1:72 Hunting Percival Aircraft P.26 Commuter (Martin B-26B Marauder airliner conversion); aircraft 'EI-ACF', Aer Lingus; 1956 (Whif/Matchbox kit conversion)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe.
After entering service with the U.S. Army, the aircraft received the reputation of a "Widowmaker" due to the early models' high accident rate during takeoffs and landings. The Marauder had to be flown at exact airspeeds, particularly on final runway approach and when one engine was out. The 150 mph (241 km/h) speed on short final runway approach was intimidating to pilots who were used to much slower speeds, and whenever they slowed down below what the manual stated, the aircraft would stall and crash.
The B-26 became a safer aircraft once crews were re-trained, and after aerodynamics modifications (an increase of wingspan and wing angle-of-incidence to give better takeoff performance, and a larger vertical stabilizer and rudder). After aerodynamic and design changes, the aircraft distinguished itself as "the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front" according to a United States Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946. The Marauder ended World War II with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.
A total of 5.288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945. By the time the United States Air Force was created as an independent service separate from the Army in 1947, all Martin B-26s had been retired from U.S. service. Furthermore, after the end of hostilities in the European theatre of operations, many airframes with low flying hour numbers were left in British airfield.
This was the situation when establishing Hunting Aircraft in 1944 by the purchase of Percival Aircraft: this business was absorbed into the British Aircraft Corporation in 1959.
At the end of 1945 the young British company Hunting Air Travel Ltd., a division of Hunting plc., based at Luton Airport, entered the scene - actually a commercial airline, not an aircraft manufacturer. The new airline began commercial operations from Bovingdon Airport at the start of 1946, and the lack of suitable passenger aircraft for domestic routes (or to continental neighbors) led to a private conversion program for leftover B-26 airframes.
This work was done by Percival Aircraft Ltd, which had become part of Hunting in 1936 and also had its headquarter at Luton. At first, only five B-26B bombers were planned to be converted into P.26 airliners. The airframes underwent considerably changes, primarily stripping them off of any military equipment, closing the bomb bays and adding a passenger cabin with appropriate seating and entry.
Furthermore, the bombers' original R-2800 engines were replaced by more powerful and efficient R-3350 radials with 2.000 hp/1.470 kW each. This was a simple task, since this engine had been an early design options and the mountings were compatible.
Other modifications included an enlarged wingspan, which was intended for a more economical flight as well as a reduced landing speed, especially when loaded.
The revamped aircraft entered service in 1951 when Hunting Air Travel changed its name to Hunting Air Transport. Flying primarily on the British Isles, the aircraft attained immediately some interest from other small airlines, also from continental Europe.
When Percival Aircraft Ltd changed its name to Hunting Percival Aircraft in 1954, a total of 21 B-26 bombers had been converted for Hunting-Clan Air Transport (6, Hunting Air Transport had changed its name in 1953), Aer Lingus (6), Derby Airlines (4), Sabena (3) and Manx Airlines (2).
All of these differed slightly, being tailored to their operators' needs, e. g. concerning seat capacity, engines or entry configurations. The last machines were re-built for Aer Lingus, with 27 passenger seats (nine rows in 2+1 configuration), a crew of four, and integral boarding ladder under the rear fuselage (instead of standard side doors). Furthermore, these final machines were driven by slightly more powerful (2.200 hp/1.640 kW) turbo-compound R-3350 engines, which offered a considerably improved fuel efficiency and an extended range (+20%).
By that time the civil aircraft industry had undergone a major recovery and new models like the turboprop-driven Fokker F.27 Friendship entered the scene - faster, with bigger passenger capacities and more efficient, and the P.26 could not keep up anymore. Another big weakness was the lack of a pressurized cabin, so that the P.26 could only operate at medium altitude. Until 1960 all remaining P.26 were withdrawn and scrapped, most of them had reached their service life, anyway, but operational costs had become prohibitive.
General characteristics:
Crew: 4 (pilot, navigator/radio operator, two service)
Capacity: 21–32 passengers
Length: 58 ft 3 in (17.8 m)
Wingspan: 79 ft 3 in (24.20 m)
Height: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Wing area: 734 ft² (66 m²)
Empty weight: 24.000 lb (11.000 kg)
Loaded weight: 37.000 lb (17.000 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Wright R-3350-745C18BA-1 radial, each rated at 2.200 hp (1.640 kW),
driving four-bladed propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 287 mph (250 knots, 460 km/h) at 5.000 feet (1.500 m)
Cruise speed: 225 mph (195 knots, 362 km/h)
Landing speed: 100 mph (79 knots, 161 km/h)
Range: 3.420 mi (2.975 nmi; 5.500 km)
Service ceiling: 21.000 ft (6.400 m)
Wing loading: 46,4 lb/ft² (228 kg/m²)
The kit and its assembly:
Another Group Build entry, this time for the 2015 "De-/Militarize it" GB at whatifmodelers.com that ran from June through August. I am not 100% certain how the idea of converting a B-26 bomber into a 50ies airliner came up - I have modified the aircraft before, and maybe handling with resin R-3350s for the Supermarine Stalwart flying boat had a subtle influence. However, it was a suitable idea, and I quickly got hands on a vintage Matchbox kit of the Marauder.
This one was chose because of the simplicity of the kit (e .g. without an open bomb bay) and its relatively clean surface. When I got it, though, I had to cope with missing parts: the complete cockpit was missing. The seller did not mention it, I did notice it too late, so I had to create the interior from scratch, as well as the civil pilot figures which were puzzled together, too.
Anyway, conversion was rather straightforward. All guns and turrets were closed/faired over. The dorsal turret received a plug, the nose is the OOB clear part hidden under a coat of putty and the new tail cone is actually a nose from a Frog Supermarine Attacker.
Additionally, some of the original windows were hidden (including the ventral entry hatch) while new round windows, esp. for the passenger cabin under the wing spar, were drilled. They were later filled with Clearfix, after all paint work was done.
The wing tips were enlarged with donations from a Hobby Boss La-7 pistion fighter, leftover from a former conversion project. Even though I did not expect much from this addition I think that the bigger wingspan (the total extension is less than 2", though) and the more pointed tips subtly change the look and the proportions of the B-26?
The OOB engines were replaced by resin R-3350 from Contrails: a perfect match, just the OOB nacelles had to be shortened because the R-3350s come with a complete exhaust section, they are pretty long compared to the R-2800s. Actually, this option was real: AFAIK the R-3350 was a high power alternative for the B-26, but I think that at the time of the aircraft's design it was not available yet, and when it came into production the B-29 received anything that rolled off of the production lines. But in this post WWII case it's a good and plausible modification, since airliners from that era (e .g. the Lockheed Constellation) were powered by this engine type, too.
Further mods include new wheels (just for a modernized look, instead of the WWII grass runway balloon tires) and the passengers received a retractable boarding staircase. This addition was originally intended as a display trick, because the B-26 kit is prone to tip over on its tail. But it turned out that the resin engines weigh so much that the kit even stands without extra weight inside now! Well, the scratched stair was fitted, anyway...
Painting and markings:
This was a bit complicated, because I wanted a 50ies livery, yet a colorful option. One early choice had been Belgian airline Sabena in dark blue and white, or the Netherland's KLM, but then I stumbled across a limited decal sheet from airliner specialist TwoSix Decals for a 1:72 Fokker F.27 in Aer Lingus service, upon the type's introduction in 1955. Perfect match, and since I like green and I could avoid white as far as possible, this was the winning design! :D
From that, things were again straightforward: the paint scheme remains close to the benchmark. The dark green on the upper fuselage is Humbrol 3 (Brunswick Green), the fin was sprayed in white and the metallic undersides were painted with different aluminum shades, including Revell Acrylics, Modelmaster 'Aluminum Plate' Metallizer and simple Aluminum paint, plus some Humbrol 56 for fake panel lines and the fabric-covered ailerons.
Panel lines on the upper fuselage and some dirt were painted with Humbrol 91 (Black Green). On top of that a very light black ink wash was applied in order to emphasize engravings, esp. on the wings and the white fin.
The decals came next (wonderfully printed, dead sharp, very thin carrier film), and they posed less problems than expected. The window openings on the white cheatline were simply covered and punched through, and after final cosmetic touch-ups incl. light soot stains behind the engine exhausts. I also added de-icing leading edges and some walking areas on the wings, cut from black and grey decals sheet (from TL Modellbau).
Finally the kit received a coat of glossy acrylic varnish from the rattle can (which did not turn out as evenly as expected, I guess to due to the age of the paint… The aircraft looks somewhat dirty now), et voilà, the Irish Marauder Commuter was ready for take-off!
I am really happy how this conversion turned out. I have seen pics of civilized B-26s (yes, this was actually done, but only in a few cases), and without all the lumps and bumps and with a decent paint job the aircraft looks really sleek and elegant. The classic, early Aer Lingus livery confirms this, a pretty and unusual bird!
1:72 Hunting Percival Aircraft P.26 Commuter (Martin B-26B Marauder airliner conversion); aircraft 'EI-ACF', Aer Lingus; 1956 (Whif/Matchbox kit conversion)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe.
After entering service with the U.S. Army, the aircraft received the reputation of a "Widowmaker" due to the early models' high accident rate during takeoffs and landings. The Marauder had to be flown at exact airspeeds, particularly on final runway approach and when one engine was out. The 150 mph (241 km/h) speed on short final runway approach was intimidating to pilots who were used to much slower speeds, and whenever they slowed down below what the manual stated, the aircraft would stall and crash.
The B-26 became a safer aircraft once crews were re-trained, and after aerodynamics modifications (an increase of wingspan and wing angle-of-incidence to give better takeoff performance, and a larger vertical stabilizer and rudder). After aerodynamic and design changes, the aircraft distinguished itself as "the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front" according to a United States Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946. The Marauder ended World War II with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber.
A total of 5.288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945. By the time the United States Air Force was created as an independent service separate from the Army in 1947, all Martin B-26s had been retired from U.S. service. Furthermore, after the end of hostilities in the European theatre of operations, many airframes with low flying hour numbers were left in British airfield.
This was the situation when establishing Hunting Aircraft in 1944 by the purchase of Percival Aircraft: this business was absorbed into the British Aircraft Corporation in 1959.
At the end of 1945 the young British company Hunting Air Travel Ltd., a division of Hunting plc., based at Luton Airport, entered the scene - actually a commercial airline, not an aircraft manufacturer. The new airline began commercial operations from Bovingdon Airport at the start of 1946, and the lack of suitable passenger aircraft for domestic routes (or to continental neighbors) led to a private conversion program for leftover B-26 airframes.
This work was done by Percival Aircraft Ltd, which had become part of Hunting in 1936 and also had its headquarter at Luton. At first, only five B-26B bombers were planned to be converted into P.26 airliners. The airframes underwent considerably changes, primarily stripping them off of any military equipment, closing the bomb bays and adding a passenger cabin with appropriate seating and entry.
Furthermore, the bombers' original R-2800 engines were replaced by more powerful and efficient R-3350 radials with 2.000 hp/1.470 kW each. This was a simple task, since this engine had been an early design options and the mountings were compatible.
Other modifications included an enlarged wingspan, which was intended for a more economical flight as well as a reduced landing speed, especially when loaded.
The revamped aircraft entered service in 1951 when Hunting Air Travel changed its name to Hunting Air Transport. Flying primarily on the British Isles, the aircraft attained immediately some interest from other small airlines, also from continental Europe.
When Percival Aircraft Ltd changed its name to Hunting Percival Aircraft in 1954, a total of 21 B-26 bombers had been converted for Hunting-Clan Air Transport (6, Hunting Air Transport had changed its name in 1953), Aer Lingus (6), Derby Airlines (4), Sabena (3) and Manx Airlines (2).
All of these differed slightly, being tailored to their operators' needs, e. g. concerning seat capacity, engines or entry configurations. The last machines were re-built for Aer Lingus, with 27 passenger seats (nine rows in 2+1 configuration), a crew of four, and integral boarding ladder under the rear fuselage (instead of standard side doors). Furthermore, these final machines were driven by slightly more powerful (2.200 hp/1.640 kW) turbo-compound R-3350 engines, which offered a considerably improved fuel efficiency and an extended range (+20%).
By that time the civil aircraft industry had undergone a major recovery and new models like the turboprop-driven Fokker F.27 Friendship entered the scene - faster, with bigger passenger capacities and more efficient, and the P.26 could not keep up anymore. Another big weakness was the lack of a pressurized cabin, so that the P.26 could only operate at medium altitude. Until 1960 all remaining P.26 were withdrawn and scrapped, most of them had reached their service life, anyway, but operational costs had become prohibitive.
General characteristics:
Crew: 4 (pilot, navigator/radio operator, two service)
Capacity: 21–32 passengers
Length: 58 ft 3 in (17.8 m)
Wingspan: 79 ft 3 in (24.20 m)
Height: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Wing area: 734 ft² (66 m²)
Empty weight: 24.000 lb (11.000 kg)
Loaded weight: 37.000 lb (17.000 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Wright R-3350-745C18BA-1 radial, each rated at 2.200 hp (1.640 kW),
driving four-bladed propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 287 mph (250 knots, 460 km/h) at 5.000 feet (1.500 m)
Cruise speed: 225 mph (195 knots, 362 km/h)
Landing speed: 100 mph (79 knots, 161 km/h)
Range: 3.420 mi (2.975 nmi; 5.500 km)
Service ceiling: 21.000 ft (6.400 m)
Wing loading: 46,4 lb/ft² (228 kg/m²)
The kit and its assembly:
Another Group Build entry, this time for the 2015 "De-/Militarize it" GB at whatifmodelers.com that ran from June through August. I am not 100% certain how the idea of converting a B-26 bomber into a 50ies airliner came up - I have modified the aircraft before, and maybe handling with resin R-3350s for the Supermarine Stalwart flying boat had a subtle influence. However, it was a suitable idea, and I quickly got hands on a vintage Matchbox kit of the Marauder.
This one was chose because of the simplicity of the kit (e .g. without an open bomb bay) and its relatively clean surface. When I got it, though, I had to cope with missing parts: the complete cockpit was missing. The seller did not mention it, I did notice it too late, so I had to create the interior from scratch, as well as the civil pilot figures which were puzzled together, too.
Anyway, conversion was rather straightforward. All guns and turrets were closed/faired over. The dorsal turret received a plug, the nose is the OOB clear part hidden under a coat of putty and the new tail cone is actually a nose from a Frog Supermarine Attacker.
Additionally, some of the original windows were hidden (including the ventral entry hatch) while new round windows, esp. for the passenger cabin under the wing spar, were drilled. They were later filled with Clearfix, after all paint work was done.
The wing tips were enlarged with donations from a Hobby Boss La-7 pistion fighter, leftover from a former conversion project. Even though I did not expect much from this addition I think that the bigger wingspan (the total extension is less than 2", though) and the more pointed tips subtly change the look and the proportions of the B-26?
The OOB engines were replaced by resin R-3350 from Contrails: a perfect match, just the OOB nacelles had to be shortened because the R-3350s come with a complete exhaust section, they are pretty long compared to the R-2800s. Actually, this option was real: AFAIK the R-3350 was a high power alternative for the B-26, but I think that at the time of the aircraft's design it was not available yet, and when it came into production the B-29 received anything that rolled off of the production lines. But in this post WWII case it's a good and plausible modification, since airliners from that era (e .g. the Lockheed Constellation) were powered by this engine type, too.
Further mods include new wheels (just for a modernized look, instead of the WWII grass runway balloon tires) and the passengers received a retractable boarding staircase. This addition was originally intended as a display trick, because the B-26 kit is prone to tip over on its tail. But it turned out that the resin engines weigh so much that the kit even stands without extra weight inside now! Well, the scratched stair was fitted, anyway...
Painting and markings:
This was a bit complicated, because I wanted a 50ies livery, yet a colorful option. One early choice had been Belgian airline Sabena in dark blue and white, or the Netherland's KLM, but then I stumbled across a limited decal sheet from airliner specialist TwoSix Decals for a 1:72 Fokker F.27 in Aer Lingus service, upon the type's introduction in 1955. Perfect match, and since I like green and I could avoid white as far as possible, this was the winning design! :D
From that, things were again straightforward: the paint scheme remains close to the benchmark. The dark green on the upper fuselage is Humbrol 3 (Brunswick Green), the fin was sprayed in white and the metallic undersides were painted with different aluminum shades, including Revell Acrylics, Modelmaster 'Aluminum Plate' Metallizer and simple Aluminum paint, plus some Humbrol 56 for fake panel lines and the fabric-covered ailerons.
Panel lines on the upper fuselage and some dirt were painted with Humbrol 91 (Black Green). On top of that a very light black ink wash was applied in order to emphasize engravings, esp. on the wings and the white fin.
The decals came next (wonderfully printed, dead sharp, very thin carrier film), and they posed less problems than expected. The window openings on the white cheatline were simply covered and punched through, and after final cosmetic touch-ups incl. light soot stains behind the engine exhausts. I also added de-icing leading edges and some walking areas on the wings, cut from black and grey decals sheet (from TL Modellbau).
Finally the kit received a coat of glossy acrylic varnish from the rattle can (which did not turn out as evenly as expected, I guess to due to the age of the paint… The aircraft looks somewhat dirty now), et voilà, the Irish Marauder Commuter was ready for take-off!
I am really happy how this conversion turned out. I have seen pics of civilized B-26s (yes, this was actually done, but only in a few cases), and without all the lumps and bumps and with a decent paint job the aircraft looks really sleek and elegant. The classic, early Aer Lingus livery confirms this, a pretty and unusual bird!