The P-53 Sparrow Hawk & A63 Taipan

[Gondor]

To be read in a Pathé Newscasters voice

"Late 1944 and with the influx into the United Kingdom of units of the United States Army Air Force to help Bash the Bosh, it's time for Britain to help the Yank after all the help he gave us early in the war.
So some of the units coming to Blighty will be flying some of Britain's finest fighters such as the Martin Baker M.B.5 known to the United States Army Air Force as the P-53!"

This is something I have been thinking about for quite some time and with both Jim and Kit posting build threads of the AZ models M.B.5 I thought I should get around to doing something with one of my copies of the kit.

So the back story is as above, however a little more depth is that the Curtiss-Wright Corporation was to licence produce the M.B.5 in the U.S. to provide aircraft for training and for other theatres of operation while the U.K. would provide aircraft for the European theatre, hence the reuse of the Pursuit number allocated to Curtiss for a development of the P-40 family which never got past the experimental stage.

As yet I have not decided which unit will be flying the P-53 but it will probably be a unit from the 8^th Air Force

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

Love that idea Alastair. 

The 'MB5 Theme' for the 2017 Nationals, er, sorry, SMW 2017 is becoming ever more likely. 

[Captain Canada]

Yes that does sound good !

[NARSES2]

Interestingly although mine will be R.A.F. she will have an 8th Air Force connection.

[kitbasher]

Love that idea Alastair. 

The 'MB5 Theme' for the 2017 Nationals, er, sorry, SMW 2017 is becoming ever more likely. 

Best I get another one then, Kit.

[PR19_Kit]

Where do you get one? Big H don't have ANY AZ kits listed! 

[PR19_Kit]

Where do you get one? Big H don't have ANY AZ kits listed! 

Sorted. Found one on ebay from a shop in Wales and bought it. 

[jcf]

"Unfortunately Curtiss stuffed it up so badly, as they were wont to do in the period, that no P-53 were ever accepted for
service use and could still be found rotting in a field 20 years after the war."

[NARSES2]

Where do you get one? Big H don't have ANY AZ kits listed! 

Here you are Kit https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?adv=1&product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362830&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=&keyword_search=MB&setPerPage=25&sort=0&search_direction=0&save_search_name=&save_search=

They are listed as AZ Model, but they have no MB 5's in stock

[PR19_Kit]

That's what I looked under too Chris, but Big H's computer must have been on the blink, not an unusual situation.

I've got one on the way now, and I already have a 'devious plan' for it... 

[Gondor]

Managed to get a bit of painting done on some of the interior on Wednesday. I used my own preference of interior green, Humbrol 151 and I managed to add Black to the instrument panel and the details on the side walls. I should manage to increase my work rate next week now that family matters are clearing up.

Gondor

[Gondor]

I actually managed to do some assembly of the kit today. Most of the cockpit is together and the three parts that make up the belly radiator intake are also together. I see some filler in my future where that is concerned though.
I have started work on the wings and am rather disappointed with the wheel well parts. They don't match the outline of the holes in the wings and there is not much I think I can do about it as the area around the wheel opening is fixed by the size of the hole and the parts that are provided. The rest of the well has gaps that look out of place as well as looking as if they will cause fit issues when the upper and lower parts of the wing are fitted together. Maybe pictures and more work later.

Gondor

[The Rat]

Ain't no pictures, yet I love this already! 

[Gondor]

As mentioned earlier I am a little surprised by the fitment of parts for the wheel wells.



I can and will work with the kit parts to get the wing to shut properly. Good thing that the parts will not be seen very easily.

Other work has included the cockpit tub which is now in place



The under fuselage radiator intake



And the instrument panel



To my eye it looks as if the detail is not the same as that shown in the kit's instructions, as shown in JayBee's build

Anyway, I am not going to let minor things like this to deter my build

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

This is definitely 'The Year of the MB5', everyone's building one, or more even.