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ICM B-26 K Counter Invader

Started by David Butler · 57 ≡ · ↻ 8 months ago · 1/48, CIA, Counter Invader, ICM

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David Butler said 9 months ago:
After completing Tamiya's 1/48 P-38 F/G Lighting I started ICM's B-26K Counter Invader. I wanted to do something different so I opted for the version used by the CIA in the Congo Civil War. I really liked the green/white paint scheme and the unique role this aircraft played in 3 major conflicts along with others as well.
1. seat moved over a little
Work started in the rear radio compartment- I moved the seat over a little bit according to my sources and added an Eduard seatbelt and a brown cushion to the otherwise plain seat to give it a little detail.

Next up was the cockpit

I primed black, then a lighter shade of black, dark gray highlights, silver dry brushing, and Tamiya weathering pigments. Details were picked out with a toothbrush. Eduard belts were added along with the kit decal for the instrument panel.

Then I sealed everything up by gluing the main fuselage halves together. Fit is just ok in this section. . . some putty will be required. ICM provides very few positive location pins/tabs and those that are present are shallow and not all that helpful. . . the detail on this kit however is outstanding!

Update- 8/7/2023

So far most the main fuselage is assembled. For a new tool kit released to much acclaim I have to say that I am disappointed by the fit so far. Nose area needs a lot of work
1. Fit is not good here- I had to add a shim to fill the gap. Also notice the fit of the nose is poor as well
along with other areas
1. poor fit here as well
I also got the wheel wells painted and weather which will be assembled shortly.

They look nice when done and seem to go together with no problems in my initial dry fitting.

2 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Spiros Pendedekas said 9 months ago:

Fantastic entry and ditto progress, my friend @dbutlr!
Looking forward to it!
David Odenwald said 9 months ago:

Good start on this kit. Yes the original green over white is an eye catching scheme. Going from memory double check the orientation of where to drill mounting hole for antenna in top fuselage section just behind the canopy. You will need a good bit of weight to make it sit right. Have fun, I did with my B-26K from ICM.
Tom Cleaver said 9 months ago:

You're going to want to get Reskit wheels and the Vector resin nose for this. Believe me, that nose makes a biiiiiiiiig difference and so do the wheels (since those in the kit bear no resemblance whatsover to what the B-26K used.

Since you're doing such excellent work so far, you really don't want to let yourself down with the defective kit parts. The Vector Resins nose is available in the US from Linden Hill Imports and the Reskit wheels are very avaiable from dealers on eBay.
Eric Berg said 9 months ago:

Looking forward to your build as i will be taking notes since I have this kit waiting in the background to be started this Fall. I agree with TC’s recommendations, David@dbutlr. The ICM wheels are totally wrong. And the Victor replacement nose is perfect.
David Odenwald said 9 months ago:

Tom@tcinla perhaps you can explain in one sentence what is wrong with the ICM Invader eight gun nose. I lost IQ points going through all the measurements and such in posts when it came out.

While people were obsessing over the nose, deficiencies in the cockpit almost went unmentioned. The control yokes, On Mark did not use Douglas units but ICM put in the kit two A-26B/C control columns. R2D has the correct ones now, when I built mine had to scratch build. The red fuel select switches on the center console are 90 degrees off kit part, the aft center console is also wrong. The light gray quilted padding on the sidewalls and rear bulkhead are missing. The aft cabin light ICM molds to the back bulkhead needs to be moved forward until it is just aft of where the canopy clamshells open.

Yeah I obsessed a bit too much over building mine just after it came out. Maybe I got OCD - Obsessive Counter-Invader Disorder. Used photos from Cybermodeller and of "Special Kay" along with Invader in Action and IPMS/USA Quarterly Vol 16 No. 4. Got a second B-26K in the stash with more Aires wheels and the Eduard PE cockpit set. One of these days.

@dbutlr - keep plugging away as it is looking good so far.
Tom Cleaver said 9 months ago:

The ICM nose isn't even the right shape, let alone the right dimensions.
John vd Biggelaar said 9 months ago:

What an amazing start on this great entry, David @bdutlr
That interior is looking superb.
David Butler said 9 months ago:

Thanks for all of the encouragement and positive feedback on the work posted so far. @tcinla I looked up the Reskit wheels on Ebay and found that there are 4 different types for invaders. . . does anyone happen to know which type of wheel would be right for this kit? Type 1,2, 3, or 4?

@kahu thanks for the info about the interior-too bad ICM made those errors. I would love to see some photos of the kit you built to use for inspiration and reference
David Odenwald said 9 months ago:

Didn't take too many photos during construction so took these last night. Maybe on next build.

The resin wheels are by Aires, even has Goodyear on the sidewalls. When the kit first came out, they were the only game. I made the quilted padding from rolling the top part of X-Acto knife over aluminum foil to make diamond pattern, painted it light gray, put a black wash to make the pattern pop, cut the foil to fit copilot side plus areas behind canopy. This provides some color to an otherwise black pit of a cockpit.
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Chuck A. Villanueva said 9 months ago:
Not bad using the basic ICM kit, I used the Quinta Studio's interior set for the quilting used in the cockpit.side walls and bulkhead. Not only did it enhance the cockpit, it also brought out the details a bit more in an other wise dark cockpit. I used the Vector nose, it is a must for a more accurate look to the nose. I built the "K" way back in the mid 90's using the Paragon set, and the Monogram B-26C glass nose kit. Long before accurate information that we have now was available. And before anyone mentioned that the kit was a bit off shape wise. To me still looks like an Invader. The only real accurate wheels were made by Cutting Edge for their B-26K resin set. The wheels provided by Aires are nice but none are really accurate for the B-26K. Despite what TC says, I used the B-26K that sits at the Pima Museum in Tucson, Az as a reference and took walk around pics. It is a true Counter Invader not a mock up. It has the correct wheels that On Mark used on their upgrades.
8 attached images. Click to enlarge.
1. Monogram conversion B-26K
1. Correct wheel
Tom Cleaver said 9 months ago:

Type 3 wheels are right. The B-26K used KC-135 nose wheels for the main gear. The regular B-26 wheels are wrong for the K. As a matter of fact you can see them in Chuck's photos.
David Butler said 9 months ago:

Thanks for the photos Chuck and David- they are good references and inspiration. @tcinla I appreciate the clarification concerning the wheels- you are right the kit wheels are a far cry from the real thing.
David Odenwald said 9 months ago:

@dbutlr

You are welcome. The kit goes together pretty good.

Instructions will tell you to paint the gear wells Lime Green. White bottom aircraft got white, black bottom ones got black according to the IPMS/USA article from 1981. But the only flying B-26K "Special Kay" has her gear wells a medium or interior green.
Tom Cleaver said 9 months ago:

@dbutlr - if you are going to order the Vecor nose, you may as well get the Vector B-26K props at the same time. They look much better than the kit props - which have hubs that look nothing like reality.

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