Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Discussion and the builds for the SMW 2012 CBK display.

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Martin R
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by Martin R »

Beowulf Shaeffer wrote:im surprised at the difference tween the two kits
I may be wrong, but I believe that the Revell kit is from the '60s and the Airfix is from the '70s. Note restrained raised panel lines and lack of rivets on the Airfix exterior. The interior is really quite detailed. I can't remember where I heard this, but my understanding was that the toolmakers wanted to see how far they could go with interior detail in this kit. In terms of old school Airfix kits in 1/72nd it is, therefore, quite special.

I've got one of these in the stash somewhere. I really must get round to building it - hopefully alongside the Hasegawa kit . . .

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Martin
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

Thanks, chaps... The Airfix kit is definitely a Gem, and at 7-9 quid, rather a bargain compared to the Hasegawa or Valom kit at a list price of over 35 quid (even if Hannants are doing them for "only" £25 at present!)

I've been making "working" props, using James' graphics. So far, only the middle size one has them installed:

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The others are printed out and ready to use, though. Today I have mostly been building turrets. I'd forgotten how much I hate masking things like this. Still, good practice for the canopies... Tape and copydex.

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This way, I can just mask the whole thing before installing, and then close up the fuselages.

Finally, the base has now had some "fog of war" added:

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The waterspouts are made from fine steel wire (bought for rigging) dipped in superglue and then into glass microbeads a few times, less deeply each time, to build up a random "cone". The smoke and explosions are acrylic felt from the craft shop, teased out a bit.

With luck, I should get the main airframes together tonight...

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M.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by JamesPerrin »

mattbacon wrote:The smoke and explosions are acrylic felt from the craft shop, teased out a bit.
I've just bought a giant roll of cotton wool and am off to experiment with colouring it. I've no idea what acrylic felt is, but it looks the biz.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

OK, not yet the airframes entire, but progress anyway...

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Not sure how much more I'll get done tonight, but I'm not unhappy about where I am at the end of this weekend...

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Martin R
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by Martin R »

Aye, progress is looking good, Matt.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

Of course, it being "Flak Bait"and all, there has to be some Flak. Taking a lead from James, I thought I'd try a lighter weight alternative to my glass balloon version:

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This starts out with some expanded polystyrene. Pull a small chunk off with the fingertips, and then pull the small "beads" off until you have a small, blackberry-like cluster of maybe 5-10 blobs. Paint yellow and dry brush with orange. This is then pushed onto a fine steel wire and superglued in place with a drop of the thin stuff. Then take some acrylic "felt" from your local Boyes, in black. Pinch small amounts of the stuff off the main sheet, and trim the end with scissors to get an even edge at the thickest part. Dip that in superglue or thin PVA and press on to the polystyrene blobs. Repeat several times. When dry, roll between fingers and apply a few more drops of superglue from a bit of wire. When that's dry, pull to tease out the filaments, and give it a haircut with sharp scissors as needed. This is light enough to stand up vertically on the end of a piece of wire or stiff fishing line.

Thanks to James for the starting point!

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M.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by JamesPerrin »

Glad you found an immediate use for the idea Matt. A few of them dotted about will look really good. In close up though I thought you had modelled Zebedee :mrgreen:
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

"Time for bed" he said, just after I posted it!

Some more progress with the airframes today:

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The chaos on the bench is slowly reducing! I found all my bits of coat hanger for mounting the beasts... and some perspex rod if needed.

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The Revell surface detailing may be a bit heavy and old-fashioned, but the fit is truly excellent. I don't know how the seam on top will look, but I'm trying to use only filler wiped with nail varnish remover and gentle scraping, to avoid sanding off all the rivets too obviously. If I want a "no-rivet" Flak Bait on display, I'll use this one:

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The Airfix fuselage looks rather less "pregnant" than the Revell one -- noticeably thinner from the wings backward -- and the surface detail is nicely refined, even though it's raised. The engineering and fit of the nacelles is a lot less good than the Revell, though, with a nasty Z join on each side at the front, and a very dodgy point at the rear. The Revell nacelles turn sharply downward behind the wing, whereas Airfix's are in a plane with the wing upper surface. The AIrfix fuselage is also noticeably "shouldered" immediately behind the cockpit, whereas the Revell is semi-circular. Not sure which is correct, though... I suspect the Revell is following the plans in "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers", but as we know, they can be pretty ropey.

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M.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

Couple of mock-ups to see how the planes need to relate to each other and the base:

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...I was quite pleased with myself. I was trying to figure out how to position the aircraft without having to hold them so I could move them around and check view from different angles, and it suddenly occurred to me to hang the big 'un from my adjustable work light, which means it's completely free to move above the base. Both aircraft will actually be on sticks, but I need to know where to put them!

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M.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by TomW »

This is looking just a-maz-ing Matt :grin:

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Tom
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by JamesPerrin »

I like the idea of having it suspended from your lamp on the display, we can say it's the Sun. :grin:
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by splash »

That is just too good for words.

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My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

Thanks, chaps... progress, but slower than I'd like today...

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This is more or less done, now. I will probably matt cote and weather with chalk pastels if I have time, but the priority is to get all three built first! Then, if there's the oppportunity I'dd do them all together.

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The first two show the colour more accurately. It's not this green, in fact. But without the glare from the daylight light you can see the props much more naturally.

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These will be cut down to make sockets. The wire stand has another styrene tube around the top which is a tightish push fit into these sockets. That way, they can be transported separately, and I can switch them if I feel like it. The wire will be firmly fixed into the base. The sockets are more or less at the CoG, so the planes shouldn't be trying to twist if the wire is vertical...

It'll be quiet for a few days now, while I head to the far East with the family (Bridlington, ho!)

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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by JamesPerrin »

There's a good model shop in Brid ;-)

The middling one had come on quick, were the stripes decals?
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Re: Revell (GB) B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait"

Post by mattbacon »

A busy weekend in Matt's shed (though I did take a break to go see Skyfall... which was utterly brilliant!)

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I have spent a LOT of time masking! The white base for the invasion stripes is done in primer, and is underneath the rest. Then the Neutral Gray, and this one is masked up for the OD over the top. Frisket and a pair of Kate's crafty scissors with a wavy edge solved the fuselage demarkation problem...

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This is the smallest one, painted with Citadel colours. The OD is home-brew. I decided to tone down all the colours toward greys, because it's in the background, hence the "dull" invasion stripes. It's only about an inch and half long long, remember...

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This is the Revell with all that masking tape off. Just the black stripes to do and she's ready for decals -- which will be fun over all those rivets!

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And this is the Airfix one...a much sleeker rendering, I reckon...

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...and finally, all four together. I'm beginning to believe I might get it done in time, touch wood!

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M.
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