Monogram 1/48 B-26 Marauder Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Glenn L. Martin company put forth a design for a new medium bomber in response to a 1939 requirement issued by the USAAC. This twin-engined design was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R2800 engines rated at almost 2000 horsepower each, the same engine that would later power the F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat. This aircraft was the hottest bomber produced at that time, and its clipped wings resulted in some rather breathtaking take-off and landing speeds. The combination of propeller problems and the high stall speeds resulted in the loss of numerous B-26As. Production was halted on this variant in order to work out the bugs.

Starting with the B-26B block 10, the aircraft's wingspan was increased by six feet, additional flaps were added outboard of the engine nacelles, and a taller tail was added to improve single-engine controllability. With these and other improvements added to the B-26B, the Marauder would suffer the lowest bomber attrition rates of the war.

Here is another beautiful kit from Monogram. I believe this kit was first issued around 1978 and is still nicely detailed for its age. Molded in dark green styrene, the kit is presented on four parts trees, plus a single tree of clear parts.

As with other kits developed by Monogram, this model features some nice detail inside the aircraft as well as out. The aircraft has a nice layout for the bomb bay and the option for open or closed bomb bay doors.

The flight deck is also nicely appointed with detailing and even optional crew figures to man up the aircraft. The dorsal turret has an optional crew figure seated in the turret, but there is nice detail there should you wish to leave the turret vacant. The waist gun positions can be displayed with the guns deployed or stowed. If you stow the guns, the waist windows can be installed.

On the outside of the airframe, the ventral gun packs can be added should you be modeling one of the later blocks of the Marauder. These are optional.

While the transparencies are a bit on the thick side, you can see in the images just how clear they are.

Assembly of the model should be straightforward though you'll need to do some dry-fitting and clamping to get this bird together as the parts may be prone to some twisting/warping. Nothing that some proper planning, clamping, and liquid cement can't handle.

Markings are provided for one aircraft:

• B-26C-15-MO, 41-34946, 553 BS/386 BG, 'Yankee Guerrilla', D-Day

Straight out of the box, this model builds into a beauty. But if you've been watching the news here, you also know that Eduard has released four detail sets for this kit, a color photo-etched cockpit, photo-etch exterior detail set, photo-etch bomb bay detail set, and color photo-etched seatbelt set.

With the variety of decals that have been produced for this model, the addition of the photo-etch updates will really turn this model into a show-stopper.