Promodeler

A-26B Invader – Part 2 – Cockpit

/ Matt Dyer / Leave a comment

The parts detail is not bad and can be improved by the addition of some Eduard PE. The landing gear doors and nose wheel well are integral parts of the cockpit assembly.

(C) Matt Dyer

There is only one pilot position in this aircraft. There is a bicycle-type seat to the right of the pilot. According to Wikipedia, this jump seat is for a third crew member who would serve as a navigator and “loader” for the pilot-operated machine guns. Would he have had access to the six guns in the nose? Further research is necessary to flesh out this detail.

Monogram did not put too much effort into this detail. Since it will only be seen from above, it should look okay on the finished model. Vallejo Air 71.010 Interior Green was used. Weathering has yet to be applied.

There are some rather large sink marks on the interior cowl rim that required some putty. (C) Matt Dyer

A-26B Invader – Part 1 – The Kit 

/ Matt Dyer / Leave a comment

The kit is presented in light grey plastic with some nice details, and – yes – raised panel lines. I cut the 20+ year old plastic bag and examined the parts.  Everything looked good, and a nice clear plastic sprue was protected in a sepeerate bag. So I washed the sprues in warm water and Dawn.  I do that with all kits, and it may be a waste of time.  I have also had fewer issues with paint lifting when masking tape is removed.

Notice the aftermarket stuff.  Ultimately, I did not use the Scale Aircraft Conversions landing gear or the Quickboost engines.  But, I had been looking forward to building this one for years, so I would pick things up when I found them.  I regard Eduard masks as necessities for WWII aircraft models.  They are just a huge time-saver, and, frankly, they are probably better than anything I would be cutting by hand in most instances.

Next time, I will be cutting parts off sprues and assembling this kit.  I was very excited to start working on this one, and I have not been disappointed.