clear flat coat later, the decal film and edges seemed to disappear.

I spent 18 hours on my Marauder (if you don't count the extra time experimenting on the salt weathering technique). Steve Birdsall's B-26 Marauder in Action (Squadron/Signal) was my main reference, along with Calvin Cochran's photos of Flak Bait on www.aircraftresourcecenter.com.

The finished model looks terrific. Finally - an up-to-date Marauder kit. Now, Hasegawa, is it too much to wish for an A-20 Havoc/Boston kit?

- Paul Boyer