1:48 B-26B-50 Invader front gun barrels

B-26B-50 Invader - nose barrels, 1:48 scale, Quickboost

A resin set intended for replacing the barrels of the machine gun battery in the nose of a plastic Invader model. The aircraft model is not included; this is a detail accessory. Barrels are the classic weak spot of injected kits: so that they can be molded and do not break, they tend to be too thick and with a closed muzzle. A resin casting holds a slender diameter along its whole length and looks right in scale even at the close range that nobody avoids with the nose of an Invader.

The real subject

The Douglas Invader was a twin-engine attack aircraft with radial engines that in the solid-nose version carried a heavy battery of forward-firing heavy machine guns. It only received the B-26 designation after the war, when it replaced the earlier A-26 abbreviation; it is, however, an entirely different aircraft from the earlier twin-engine bomber of the same number from another factory. The 50 block belongs to the postwar batches and is popular among modelers, because machines marked this way served long after 1945.

Building and painting tips

The barrels are the most fragile part you can buy in resin, so treat them like a glass rod. Wash the casting in warm water with detergent and cut the casting block off with a sharp scalpel or a saw with the part lying on a surface - never hold it in your fingers by the free end. Cut the original plastic barrels off and carefully widen the holes in the nose with a micro drill, so that the new parts go in without pressure. They are glued with a minute amount of cyanoacrylate glue. For color a dark steel base is enough, with a gentle polish with a graphite pencil to give the barrels a metallic sheen. Fit the set at the very end, after the decals and the varnish, otherwise you will sooner or later snap it off.

Who the set is for

• builders of the Invader in 1:48 scale
• modelers bothered by thick plastic barrels with a closed muzzle
• patient detail enthusiasts willing to work with fragile parts
• anyone after a quick lift in the credibility of the model's nose

This is an accessory for a plastic kit, not a model in its own right. It is supplied unpainted; paints, glue and the kit are not included in the package.