B-26 Invader Attack Bomber

Atlantis (ex-Monogram), 1/128 scale

Reviewed by Cookie Sewell

Monogram was noted for wooden and mixed media kits in the 1950s with their “Speedee Built” non-flying aircraft being quite popular. One of the first models I ever saw was a “Speedee Built” F-84 done by a 14 year old kid up the street from where I lived. But then they switched over to all styrene injection molded kits in the mid 1950s of which their B-26 kit was one.

This kit was one of their first – P6, then PA6, which was released in 1955. I received it as an Easter gift from my mother for going to Bible studies at our church for that holiday.  It was a simple model but as it was the first one it came with rubber tires that had to be fitted to the landing gear with a hot knife or screwdriver; my mother would not let me try that and my father had no interest so they were stuck on with Testors tube cement and soon fell off.

Later Monogram changed them to injected styrene and the kit remained popular and in their catalogue until the late 1970s. Now the molds belong to Atlantis who has re-released it as part of their M series (letters show former mold owners: M – Monogram, R – Revell, A – Aurora, etc.)

The model is virtually unchanged from its post 1955 version. The good part is that it is a simple model and reasonably accurate even in the odd scale of 1/67 and can be made into an attractive shelf sitter for most of us of an age. The bad news is that it is definitely a child of its time and suffers as a result.

First off it is covered with overscale rivets and the large “stick it here” decal positions found on nearly all model kits from that time frame. There is no interior to speak of as the pilots and gunner are pinioned to the fuselage sides by massive spikes that impale them. The gun turrets are fixed in place and get a simple stick-up pair of barrels that are actually flat on the bottom (!). There are no engine faces to speak of nor are there any details in the wheel wells (there is no front wheel well – the landing gear leg and wheel are molded to the right fuselage half!)

The model pretty well represents a B-26B-50 with the full armament of eight .50 caliber guns in the nose, six more in the wings, four in the twin turrets and underwing loads of six 5 inch rockets and two napalm tanks. The markings as provided are those of the original kit and are for a 1944 production aircraft – 44-34311 – with the correct insignia for Korea. I have not seen the name “Lil Nell”  in any photos of B-26Bs there but it may be correct.

These kits are a great change for those of us tired of fantastic numbers of parts in modern kits (The ICM B-26B-50 kit has 243 parts and costs $98 as a comparison) and makes for a simple built.

The low part count is a good way for a kid to get into the hobby and produces a recognizable product in short order.

And they can be very cheap: the Ollie’s Good-N-Cheap stores are selling it for $12.99 right now.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2024 by Cookie Sewell
Page Created 28 March, 2024
Last updated 28 March, 2024

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