IS MONOGRAM'S MARAUDER, STILL WORTH BUILDING?
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- Опубліковано 28 бер 2024
- With the imminent release of the ICM 1/48 B-26 Marauder, we thought we'd take a look at Monogram's 1977/78 release to see whether, in 2024, it's still worth building. It's simple, cheap to buy and accurate, but it's notorious construction may put a few modellers off. Are you up for a challenge?
If you'd like to see more of my work, please check out my website:
thekitbox.org
For further information on the new ICM Marauder:
icm.com.ua/aviation/b-26b-mar... - Навчання та стиль
I have built it twice and I think it is a surprisingly good kit. Same for the 1/48 P-61 Black widow, F-102 and F-106 also by Monogram.
My late Father was a BOAC Captain, he brought home for me many Monogram kits in the 1950's from Polks hobby store in NY, they were the best by far at that time.
The "two-tone" blue fields on the national insignia of the Monogram decal sheet may represent faded original blue circles and the darker blue outlines represent later over-painting of the mid-war red outlines adopted in 1943, the latter much newer and less faded than the original blue insignia.
Exactly that! I used to be with the Rebel Air Museum in the UK, and we had a rear fuselage section of a B-26 with original paint. The star and bar had the over painted red edging (some of the red was showing through) and this blue was darker than the central part of the insignia. I think Monogram were on point for replicating this on the decals.
Right on. Photos of Flak Bait in storage show this exact effect. Overpainting of the Insignia Red outlined August 1943 resulted in a darker, fresh Insignia Blue outer border covering the Red bordered insignia.
I have a copy of this kit from 1989. Monogram put out a version in 1998 with resin parts for the cockpit, wheel wells, and gun turret. Different decals too. Hopefully I'll build them someday. I do want the ICM kit too.
Loved the monogram boxes with the photos of the completed models. I always drooled over them. I only ever had the Typhoon and loved that kit.
If you can find any of Sheppard Paine's books, especially the "How to build dioramas" you would be in heaven. He's the guy who did the building for Monogram. His books are priceless.
Hi Spencer great to see you back this video, what’s special is that is my old kit that I gave to you back in 2020, if I remember I bought it about 1979 from Blunts models in Mill Hill north west London , they were the only shop in my area that stocked Monogram kits , the reason it never got started was “ Drums/Music business “ got in the way , and it sat in its box in a big box in my loft , survived house move etc , cannot wait to see what you do with 🙏😎
I have built many of the old Monogram 1:48 scale models,they were way ahead of it`s time and i still have some of them.Enjoy the build,the Marauder was great to build .Greetings from Norway. Good luck.
Great to see you back with videos. I still look at the older ones regularly.
Really enjoyed looking through that box with you. Hope you have lots of fun putting it together.
Fantastic video Spencer! Great to see you doing this again and a fascinating project too! All the best!
Great video!
Monogram models are great kits and a true modeler's build challenge.
Great to have you back. 😊
Much looking forward to your videos, having followed your magazine editorial contributions.
Having probably 12-15 years on you, I grew up with Monogram, and, to me they were the best. In that era, techniques to deal with gaps and poor fit were expected, required skills, thankfully usually not nearly as much needed with Monogram. In the '70's series of releases, a flyer or two-page color brochure was included that showed Shep Paines' interpretation of the particular model, which was an inspiration to me.
I've seen photos of "Flak Bait" in U.S. museum (Smithsonian?) in its original livery, and it appears that Monogram got the insignia colors correct, for what it's worth.
I think you'll understand the brilliance behind Monogram's thinking in molding those short, "half" R-2800's, when it comes time to find enough spaces to put weight in that model. LOL!
Thank you for sharing. Can not wait to see the finished product. Big fan of yours.
So good to see you back on the screen!
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy these old kits. 😊
Love the Shep Paine box art and dioramas he did for Monogram, always gave me some serious inspiration to tackle these kits when when I was a kid. Maybe it is time to dig this one out and give it a go!
Good to see you again on this channel. I would like to see more building videos please. Cheers.
Great to see on this channel again.
Great kits from Chicago I believe. Their 1/72 scale snap fit early marauder is actually great and I regret not picking more up as a kid. The Revell 1/72.scale marauder is also great. These b26s did have plenty of rivets so keep that in mind. Cool video my friend.
I’ve built 3 of these kits. At the time they were the only game in town. At the moment I have 230 plus built aircraft on display. I may get the ICM kit someday. The monogram kits looks superb if you are willing to put the time in. Cheers
Great to see you back Spencer! Very interesting vid indeed. The Monogram plastic finish on the Marauder has an almost Matchbox-like look to it. Look forward to seeing your fine work with it as ever! Cheers & Happy Easter. Peter. 👍🏻
Nice to see you back here Spencer. I got this kit one Christmas as a kid. I remember being stunned that it had such detail inside it. Dont think I ever managed to build it though
So good to see you back at the bench, I was praying you'd do the metallic scheme but hey your olive version will certainly not be drab! A real treat for Easter Mr Pollard, thank you.
That was my first kit I finished and painted with brush as child. So many memories. I love the look of the B-26B since then. Will go for the ICM one even though some details look a bit heavy
Looking forward to your build
Built one in the early 80’s and I think it was a Monogram kit. Been a long time but I believe I had some trouble areas to deal with.
Now I just watch you guys build . :)
Cheers from the cool part of the USA
Just be prepared for a challenge, pretty much every area required attention with putty and sanding. I found the port wing too weak where it attaches, it kept cracking loose. I closed up the bomb bay to hide the reinforcement I made with some sprue. Also the main LG is weak, both axles have broke on mine. I plan on hanging it because it is a very nice looking aircraft.
A number of years ago I came across the Monogram 1/48 Mosquito Night Fighter. I had built this as a young teen and was thrilled to have it in my hands again. Dial ahead another 10 years and I finally got at the kit. Built wheels up and flat black, as it was when I had it hanging above my bed. No, unfortunately my lovely wife has not allowed it anywhere near the bedroom, so it hangs in my shop area in the basement 🤣 I was a bit nervous about building it, wondering if I had the skill set to tackle such an old kit. Turned out I had a blast and most of the parts went together nicely. I think Monogram was well ahead of the pack for its time. Enjoyed your video and I'm looking forward to your Build Video. Thanks.
Looking forward to seeing the build, got a couple in the stash.
Spencer, if possible could you do this as a video build also, it would be great to see this being built. Cheers.
Morning Spencer, still a nice kit and maybe difficult to build like you said depending on your modelling skills.
Have seen some been very beautiful build.
There are builders that can make very bad kits look absolutely stunning.
I think we've been spoiled in the last few years with some high quality kits, I'm more like a shake and bake type of kit builder and been out for a long time but looking forward to picking up the hobby yet again.
Looking forward to see what you are going to make of this kit, but looking at you recent builds that I saw on FB I think you don't disappoint us.
Happy Easter
Jan-Arie
I built this kit way way way back in the day. i didn't have any issues that i can remember- I was happy I was able to snag one for my 1:48 bomber collection whole they were available. Would love a reissue :)
I built the Monogram last year, it came out nice but was a chore & little surface detailing all raised. It is cheap to get though...
Hello again, Spencer. Thanks for the review. Regarding your plans to build Monogram bombers, May I suggest you include the P-61 Black Widow? I know is not related to the bombers but Shep Paine could not go wrong including this Aircraft into his list. Just saying. Really nice video and hopefully you do them more often. Cheers from Guatemala.
Lovely to see you back on the tube Spencer. Would love to see your progress on the Monogram B-26… I have the revell boxing in the stash…. Would also the 1:48 P-61 Black Widow be included in your build series..??
Have a happy Easter weekend Spencer.
I built one of these back in the 90s. Pretty good except for the rear turret. I'm not an expert builder by any means but it wasn't too tough.
I have this kit. It arrived into my hands around 2005 started and I've been foiling it when I have the time. I also have that Aero Master sheet.
If you look at the back of the decal sheet, it should have a date they were printed to help with the kit issue date.
Wonderfull....love Monogram!
Its funny how things change, back in the day a kits break down was quite simple and not a massive amount of parts yet the construction could be quite problematic. Move forward to now and the same kit will have maybe 4 times the parts and the perfect fit. So you are moving from a constructor to a painter.
Great to have another Spencer video at last. The You Tube modeller space is getting very crowded these days but I always thought Spencer's channel was worth watching. Let's hope there ins't another 5 year gap before the next one.
It's all about your perspective.
You can spend $90-ish+ on the ICM kit. It'll likely build fairly easily/quickly...I'd guess 25-30 hours spent for a very nice model.
You can get the Monogram kit for as low as $10(contest vendor tables)...and it's going to take a solid 50-60 hours(if you do some scratch building and take the time to scribe in panel lines, add rivets, etc) to make it look as nice as the ICM. That's some cheap entertainment!!!
Can't wait for your take on the Monogram B-24J
compared to the newly released Hobby Boss kit. So glad you are doing videos again.
I built this a few years back fearing the worst, but found it no worse than their other bombers, (B-25). Looks a lot like a Marauder. I used it to try my hand with weathered bare aluminum. My uncle flew 5 missions 386th BGp before converting to A-26. Looking forward to your take. Building B-36 now, also not very scary to build.
Monogram models for me are just awesome and very economic compared to other brands...
A cool kit a great model for its time...and a better price back then compared to income!!!!...its all we had!
I built that actual boxing 3 years ago . I used aftermarket engines.
I didn't find it to challenging needed some filler around the engine area .
They were great kits for the 5 dollar price point. 35 years ago!
Monogram had a decent generic R 2800 with their Black Widow kit that featured poseable cowl panels on the port engine. So this begs the question, why did the Invader and Marauder not have at least one complete engine? Doubt it would have been that big of a cost since they already had a mold.
You can also add weight in the engine bay to keep the nose on the ground.
I had to do that on a constellation after I closed the fuselage forgetting to put weight in the nose.
I used a clear sprue as a tail stand after of the bomb bay. Not easy to see from most angles.
It almost sounds like there might be a Monogram bombers book on the horizon, if so that would be great!
It is worth the blood, sweat and tears. There and I haven't even watched the video. 😂
The 1/48 Ecsi kit was nicer, that included ventral gun hatches and bombay details, you cannot really pick the old monogram kit cheaply these days .
I built this back in mid 60’s. One of my most favorite kit. I loved it then.
I loved the old drawings,always cut them out, ‘framed’ then and hung them on my bedroom wall .
Models hung from the ceiling, with a few on a shelf.
But then, I build soley for enjoyment, to have a good time, to have something to look at. I have NEVER built for others, or contests, or shows.
I really don’t care if it’s ‘two rivets shy of perfect’ or ‘a scale 1/16” short’…
I have nothing against great kits, indeed I have invested serious $$ on ‘Perfect Grade’ models and other high-quality kits.
But even and old MPC Star Wars ‘Imperial Cruiser’ or ‘X-Wing’ kit is built with love, care and enjoyment.
So my vote is, YES still worth enjoying building.
P.S. just like ShutterAce, I commented before I even watched this video. 🤠
The light blue should actually be even lighter. Plenty of examples out there for reference. Seen more on Marauders than other types.
I built this one sometime back in '95. It wasn't the most straightforward of builds and certainly had its fair share of pitfalls that could catch out the unwary. It was, however, the only game in town back then but certainly a product of its time.
(There was AMT/Ertl' s offering but the less said, the better.)
+ves: A good kit but definitely simplified. However all the details, particularly those externally are nicely molded and it's accurate.
-ves: A lot of effort and care, however, has to be put in, in order to achieve an above average result.
With the imminent release of ICM's kit, this really is for nostalgia buffs and those with experience under their belts.
Enjoyable presentation.
I built it 35 years ago. Probably better than ICM's. But maybe less detail. Better fit and instructions I'm sure with the Monogram kit. Some manufacturers still haven't obtained the quality of Monogram kits from the Fifties.
Dee-cals!!
That word can be pronounced in many different ways, and they are all correct.
Worth building? Why heck yeah it is I love me some old school Monogram
The cowls are notoriously difficult to get right.
Is Monogram's Marauder worth building?
No it's not.
There are too many fitting issues with this old kit that will drive you insane.
Don't get me wrong there are a few (very few) old Monogram kits that are worth building, this however isn't one of them. Build the ICM one, yes it cost more but you will be happier with it.
Given the bent Monogram left leading edge, and with the incoming ICM, I would say no.
Please tell me when the pronunciation of "decal" became "deckle"????? Isn't "deckle" the rough-edge of hardback book pages that are rough-cut, like some art books and fancy novels? Isn't the proper pronunciation "de-CAL" (emphasis on second syllable) ???
It's the pronunciation used in Great Britain. I think Australia pronounces it the same.
Different countries and societies use different languages, different dialects and different pronunciations.
It’s a big, wide world, and it does NOT revolve around one country, or even one person.
I have a copy of this kit from 1989. Monogram put out a version in 1998 with resin parts for the cockpit, wheel wells, and gun turret. Different decals too. Hopefully I'll build them someday. I do want the ICM kit too.
The ICM is infinitely better, as the left wing leading edge on the Monogram is "gull winged" so severely it cannot be fixed: It is as if the engine was smashed upwards, crushing the wing thinner and bending the leading edge at the nacelle level... The right is far less so...