Valom 1/72 B-26A Marauder
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History
Martin Marauder! Now there is a title that probably stirs more debate
than most aircraft names. Much maligned, almost cancelled several times,
and loved by those who learned to cope with its then unusual habits. Perhaps
the best indicator of its success was that it was gone from the USAAF
inventory very shortly after the end of the war.
The Martin model number 179 was designed in response to the USAAC competition
in March, 1939. By this point, it was apparent that war in Europe was
probably inevitable, and the Air Corp clearly was behind in light bomber
quantity and quality.
The Marauder was judge to be by far the best of the competitors, and
a contract for 201 B-26s was signed in Sept. 1939. No experimental prototype
was required, The first production B-26 would be a flight test bird. Now
here is an odd wrinkle. Martin was so busy building model 167 Marylands
for the French that they did not want a bigger order. The USAAC was desperate
for bombers, so they diverted the funding earmarked for additional B-26
to North American B-25s.
The specs. For the competition were ambitious. A high top speed, a large
bomb load, and the ability to deliver over long distances were required.
The results were a very impressive performance, but at the expense of
what was then a very high wing loading. High speed required a very streamlined
airframe with a minimum of frontal area. To achieve this, the early Marauders
had just enough wing to meet the high speed requirements, at the expense
of take off, landing and stall speeds.
Contemporary aircraft took off and landed at 70-80 MPH and flew the
pattern at around 100. The Marauder flew the pattern at 130 and landed
at 100. To say that it took some getting used to is an understatement.
Experienced pilots soon learned to adapt, but new pilots right out of
training used to flying lighter, slower more docile aircraft frequently
ended up in real trouble quickly when trying to tame this beast.
As with almost every other WWII era aircraft that went directly from
the drawing board to the flight line with no prototype testing, the B-26
had a lot of initial hiccups. Initial deliveries were slow, and training
was slower. The Marauder was the first aircraft to enter service with
the new P & W R-2800, to use the new 100 octane fuel that had a detrimental
affect on gaskets, and several other innovations. Eventually all the problems
were resolved and the B-26 went on to have a better safety record than
many of its contemporaries.
 Later
models of the Marauder had longer wingspans, taller vertical tails, a
changed wing angle and bigger air intakes on the engines that helped resolve
some of the problems of the B-26 and B-26A.
This version of the Marauder was involved in the battle of Midway. Four
B-26s carried torpedoes against the Japanese fleet. All of them missed
but clearly would make for a historical model. Sadly Valom does not include
either bombs nor torpedoes in this kit.
 An
interesting footnote to the Marauders history; at the end of the war the
USAAF decided that it had no more use for the B-26 and they were parked
on various German airfields and disposed of by blowing them up. They didn’t
even want to return them to the US like so many other aircraft. Partially
as a result of this, there are very few Marauders in existence today.
The Kit
The natural inclination I suppose is to compare this kit to the recent
spurt of Hasegawa Marauders. While that might be acceptable overall, It
may not be very relevant. The Hasegawa kit is of later models. If one
wants to build any of the early Pacific or European theater Marauders,
this is the kit.
 First
impressions on opening the box is how fine and detailed the panel lines
and rivet details are. Yes, it does have rivet detail. Some people think
it is great and the rest hate em! But this kit makes it look like they
really belong there. Very fine details that would look great on a natural
metal airframe and probably will get lost under anything but the perfect
coat of OD and Gray.
There is light detail on the cockpit sidewalls, details inside the build
up wheel wells and even two different types of control wheels. The fabric
rendition on the control surfaces is near perfect. Not overdone, but it
will be apparent when painted that they are not metal.
 The
main gear wheels and tires are plastic halves with nice wheel and tread
detail, but the nose gear wheel/tire is resin. Also in resin is a beautiful
pair of two row R-2800 engines.
It is apparent that other versions are coming. The top half of the engine
cowlings are resin, while the bottom half are plastic. Both the early
large prop spinners and the later prop dome are included as well.
 The
interior appears to be a project in itself. The mix of resin, etched brass,
and plastic parts looks really detailed and complex on the instructions.
There are no less than Ten etched brass levers and knobs to be added to
the tiny center console alone. If there is anything to be added with aftermarket
stuff I don’t know what it would be. Even the area behind the aft
cockpit bulkhead, where the radio operator and navigator lived is included.
I suspect this is going to be one of those “I know it’s there,
but you can’t see it” modeling areas. Last but not least by
any means, there are four microscopic etched brass main gear door hinges
on each gear door! You might have to live a pure life for a few days before
attempting those.
Dorsal turret is equally well done. One nice feature is the instructions
include a very nice photo of the interior of the real turret to help you
reconstruct this area. Also included are very well done photos of the
main wheel well and the instrument panel.
 The
instruction sheets are a folded over 8.5 X 11 stapled booklet. The painting
guide and color callouts are in color which is a very nice feature. No
guessing as to what it should look like and what color it should be. The
whole back page of the instructions id devoted to a matrix of color call
outs. The color description is followed by Humbrol Agama (?), Model Master,
Gunze Sangyo and FS 595A color numbers. One of the nice pluses is that
this instruction booklet is printed on really quality glossy paper so
the information is clear and readable.
The clear parts are just that - clear. Not vacuum formed but injection
molded and very thin. One thing is apparent with the cockpit canopy and
that big glass nose. You are going to have to do some nice interior work
in those areas as they will show.
Decals
 This
is probably the weakest part of the whole kit. The decals are real simple.
Two serial numbers and four national insignia, that’s it. The only
added individual markings on the suggested paint scheme of O.D. over Gray
with Green splotches is White fronts to the engine cowlings. The quality
of the decals looks good, just not much there to get excited about.
Conclusions
Up until now, the only way to get an early short winged Marauder was
to find and overhaul the Monogram snap tight kit. While it was a pretty
decent kit, getting it done with the details most of us would like to
have was a bit of a long task. Valom has fixed that with this kit. I suspect
a really nice looking B-26 from this kit. If Marauders turn your crank,
than this kit for the early versions and the Hasegawa kit for the later
models will give you a very nice spread of models for your shelf. Our
thanks to Valom for the review kit. |
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