Preview: The New 1/48th Scale ICM B-26B Marauder

In the spring of 2023, I got wind of a future release of a New Tool B-26 Marauder kit in 1/48th scale from ICM. The kit was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2023, but I didn't care when it was released, I just knew I wanted one. I put it on backorder at Hannants in April of last year. I have checked in from time to time, and because of events in the world in general and Ukraine specifically the release was delayed to early 2024. On April 15th of this year I received the model I had ordered a year ago.

The B-26 Marauder was designed and built by the Martin Aircraft Corporation. The design came about to meet the requirements of a 1939 US Army Air Corps Circular Proposal 39-640. The specifications were for a twin-engined medium bomber that had a maximum speed of 350mph (560km/h). It also specified that it had to have a range of 3000 miles (4800 km) with a bomb load of 2000 lbs (910kg). The initial design had a shorter wingspan than later production models. This short wingspan combined with high wing loading meant higher take-off and landing speeds that new pilots in training were uncomfortable with. This lead initially to a high rate of accidents and the nick name of “Widow Maker”, but by the end of the war the B-26 had the lowest average loss rate per mission.

I have built everyone of Monograms multi engine WWII American Bombers and Fighters at some point, except for the B-26. I started one and it went sideways, and I gave up. I have had a kit in my stash for 30+ years but never built it because of the experience I had with the first one. Looking at it, it is not a bad kit, but it suffers from fit issues and is typical of Monogram of that era. It has a low parts count with limited but nice detailing. Because of fit issues and the difficulty of achieving a successful build there has been a call for a new tool B-26. In steps ICM from the Ukraine. According to an interview Valeriia Buzina the decision to build the B-26 was almost an accident, and in part a result of the confusion that many have today between the A-26 Invader and the B-26 Marauder. They received lots of feedback from people to make a B-26 Marauder and thinking it would just require modifications to the existing A-26 molds they made the decision to go. When she and others were informed that it was actually a totally different aircraft they still decided to go forward because they had announced it.

I have always wanted to complete a B-26 Marauder because of a very influential and incredible teacher I had when I was in High School. Mr. Ben Syslo flew as a navigator on B-26's with the 323rd BG during World War II. He shared more with me and my friend than he did with his own family about his experiences during the war and after. I have pictures of one of the planes he flew on as Navigator. I am in the process of creating artwork for decals for this aircraft. When I reached out to surviving family members, they informed me that I knew more than they did about his service. Like many veterans and survivors of WWII, he returned to life, and I guess tried to leave the war behind. He only shared, very kindly, his experiences with inquisitive high school students like me and my friend.

So now that the ICM B-26B Marauder is finally out, was it worth the wait and does it live up to the hype? Well at first look let me answer that question up front, YES! When I opened the box, I was greeted by a full, but well packed box of sprues. The box itself is typical ICM high quality flip up lid, with a colorful well done cover lid with nice artwork. Let's take a look at what is in the box.

In the box there are two cellophane bags each packed full of sprues. There is the direction booklet which is very nice and had the decal sheet in it, and lastly a 2024 calendar with the box art as the background. There is a total of nine sprues, one of which is clear.

Sprue A is dedicated to to strictly the two fuselage halves. The plastic is very cleanly molded with some injector marks on the inside that will from initial viewing will not be visible when the model is assembled. The surface of the kit is not shiny smooth but has slightly textured surface, but I would not classify it as pebbly or rough. There is no rivet detail, but very clean and petite engraved panel lines. I put a Monogram fuselage half up against the ICM fuselage. I found that that with a little effort you could probably glue the two together. ICM's fuselage appears to be slightly longer, we are talking about a millimeter or so only. The locations of the cockpit, nose gear and Bombay appear to be almost the same. There are some internal details molded in but plenty of detail parts on other sprues to fill in the missing details.

Sprue B has one wing top and bottom, along with both the nacelles. Again, there is no rivet detail, but there are screws molded for access panels and hatches. The wings have very nice detail with the same texture, and I like that the molded the top of the rear sections of the engine and landing gear nacelles into the top of the wing.

Sprue C has the other two wind components, rudder, elevator, horizontal stabilizer and cockpit floor parts on it. The molding is flash free, crisp and clear. The texture is the same, but I did notice that the horizontal stabilizer part did have some sink marks.

Sprue D is duplicated so you get two. It has engine, bomb, wheels, propellors and some duplicated interior parts on it. The engines are quite detailed and will only require you to add the sparkplug wires if you choose too. The cowlings are typical of what I have seen from ICM, having eight parts to complete assembly. Compare that to Monogram's three parts.

Sprue E has more flight control pieces and interior bulkheads making up most of the parts. The detail is very nice, and I like the way they did the fabric surfaces. There are no stitches or fabric texture molded into the surface, just nice subtle indications of slight depression between the ribs in the control surface.

Sprue F is mostly composed of interior, landing gear and control surfaces. The details are nice and crisp, I hope the landing gear are not too finicky or fragile.

Sprue G has all the smaller and petite interior parts and door actuators. One of the parts was bent but one advantage of ICM kits is that their plastic is not brittle, so it takes some work to break it off.

Sprue H is the clear sprue, and honestly, I was amazed at just how nice and crystal clear. I don't know how they will fit but they will offer you the chance to show off your interior handywork through the clear canopy and nose parts. There is virtually no distortion either, and really a testament to the mold makers at ICM. There is an extra nose and cockpit canopy, and I intend on dipping them in future to test and see how much of difference it makes if any with these parts.

The decals are on a large sheet, clearly printed, on register and with a glossy decal film. There is a choice of three different markings, the first is an OD over Neutral Gray, “Ladies Delight” from the 394th BG. The second is a natural metal offering, “Coral Princess III” from the 344th BG. The last option is another natural metal bird with some gaudy nose art, “The Big Hairy Bird” from the 397th BG. I plan on using my own decals and building the “Rock Hill Special”/”Lucky Graki” when I get them finished.

The instruction booklet itself is nicely organized, showing the sprues, assembly instructions and markings instructions. It is printed on high quality paper with a satin finish. The only paint call outs are done in ICM Paint colors. You will have to do your own research on what color to use in your preferred paint brand. An added and currently unknown to me feature of ICM kits is that they offer construction videos to supplement the booklet which are available on YouTube. I watched the one for the B-26 and believe it will be of help to everyone. The link for the video can be found here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLGc7_Rr6KY .

There are no masks in the kit, but there are templates included in the instruction booklet so make a copy or two and you can cut them out and make your own masks. I don't think it will be long though before they are available from after-market companies.

So, what do I think? I think this is a phenomenal kit that if the fit is as good as the plastic, will be a lot of fun. I think some may be disappointed by the lack of rivets, and while I like that detail, I am not sure from the pictures that they were a prominent detail on B-26's. There is a lot of detail in plastic in this kit that will let a modeler build a very impressive representation of the B-26 without any aftermarket parts. That said I am sure there has been a lot of buzz about this kit and it won't take long for the aftermarket companies to start releasing all kinds of goodies for those you who want additional detail.

From what I see in the box, for any of you out there who have any interest in this plane I would highly recommend that you get this kit. It is a hot commodity, Squadron was doing pre-orders and is now sold out. I bought mine from Hannants and they are now on backorder with them too. If you are like me, build WWII aircraft, like bombers, and enjoy good kits, this is the kit for you. I will let the rivet counters find things to complain about, I will simply enjoy a long awaited and enjoyable kit.