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Guest review by Richard Staszak |
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The
Combat Model Company has produced a large range of models (aircraft and
ships) in various scales using basic vacuform (VF) procedures. In
general, these kits are relatively crude and require considerable modeler
experience to produce a quality miniature. The positive side of the Combat
Models story is that they have generally produced kits of subjects
unobtainable in any other form or scale. In particular, Combat has
provided a series of 1/72nd scale flying boats, most of which I
have in my to be built collection. The Kit The
first of these I have built is the Martin Mars. The basic kit is packed in
a sturdy card box and consists of 28 major parts and a package of clear
plastic disks to be used for the multiple small windows that appear on the
fuselage. ( I discarded these and used a liquid glass product.) A very
basic 1/72nd scale of three views in semi-blueprint form is
provided which also shows the beaching gear configuration. Basic
construction techniques are also presented in generic form. There are no
propellers, wheels , decals or marking data included. As a result the
model builder will need to supply his own set of reference data as well as
the missing components and details. I
checked the basic kit parts against the kit plans and concluded that the
model represents a JRM-1 rather than the later JRM-2 version. The JRM-2
being somewhat longer in length. Preparation Before
starting to remove components from the backing sheet I recommend that the
reference data be used to determine what panel and control surface lines
need to be added/deleted or re-scribed to improve the overall appearance
of the kit parts. Many of the basic panel lines and access doors are
missing from the parts. Construction Advice In
building the model I noted the following special effort areas: *
The Fuselage nose appears to be too blunt and I installed a wooden block
to allow for re-profiling. Wooden blocks were also installed inside the
fuselage to support *Since
there is no clear cockpit canopy component supplied I removed the
corresponding area from the assembled fuselage and used a push through
method to form a clear section replacing the cutout area. It was necessary
to scratch build the entire cockpit interior using data from the reference
information. *There
is a decided depression in the starboard side of the fuselage that will
need interior reinforcement together with several external coats of body
putty. *
The rear of the fuselage float area is not symmetrical as the starboard
half is about .125 inches out of contour from the port side. I chose not
to correct this problem as *The
wing sections need reinforcement at the wing tips and wood blocks were
installed and re-contoured to match my reference data. *Because
of the large wing span on the model a plastic wing spare built up from
multiple sections from the kit backing sheet. The dimensions or the spar
were taken from the kit plans. A corresponding wing box was made and
installed in the fuselage which would provide the required wing mounting
strength and alignment. *Upon
installation of the port wing I noted that the outboard panel drooped
rather then continued the normal wing dihedral. (I may have over sanded
this section to cause the problem.) I found it necessary to cut the wing
section underside and wedge it up with plastic sheet to continue the
correct dihedral. *
The rear of each engine nacelle is molded integral with the wing sections
and were found to somewhat distorted and required rebuilding. Before
installing the cowling fronts. In particular, the inner nacelle of the
port wing was oversize and required removal and build-up of a new section
using scrap plastic and body putty. *The
outboard wing floats, when assembled, displayed keel dimensions that did
not match the kit plans. I used body putty to build up their depth in this
area. *When
the assembled outboard floats and installed float pylons were offered up
to the appropriate wing section the support strut lengths were noted to be
incorrect causing a miss-alignment of the float. I needed to add .125
inches to one strut and remove material from the other three struts until
the floats were in the correct position in height and angle relative to
the fuselage. *The
fit of the wings to the fuselage is not good. The fuselage top should
blend with *Accurate
assembly of the stabilizer sections to the fuselage was very difficult due
to the complex shape of the fuselage in the mounting area and the
stabilizers have *Detailing
of the completed model will require an extensive review of all the
reference material. In particular, I found it difficult to determine the
exact location of the engine exhausts on the engine cowlings. After much
deliberation I decided that the exhausts were on each side of the cowling
in line with the wing leading edge and at the base of the engine mount.
The
exhausts were made from sections of *Propellers
and engines will need to be scratch built unless you have the correct set
in your spares box. I had spare resin engines in my scrap box and
scratched the propellers. Cast metal propellers can be purchased from
Roger’s Models for about Painting and Decals The
model was painted overall gloss Navy Blue with a small area forward of the
cockpit over painted with a flat coat to provide a reduced glare for the
crew. The cockpit interior was painted medium gray with red seat cushions
and flat black boxes, instrument panel , center console and instrument
panel cover. The beaching gear components were painted bright yellow.
Propellers were flat black with yellow tips. Exhaust stains from the
engines and various outlet vents on the wings were sprayed various shades
of gray and black. Decals
came from the spares box with model railroad lettering used for most of
the signage appearing on the aircraft. The unique Naval Air Transport
Service emblem (not shown in the attached pictures) were made using
Photoshop and my computer. And finally....... Was
the effort involved in realizing this model worth it? I would say so as I
doubt that many model builders have the 1/72nd scale Mars in
their build up collection. Now on to the Combat Models Tradewind. References 1.Gunston,
Bill; “the Mighty Mars”; Aerospace Monthly; April 1976; Vol 4, No.4;
IPC Transport Press Ltd. 2.
“Variant Briefing, Martin Flying-Boats, Mariner, Mars and Marlin”;
Wings of Fame; Vol. 7; Aerospace Publishing Ltd.; 1997. 3.
Gouldthrope, Ken; “Dan McIvor’s Mars Mission; Air & Space;
October/November, 1993; Smithsonian Publication. 5.
Smith, Bob; PBM Mariner in Action; Aircraft No. 74; Squadron/Signal
Publication Inc. 1986. 6.Descriptive
Arrangement Drawing; Bureau of Aeronautics; Navy Department; September,
1944 (author’s collection) 7.
“The Gods of War: Mars Flying boat” Inflight USA; August 1994. |
