|
The Douglas B-26K Counter Invader is
the ultimate development of the classic A-26 Invader, a
medium bomber from WW2.
Very briefly the A-26 Invader was
produced towards the end of World War 2 as a replacement for
the A-20 Havoc medium bomber, serving during the final year
of conflict. Just after the end of the war, when all B-26
Martin Marauders had been retired, the Invader was
re-designated the B-26. Some survivors continued to serve in
Korea in a night interdiction role.
Examples from both wars are options in
the standard Airfix kit.
USAF service by the B-26 did not cease
after Korea. Standard examples continued to operate in
Vietnam until 1964 under the USAF 'Farm Gate' project. At
this point the type was withdrawn from USAF active service
following a number of structural failures.
However the USAF had already decided
there was more potential to the Invader as a Counter
Insurgency aircraft, and selected 40 low-hour examples for
re-manufacture optimised to that role. The result was the
B-26K Counter Invader, capable of over 400mph, fully
aerobatic, and an endurance of over 8 hours. Compared to a
custom made jet or turbine plane, it was also available,
proven and cheap!
The Counter-Invader was initially
blooded in the Congo from 1964-1966 with mercenary crews,
then served from 1966-1969, with the 606 and 609 Special
Operations Squadrons USAF at Nakhon Phanom in Vietnam.
Re-manufacture was carried out by
On-Mark Engineering, and consisted of re-building the
cockpit with full dual controls and new avionics. The
fuselage was re-built without turrets, and a larger rudder
was fitted. Wings had 8 underwing hardpoints, and wingtip
fuel tanks added. Original engines were replaced with more
powerful ones fitted with fully reversible propellers. A
full 3 tone camouflage over black undersides was used in
Vietnam.
After Vietnam the surviving Counter
Invaders were returned to the bone-yards of Arizona, where
most were rapidly and deliberately scrapped - so that this
cheap and highly effective weapons platform could not find
its way into the hands of a potential enemy. The only
surviving example that I know of stands guard duty at the
entrance of Hulbert Field, Florida, home of the USAF Special
Operations Squadrons.
THE KIT
The Airfix kit has been with us since
1971, and is a typical rivet-monster of the period. However
if you want any sort of Invader in 72nd scale, it is your
only starting point.
This article starts with a pile of
Invaders for sale in my local model centre at the knock-down
price of £5.00.
I had built a natural metal, solid nose
A-26B in 1993, so I knew exactly what I was getting for my
money, but being a bargain hunter I had to have one. Where I
build a duplicate version of a kit, I like it to be as
different as possible from the original – and the nocturnal
B-26C would fullfil that requirement. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .sometime.
My interest was revived a couple of
years later when I re-discovered an article about the B-26K
Counter Invader in the book book ‘Vietnam - Air War Debrief’
– now that really would contrast and compliment the original
Invader!
A hunt through my spares box revealed
some appropriate looking fuel tanks for the wingtips
(thought to be from a Matchbox single seat Hawk 200), and my
pending pile yielded square-tip propellers from a Heller
DC-6B Cloudmaster that I could use as masters, or share
between both models. My interest was high so the project
was started, If it all went pear shaped £5.00 was not too
much to sacrifice on a 'learning experience'.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction of this kit is fairly
straightforward, so I'll just concentrate on the areas where
I diverged from the standard kit instructions.
Cockpit
I removed the lump from the port side
cockpit floor and installed 2 spare seats from an Academy
B-17 Fortress. Replacement control yokes were made from
strut and paper clips, and installed for both pilots. The
cockpit was the painted black, with metallic grey floor and
dark green seats. Harnesses were made from thinly sliced
Tamiya masking tape to contrast the seat colour.
Fuselage
The gunner's compartment was completed
with similar interior decor as the cockpit, omitting the
sighting periscope. The resulting holes were filled with
Humbrol Clearfix.
I don’t know if the seat was still
there on the Counter Invader – and am certain that nobody
would use it in combat, but mine retains the seat for
daytime jollies.
My plan for a larger rudder was to
insert a sheet of plasticard between the rudder halves, then
cut a slightly extended outline and re-profile the section.
However this composite went AWOL on my
model bench, so I fabricated a new rudder using some round
section for the hinge-line, and thin plasticard skins.
Trimmed to shape, this was installed as the fuselage was
assembled, along with the turret blanking plates.
I sanded away the upper turret
contours, leaving a constant upper fuselage section from the
cockpit to the gunner's compartment. I have to confess that
the lower fuselage was not treated similarly, being fairly
well concealed. The bomb-bay was assembled closed, and no
kit aerials, steps or intakes were installed.
Then the original rudder re-surfaced,
too late to be used, why does that always happen?
Wings
I cropped each wingtip just outboard
the ailerons, then assembled the wings according to the
instructions. I removed the moulded guns, fitted the tanks,
and filled the underwing armament mounting holes. To speed
up projects a lot of my models are finished clean, the
Counter Invader would be no different.
The wingtip fuel tanks which had
started my interest in this project were 45mm long and 7mm
diameter, with a straight waist section which roughly
matched the newly truncated wings. A survey of my completed
models shows that finless tanks from an Airfix Hawk or any
first generation Harrier kit would be acceptable alternates
with my level of references.
Engines and Propellers
The engine blocks were assembled
without modification. I paint my radial engines with
Aeromaster Tire Black paint.
The cowlings required considerable
attention with coarse wet'n'dry to remove the leading edge
air intakes and create a round cross section. This exercise
had to be repeated with successively finer grades to restore
an acceptable surface.
New air intakes were butchered from
Airfix Short Stirling intakes. When I was happy with all
the components, the engines were assembled.
The real weak point of the entire
project would always be the propellers. With hindsight I
should have started with these before taking my scalpel to
any other part of the kit.
My first plan was to create a set of
correctly shaped blades from plasticard, mastered from the
DC-6B props, and graft them onto the original hubs. However
I soon realised that this was not a practical solution. The
result, if I could successfully build a propeller before
amputating my fingers, would look like something from an
early steamship!
Plan 2 was to share propellers with
the DC-6B, and accept the compromise that these two Douglas
Aircraft models would never be seen together.
Airframe Assembly
The wings were mated to the fuselage
and engines without further modification. At this point I
removed all those horrible rivets, and smoothed all the
joints. Also, I packed the solid nose with plasticene to
achieve an adequate balance, and completed the basic
airframe.
Now that the airframe was complete, I
realised that the DC-6 propellers were a bit too big, and
clashed with the fuselage. It was necessary to trip 2mm
from each tip.
Now the DC-6 was being corrupted, and
it should really have natural metal coloured props!
In desperation I hatched Plan 3, and
sent a parts replacement slip to Heller, requesting 2 DC-6
propellers.
My interest in this project was waning,
it was in real danger of being returned to the pending shelf
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . or consigned to the bin!
A few weeks later the replacement
props turned up. Saved again, thanks Heller! The rest
would be downhill, but you will hear more about the
propellers later.
COLORS & MARKINGS
By this stage I'd acquired a copy of
Airplane Magazine No 60, with a 3 view colour diagram of the
Counter Invader. This and the photos from the book were my
painting guides to the theatre standard 3 tone camouflage
over black undersides. My model was brush painted with
Humbrol numbers 116, 117 and 118, with 33 for the
undersides, de-icer boots and propellers. I couldn't work
out what the light patch at the top of the fin is, so I just
painted it light grey.
National insignia were not applied to
Counter Invaders. Markings were restricted to tail codes
and aircraft number on the vertical tail. A thorough hunt
through my private decal-bank revealed a way of constructing
a set of markings for TA 64-662 in black, which neatly
fitted into the appropriate range (64-630 to 64-679).
I applied the decals over a wet patch
of Johnson's Klear, then pressed them down with a rag. I
find that this gives no space for air under the decal, and
hence eliminates the risk of silvering. It dries quickly
and seals the decal to the model, so no air can creep
underneath later. I treated the whole airframe with Humbrol
Flat Cote to achieve a consistent flat finish.
FINAL CONSTRUCTION
The B-26 has a pronounced 'sit up and
beg' posture, which is not reproduced on the model Invaders
that I have seen. I decided to replicate this by shortening
the main undercarriage legs slightly. I found it very
difficult to achieve any strength it the undercarriage
again, and resorted to driving red hot paperclips into the
legs before the model could stand properly again.
Then I discovered that my cutting was
not as equal as I had hoped, and the port leg was shorter
than the starboard, to the extent that the propeller almost
touches the ground on that side!
Aerials were cut from various
thicknesses of plasticard and paperclips, and applied to
give the look of a Counter Invader. A nylon thread was
anchored with superglue and rigged from the cockpit mast to
the tail. Then I run a brush full of acrylic black paint
along the nylon for an authentic look.
Final detail of windscreen wipers and
navigation lights were added using gel pens. I find I can
use these more accurately than a brush for this sort of
detail, but they do take a lot longer to dry, so the model
has to be handled with care to avoid smudging.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall I am delighted with the outcome
of my Counter Invader project, which has attracted
favourable comments at my local IPMS branch and model shows
– and achieves my objective of representing an aircraft very
different to the kit which I bought.
I have completed other conversions, but
always with the aid of a commercial conversion set. This is
what sets my Counter Invader apart, and adds satisfaction to
the project.
The difficulties encountered made the
final outcome all the more rewarding.
Footnote
With hindsight, if the diagram in
Aeroplane Magazine is accurate, then the tip-tanks should be
longer, slightly slimmer, and have more pointed rear ends.
That said, I can't suggest an accurate donor part, but
nobody has ever commented that mine look inaccurate.
|
