I am taking a short break from commission builds over this holiday season. This next build is the Revell 1/48 A-26B Invader. For this build I will be using Eduard’s cockpit and bomb bay detail sets. The scheme I will be using is “Maggie’s Drawers” of the 416th BG - 671st BS - 9th AF that was flown during 1944/1945 at the Laon/Athies Airfield, France. The decals for this scheme are the Kitsworld 148172 decal set.
Starting off with the cockpit I shaved off the kit details off the center console and replaced the starboard floor with a photo etch replacement. The control yoke was detailed with photo etch and I also painted the Douglas Aircraft logo on the center of the yoke. For the pilot seat I removed the molded seatbelts and shaved the sides off. These were replaced with photo etch details. I added the photo etch panels to the center console and added the numerous levers as well. Behind the pilot seat are a stack of avionics and the rear bulkhead of the cockpit. These were also detailed with photo etch details.
Under the cockpit is the nose gear bay. The port side wall has a light which I cut off and drilled out the lens to replace it with a clear lens. Finally the kit details were shaved off the instrument panels so the photo etch panels can be installed. All of the cockpit parts were installed and the cockpit area was weathered. I am now working on the interior of the fuselage. The interior is very involved as it covers the cockpit walls, the bomb bay area and the gunner’s area. This will be displayed with the bomb bay doors open and the crew access door will be open so the details can be seen.
The second week of the A-26B Invader was spent detailing the fuselage. First a little correction, the A-26B is nicknamed the “Invader”. Being a Navy veteran I kept thinking of the Navy aircraft nicknamed the “Intruder” so when I began this build log Intruder kept sticking in my mind. Also with the holiday season I was busy with family so bench time was limited.
Moving on to the build, I added all the photo etch to the cockpit area in the fuselage. I also cut open the rear door. This is being replaced with a photo etch version and will be in the open position so the interior details can be seen better once the fuselage is assembled. The Eduard bomb bay photo etch set covers the area behind the cockpit. One thing is the kit is molded so there is a gap where the wings mount to the fuselage. The photo etch set covers these openings. I also added other details to the gunner area as well. The interior was then painted with interior green. Another interesting feature of this aircraft is the upper and lower gun turrets are remote controlled. The gunner sits on a platform that is basically a double-sided periscope which allows the gunner to see targets above or below the aircraft. This was modified by removing the kit platform and replacing it with a photo etch version. The supporting back wall will also be replaced as well. Next I weathered the inside of the fuselage with dark grey, light grey, and black pastel chalk.
I am now working on building up the bomb racks and the bombs. Once these are done I can begin to assemble the fuselage halves together. The racks are being replaced completely with photo etch parts.
The third week of the Invader build was spent detailing the bomb bay and aft interior. The first thing was to replace the kit bomb racks with the photo etch version. These were then mounted in the fuselage. The 300 LB bombs were modified by replacing the fuse and fins with photo etch and then adding the mounting brackets on them.
The kit has a piece to represent the ammunition and control for the upper turret. This was completely replaced with photo etch parts. There are two ammo cases, the electronic motor, and the shell casing chute all on one frame that mounts under the turret. I found a couple of reference photos of the underside of the turret which aided in the paint colors and configuration.
Since I cut out the crew door it was replaced with a photo etch version. I used clear acetate for the window. This door will be in the open position so the details inside can be seen. The gunner’s periscope was cut and the photo etch details for the mount were added. I need to detail the seat and mount it on to the frame.
With these assemblies completed I detailed and painted the interior bulk heads and dry fitted them into the fuselage. I have a few more things to finish up and one more bulkhead to detail then I should be ready to assemble the fuselage halves together then I can begin on the wings, main gear, and detailing the engines.
During the fourth week of the Invader build I finished all the interior details and assembled the fuselage halves. Everything fit together pretty good but there are a few areas that required some minor putty along the seams. Since this kit has raised panel lines it took some time to putty and sand the seam areas without sanding down the panel lines.
Next I assembled the wings and the main landing gear bays. One thing to note is Revell placed TWO copyright stamps on the port wing. Not only the port inside flap but also on the brace that supports the wing inside the landing gear bay! These were then sanded down and removed. I painted and weathered the bays. I have not attached them to the wings yet as I just found some reference photos of the bays so I can add some more details like cables and lines later.
I am now starting on the engines. Since there is not any photo etch details for them I am scratch building the ignition wires. I will be using 32 gauge wires for this and drilling the holes for them using .25mm drills. Hoping to have the engines completed and the gear bays completed so I can mount the wings this coming week.
I spent most of the fifth week on the Invader super detailing the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 double wasp 18-cylinder engines. I started off by drilling the cylinders with a 0.25mm drill and then the ring with a 0.5mm drill. The engines were then painted and I added the Pratt & Whitney logo and engine placard decals. Once painted I then used 30 gauge wire for the lines. I installed them on the cylinder side first then trimmed them to fit into the ring. These were then painted with dark brown.
While things were drying on the engine I weathered the main gear bays and installed them onto the wing. I also built up and cleaned up the gun pods for the wings and the main gear struts. Since the tail was already installed I checked out how much weight I will need to install to make sure it rests on the gear correctly. With the weight required it looks like the kit landing struts, especially the nose strut may not support the weight correctly, I decided to replace them and ordered the SAC metal landing gear struts which are scheduled to arrive this coming week.
Moving back to the engines I review some reference photos of the exhaust. The kit has them molded inside the cowl. These are too short and too small diameter. I then sanded these all down and replaced them with some 0.75mm styrene rods. The cowl sections were them painted with Vallejo metal Duraluminum paint to represent the NMF finish of the aircraft. The rear section was then weathered with brown, grey, and black pastel chalk to represent the exhaust staining from the exhaust. I also added some weight inside to aid in balancing the aircraft.
I am currently working on installing the wings and other external details to the fuselage. I am hoping to get the base coat and possibly the decals completed over the next week.
As the sixth week ends on the Invader I spent the week preparing the aircraft for the base coat of paint. I installed the wings and then detailed the bomb bay doors with the photo etch. These were then installed to the fuselage with the photo etch hinges. After I panted and weathered them I then cut the molded wingtip lights so they can later be replaced with clear lenses.
One of the unique things about “Maggie’s Drawers” is that it had the loop antenna instead of the teardrop version usually seen on the A-26’s. Since the kit does not have this option I used 30 gauge wire and formed the loop antenna. I used a paintbrush handle and wrapped the wire twice around. After shaped it I coated the antenna with some CA glue to seal it.
As I said last week I ordered the metal landing gear struts, these arrived this week so they were cleaned up and painted. I then painted the aircraft with Vallejo Duraluminum. The canopy and upper rear window were then masked and painted as well. The scheme also has a vertical black stripe on the rudder so this was also painted. I also painted the olive drab anti-glare areas on the inboard side of the engine cowls and in front of the canopy.
Up next will be the decals. I will be using the kit decals for the standard aircraft and the Kits World decals for the specific scheme. Once the landing gear is installed I can then check the amount of weight I need in the nose and attach the nose.
The seventh week on the Invader has the decals applied and the rest of the details being worked on. The decals were a mix of kit decals and the aftermarket Kits World decals. Both sets of decals worked very well except the stars and bars insignia’s. The kit version looked like the blue ink around the star was too thin of a layer. The Kits World decals were a lighter blue and slightly smaller. I ended up using a set from another aftermarket sheet of insignia’s that are colored correctly and accurately sized for 1/48 scale.
I then added weight to the nose. Each engine nacelle has two ounces of weight behind the engine and I added two more to the front of the nose. This was enough weight so the aircraft sits properly on the landing gear. The landing gear was assembled and installed. The kit comes with two styles of wheels. One set was just regular wheels and the second set has a flat side represented wheels with weight on them. I used the latter set. The canopies were then detailed, painted, and installed. I also modified the recognition lights on the underside of the fuselage by drilling them slightly and filling them with acrylic gel. These were then painted with Tamiya clear green, red, and yellow.
I still have to finish the weathering and final details to complete the aircraft. Next week I will have the final photos of this build and a preview of the next build.
All the details and photos from the start can be seen in the build log at: 1/48 A-26B Intruder – Maggie’s Drawers
After eight weeks the Revel A-26B Invader is finished. I painted, decaled and installed the propellers, installed the antenna using EZ-line, and did some final touches on the weathering to complete this build.
Overall this was a fun build. The kit has a good fit and only minimal putty was required. The kit decals as well as the Kits World decals worked very well. The instructions are laid out well. The added photo etch accessories from Eduard provide very good details and add a level of realism especially in the bomb bay area. The only difficult area was the gunner’s seat assembly. To add the photo etch you need to cut off sections and place them onto the photo etch frame. Cutting them off and aligning them up so the assembly is straight and even took a little bit of time. I hope you have enjoyed following along on this build. Happy Modeling!
All the details and photos from the start to finish can be seen in the build log at: 1/48 A-26B Intruder – Maggie’s Drawers
NEXT UP – For my next build I will be building Academy’s 1/48 CH-46A/D “U.S. Marines – Vietnam” kit. This is a twin rotor helicopter used to transport soldiers and equipment between bases and battlefield areas. I will be using Eduard’s cockpit detail set and doing extensive scratch building on the interior. I will be doing the CH-46D of HMM-165 for the scheme. I was able to locate a fair amount of interior photos and after a quick review of the kit interior parts it looks like I will have a lot of scratch building to do. I am also thinking about illuminating this so that all of the interior details can be seen thru the opened rear hatch. This would then be mounted to a display base representing a Vietnam era airbase. Stay tuned for another interesting build!
