1:72 PBM-5A Mariner exterior

Eduard 1:72 PBM-5A Mariner exterior: photo-etched parts

A set of photo-etched parts for improving the exterior of a model of the patrol flying boat Martin PBM-5A Mariner in 1:72 scale. It is not a model of the aircraft but an accessory with which plastic parts on the surface of the airframe are replaced or completed and with which a fineness can be reached that injection-molded plastic cannot achieve in this scale. The manufacturer is the Czech company Eduard, one of the best-known suppliers of photo-etched sets for plastic modelers. The code designation of the line corresponds to a full photo-etched set, that is to a larger fret than the smaller sets of the Zoom line have.

The real subject

The Martin PBM Mariner was a twin-engined patrol flying boat of the US Navy. During the Second World War it served to hunt submarines, to patrol over the ocean and for rescue flights. Its recognition features were the gull wing and the twin vertical tails. The PBM-5A version was amphibious: it received retractable wheeled landing gear, so it could operate from the water as well as from a hard runway. It stayed in service after the war too, among others with the Coast Guard on search and rescue work.

Tips for working with photo-etched parts

Separate the parts with a sharp scalpel on a hard surface, and never break them out by twisting. For the bends a bending tool or two straight blades between which the part is clamped will serve. Degrease the metal before painting and lay primer under it, otherwise the paint holds badly. For bonding, super glue applied with the point of a pin or a small drop of two-part epoxy, which gives time to line the part up, has proved itself.

Who the set is for

• Modelers who want the surface of a model finer than plastic parts allow
• Builders of seaplanes and patrol machines in 1:72 scale
• More experienced modelers who have worked with metal parts before
• Those building the Mariner for a display case or a competition