darren Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 Hi guys i've just bought the Airfix B-26 Marauder, and i was impressed with the kit's interior for a kit of this age! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Mock Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 Hi guys i've just bought the Airfix B-26 Marauder, and i was impressed with the kit's interior for a kit of this age! Its one of my faves, this one I built in 1994. The surface detail was also a surprise, a mix of faint raised and recessed details. Apparently the B-26 was a favourite of John Edwards, one of the kit designers at Haldane Place, and I think it shows in that kit. New 1/72 B-26B announced by Hasegawa, looking forward to that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Perry Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 Yes, the reviews at the time of the kit's release were all very positive. In context, it was a big step forward in kits generally and in the B-26 selection in particular. Airfix kits were always well-regarded for their outline accuracy but the B-26 was a step ahead, and ahead of most everybody else. The earlier Frog and Revell B-26 efforts were OK-ish but Airfix blew them right out of the water. I'm looking forward to the Hasegawa effort too but mostly because it will be new. "Better" is an open question! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 Yes, I have built a couple of those Airfix Marauders (as well as Revell's). The first was 30 some years ago when it was a new release and the second perhaps 10 years ago as a gift to a former 12AF Marauder pilot. Hasegawa will have to do a better job with the Marauder then they did with the Lancaster to make a worthwhile improvement on the Airfix kit. Like Bob said, newer, yes, better, we'll see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pingu1 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 (edited) Concur with Jonathan. Airfix's B-26 is arguably their best ever kit in 1/72. In the current re-release, even the decals are in register! Now all they've got to do is get the painting instructions right. USAAF Neutral Gray and RAF Dark Sea Grey are not the same colour, nothing like, nor does USAAF dark green look much like H.30. Cheers, Chris. Edited June 26, 2006 by pingu1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Mock Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Yes, I have built a couple of those Airfix Marauders (as well as Revell's). The first was 30 some years ago when it was a new release and the second perhaps 10 years ago as a gift to a former 12AF Marauder pilot.Hasegawa will have to do a better job with the Marauder then they did with the Lancaster to make a worthwhile improvement on the Airfix kit. Like Bob said, newer, yes, better, we'll see. Be interesting to see how far Hasegawa go to town on the interior. I always thought the Monogram 1/48 kit had a pretty neat interior, then I got the AMT Marauder which, if anything, was even more detailed on the inside. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kohona Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 I am guessing this will be a "typical" Hasegawa interior - on the sparse side. That seems to be the course for most, if not all, Hasegawa kits. Nicely done exterior, lacking interior. With all the aftermarket companies around now (CzechMaster and Aires in particular), I am sure we will see some great RESIN (reading that Chris?) aftermarket sets for it. I am sure that these sets will be easily adaptable to the Airfix kit. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Perry Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 (edited) Popular as resin interiors are, I'm not sure I see the necessity. Any time I see a new kit mentioned these days it seems the automatic requirement is for thirty bucks worth of resin and the need for sawing and swearing to get the stuff to fit. Does anyone ever look at the basic kit as raw material and work it? The B-26 is largely closed in anyway and anything you can see can be made from plastic card and strip, plus assorted bits of wire and odd bits from scrap. Like women, some of us still like our modelling cheap and easy. Edited June 26, 2006 by Bob Perry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Mock Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 (edited) Popular as resin interiors are, I'm not sure I see the necessity. Any time I see a new kit mentioned these days it seems the automatic requirement is for thirty bucks worth of resin and the need for sawing and swearing to get the stuff to fit. Does anyone ever look at the basic kit as raw material and work it?The B-26 is largely closed in anyway and anything you can see can be made from plastic card and strip, plus assorted bits of wire and odd bits from scrap. Like women, some of us still like our modelling cheap and easy. I'm with you all the way Bob. For me the interior is usually a hindrance to getting to really fun part - the painting! After all, almost the greatest percentage of any model aircraft that someone is going to look at or see is going to be the exterior, which is where I prefer to devote my time and efforts. I think some perfectly good kit cockpits get junked into favour of resin because, as you say, its the automatic requirement. Certainly in 1/72, I do not have a problem with decals for instrument panels and side consoles, more so on more modern aircraft where he real detail would barely scale up anyway and its better than I can paint! Oddly, I think Hasegawa have the right approach in many ways, supply the interior basics and if enthusiast modellers want more, they can go for the aftermarket. If that means they can do more kits and keep prices competitive (for them) then I don't have a problem with that. Edited June 26, 2006 by Jonathan Mock Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kohona Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Like women, some of us still like our modelling cheap and easy mmmm, cheap and easy.... aaaarrrrggggg. Bob, I'd say you're probably quite right on that, but once a resin addict, always a resin addict! LOL If you think you can't see much in the way of cockpit details on a B-26, you ought to put a resin cockpit set in a 1/72 Bf.109 or other such similiarly sized aircraft, other than the seat, what can one really see? But does that stop me? Nawww... :P Resin for all! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 If you think you can't see much in the way of cockpit details on a B-26, you ought to put a resin cockpit set in a 1/72 Bf.109 or other such similiarly sized aircraft, other than the seat, what can one really see? Changing the subject just a bit, this is one of the things I like about Tamiya and FineMolds (and even Academy) recent 1/72 kits, they provide enough cockpit detail that I don't feel compelled to invest a resin set or even scratch building additional detail. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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