Has anyone done the 1/72 MPC B-26 with the box showing the 3 types of decals available? The reason I am asking is that one set of decals show a British Marauder I, which is a B-26A with the pointed tail position. Can that model be built as a B-26A or is it actually a later B-26B or C model? I purchased a later version of that kit from Ebay hoping that that was the case, but it wasn’t. On the side of the box, it showed a drawing of a B-26A which led me to believe that it could be built that way.
The old MPC profile series of kits was notorious for inaccurately depicting the contents of the kit. The answer is NO you could not build the early B-26 from the kit. Another example of the misleading box art was their He111. It depicted markings for bombers from the Battle of Britain, 1942 desert war (Libya), and Eastern Front aircraft, all with the canopy style dorsal gun position. In fact, the plastic was an H-20 with power operated dorsal turret. This was typical across the entire line. Loved 'em as a kid, however, and I still collect them.
Thanks, Scott. I will just gut the kit to flesh out the details on my Monogram Snaptite B-26 which is a hybrid B-26 or A model and a B-4. The MPC kit has better detailed pieces than the Mono kit. I want to turn it into B-26 #40-1408 which was used to attempt a torpedo attack on the Japanese carrier Ryuyo (sp.) in the Aleutians; and 40-1391, “Suzie-Q” which attacked at Midway.
That monogram snap kit is a really, really good kit. I THINK Squadron makes a vac canopy for it as well; I’ll have to double check. I’m working on one now. The MPC/Airfix kit has some decent interior pieces, but as I stated in another thread, the Hasegawa kit, except for no bombsight, has a wonderful interior.
There was an article in an old IPMS mag about modelling the Monogram early B-26 in the Pacific, with drawings, pics, and profiles. I know it’s in the stash somewhere, maybe an old Quarterly? Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll dig for it.
Gary