Hunting Percival P.26 Commuter (Martin B-26B Marauder) Aer Lingus, 1956 at p.8

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, the landing gear is wobbly. I built two (or even three, not certain) so far, and I chose it because it is relatively simple/clean.

On the work bench, things more forward. Punched holes into the hull yesterday and added an opening for a boarding gangway under the rear fuselage. It will be fixed, but this is a convenient solution because the Marauder is massively tail-heavy. So there will be no need for tons of lead in the nose.  

The TwoSix decal sheet for an early Aer Lingus Fokker 27 in 1:72 also arrived - beautifully printed, dead sharp. The investment was worthwhile, I just hope I don't screw them up...

[zenrat]

Your plan for the windows sounds good.  I'd put a big drop of decal solvent over each window and leave it to hopefully cause the decal material to sag into the window hole.  That should make cutting them out easier.

[Dizzyfugu]

Your plan for the windows sounds good.  I'd put a big drop of decal solvent over each window and leave it to hopefully cause the decal material to sag into the window hole.  That should make cutting them out easier.

Thank you for the tip - I'll give it a try. Still far from the decals, I also hope that the cheatline position works out with the relatively low row of windows on the Marauder... but that's a problem I'll tackle once the building phase is finished, and that's looking good.

[Captain Canada]

The markings are going to look so good on this thing. I'm sure you'll be fine with them. As with everything, just take your time !

[nighthunter]

Dang it, Dizzy, some of us need WIP photos, lol!

[Dizzyfugu]

Thy wish shalt be doneth... Some news concerning the engines:

Familiar sight: the leftover pair of Contrails resin engines, already modded with a styrene tube as propeller bearing:

"De/Militarize It" Group Build at whatifmodelers.com: a Martin Marauder Commuter (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Due to the new engines' length the OOB fairings have to be shortened - done after everything was assembled and dry. A piece of tape acts as a ruler for the 360° cut:

"De/Militarize It" Group Build at whatifmodelers.com: a Martin Marauder Commuter (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And this is what the new installation looks like, with 2C putty for initial, crude body sculpting. I mounted the Connie engines upside down, because the large air intake matches up better with the lower side of the Marauder nacelle:

"De/Militarize It" Group Build at whatifmodelers.com: a Martin Marauder Commuter (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


OOB props without spinners will be kept, they match well in size and style, and the new, narrower cowlings look fast... 

Stay tuned - in the meantime, painting of the interior/cockpit started.

[PR19_Kit]

You'll have to give it a suitably Irish name, most of Aer Lingus' aircraft were named. 

[ericr]

You'll have to give it a suitably Irish name, most of Aer Lingus' aircraft were named. 

any irish name can be improved (into a welsh one) by fitting longer length of letters

[PR19_Kit]

You'll have to give it a suitably Irish name, most of Aer Lingus' aircraft were named. 

any irish name can be improved (into a welsh one) by fitting longer length of letters

....and adding a few 'll's 

[Captain Canada]

Love the new engines she's going to have 4 times more power than she needs ! Or be supersonic 

[nighthunter]

How about "Ó Riain"?

[major]

How about "Ó Riain"?

[jcf]

Interestingly the R-3350 was one of the original engine options for Martin's Model 179 (B-26). 

[KiwiZac]

Those new engines are gorgeous! Very streamlined and executive-looking.

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, they look really good - I assume that the proposed R-3350 was just the simple engine, which had been around for some time. It became more "popular" with the turbocharged or turbo compound versions, e. g. on the B-29 and after WWII, and I can not remember a WWII type that flew with the "simple" R-3350? In this case here the compound version makes sense, even though a downrated version.

Concverbning the engine transplants I realized a flaw that I did not see/mind on the Stalwart: I missed the air outlet flaps. On the Constellation kit (maybe Heller?), onto which the resin eggs are supposed to go, the seem to be a part of the wing side. O.K., you can say that they are closed, so that they are hardly visible (esp. on a black aircraft), but on the Marauder I want to find a solution - even if I just paint them, or simulate them with thin decal stripes.

Besides, fuselage was closed yesterday and massive putty work along the seams (esp. nose and new tail) started. VERY elegant aircraft without all the guns - much like the Douglas Skyknight which just looks so tubby because of its straight wings, the fuselage has a very clean teardrop shape.

The decal sheet actually comes with the full selection of names of any Aer Lingus Fokker 27 of the time. I'll check if I use one of them, or cook up something individually...