Jump to content

"DinaMight" B-26B-55-MA


Recommended Posts

Greetings friends.

So we're off to the races again. This time, I'm building one of my favorites: a Martin B-26 Marauder.

This ship flew with the 584th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomb Group.

B26FlightDeck.jpg

B26FlightDeck3.jpg

This particular Marauder did not have the "fixed" weapon firing through the plexi. I had to rework the flooring when I removed the ammo box. The seat, pedistal and seat belts were scratch built.

More to follow.

Blue skies, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
Link to post
Share on other sites

Greetings. :cheers:

If you've ever built the 1/48th scale Monogram B-26 Marauder kit,

you know how bad the seams on the nacells are.

Just like little "Grand Canyons" to overcome.

That's only after you get the best position for the ill- fitting pieces/parts.

(Rob Peter to pay Paul...) :thumbsup:

I had to find/dress the best seams and then make-up the difference.

Notice the Grey plastic "filler".

Seam.jpg

Radial.jpg

Everything will get a good polish before paint. Should work-out OK.

Blue skies, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
Link to post
Share on other sites

So I need to weight the nose on this here B-26. She's really tail heavy.

I thought I had some lead pipe chunks stashed somewhere here in my "lab". I like using the old pipe because you can trim it and bend it to fit the fuselage. No luck so I decided to buy/borrow some lead fishing sinkers.

I asked my one buddy if he had anything I could use. He gives me a nice handful of 50 cal lead shot from a flintlock. I say, "Perfect!". :cheers:

The two just seem to go together. At least the shot is the right caliber!

Tails up, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings. :blink:

So here's some more progress pics. :blink:

This is how I got the mini-balls to fit behind the flightdeck bulkhead. I flattened and glued 14 pieces of lead together. Then I ground them down to fit into the fuselage. Once I got the weight right, I could finally button her up. "Mile marker" on this journey for sure!

SmashedMiniBallsFlash.jpg

I had to install 4 "glass" pieces as there is no way to get these in once the halves were glued together.

SideFront.jpg

Blue skies, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Happy Holidays!

So I made some more PROGRESS. :(

The wings and tail went on with only a little fuss. Seams were filled, filed, scraped, wooled and polished.

Now I can get to the paint shop. The next 5 colors will really make a difference.

model003.jpg

model007.jpg

model006.jpg

model009.jpg

model008.jpg

I'm wondering if anyone knows when the new "Zotz B-26 decals" are to be released?

Crisp skies, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Greetings friends.

Say, I gotz the Zotz. They're just beautiful- really nice! :woo:

So I ran some Neutral Grey through the ole' Badger. Some progress!

BrightWetBelly.jpg

WetBelly.jpg

She's still wet. More colors this week...

January skies, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah Man, I took all those pics at some really GREAT air shows.

9-11 put the hurt on the air shows around here. I remember we traveled to 3 major air shows one Summer- it was sweet. I had the sounds of radial engines in my ears for months. The best shows were at Elmyra-Corning, New York. Before that, Geneseo was the place to see warbirds. Funny, The Wings of Eagles Show is gone but Geneseo continues to put on a really nice show. Gotta' get back up there someday.

Winter skies, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites

So I had some time in the model room! :nanner:

I'm commin'-along well. Masked and painted the fabric control surfaces and used some of the same "mix" to fade the upper surfaces. Next was the Medium Green blotching- that was fun. Last was the Black wing walk-ways.

Greenil019.jpg

Greenil014.jpg

Greenil013.jpg

Greenil017.jpg

Greenil009.jpg

More to follow... ;)

Winter skies, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
Link to post
Share on other sites

I dig progress! :whistle:

The invasion stripes were painted-out on the upper surfaces. Cleaned-up some other areas.

Those incredible Zotz decals are next...

StripesGone002.jpg

StripesGone014.jpg

StripesGone012.jpg

StripesGone006.jpg

More to follow...

Winter skies, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites

Greetings friends.

So I cleaned-up some areas with the airbrush and then slammed the decals.

decals001.jpg

decals004.jpg

Lots of carrier film here. I used the supplied "white" under-lay (to keep the decal colors bright and provide the white border around the letters) and then the color decal on top.

Not real sure how I want to clean this up. I'm not sure the "clear flat" top coat will do the magic. There's some silvering going-on already. I'm a little gun shy about using any micro-set because it really tries to eat/wrinkle the carrier. In the past, I've painted-out the carrier film. I'm interested in your thoughts... :wave:

decals002.jpg

decals007.jpg

decals008.jpg

More to follow. :wave:

January skies, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites
Greetings friends.

So I cleaned-up some areas with the airbrush and then slammed the decals.

decals001.jpg

decals004.jpg

Lots of carrier film here. I used the supplied "white" under-lay (to keep the decal colors bright and provide the white border around the letters) and then the color decal on top.

Not real sure how I want to clean this up. I'm not sure the "clear flat" top coat will do the magic. There's some silvering going-on already. I'm a little gun shy about using any micro-set because it really tries to eat/wrinkle the carrier. In the past, I've painted-out the carrier film. I'm interested in your thoughts... :)

More to follow. :wave:

January skies, Wiggy

Wiggy

I noticed you did not use any gloss coat prior to decalling. This certainly would have helped the silvering issue. I find that if a gloss coat is not possible, then the use of Future as a bedding/setting agent really helps too.

:wave:

MikeJ

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey there MadMike! G'-Day Mate.

Yeah I know- a nice smooth surface for the decal to lay-down on.

I have about four shades of Green going right now: the base OD, the faded OD, the seams OD, and the patch/repairs OD. I was afraid I'd loose those hues with a gloss top coat. Sometimes you can't retrieve the feel then with a final "clear flat" top coat. I could have trimmed some of the film but then your left with such a blunt edge- not that fade-away beach you normally see.

I'm thinkin' I may have to grit my teeth and paint-out the carrier film. The flat top coat will help plus I want to seal the decals anyway.

Good to hear from you Man. Hope all is well down under... :wave:

Winter skies, Wiggy

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...