USAAF B-26B "Marauder" 1:144 Academy 12656

The Martin B-26 Marauder was an American twin-engine medium bomber with an all-metal mid-wing design, which played a significant role in USAAF operations during World War II. The prototype first flew in 1940, and mass production began a year later. The aircraft featured a modern silhouette, tricycle landing gear, and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines.

Early versions of the Marauder, due to their high landing speed and difficult handling characteristics, earned the ominous nickname "The Widowmaker." However, after structural modifications, such as increasing the wingspan and tail surface area, the B-26 became one of the safest bomber aircraft, demonstrating exceptionally low combat losses in the European theater of operations.

Academy's 1:144 scale model is a re-release of the valued Minicraft molds, allowing for the construction of a miniature of this famous bomber. The set offers:

• Three sprues with plastic parts and one sprue with clear parts.
• Detailed reproduction of the aircraft's silhouette in a small scale.

Option to build the model in one of three historical marking versions:

• B-26B-25-MA Marauder 131773/PN-O "Flak-Bait" (S/N 41-31773)
• B-26C-45-MO Marauder 2107614/RJ-H (S/N 42-107614)
• B-26B-25-MA Marauder 31788/PN-A (S/N 41-31788)

The aircraft was armed with numerous 12.7 mm machine guns and could carry up to 4000 pounds of bombs, making it an effective tool in raids over Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin.

Kit for self-assembly and painting. Does not include paints or glue. Assembly requires separately sold modeling tools (including nippers, files, tweezers), paints, brushes, and plastic model cement (e.g., Tamiya Extra Thin Cement). The photo shows a professionally assembled and painted model.