ICM 1:48 B-26F Marauder

[Fran]

1:48

B-26F

Marauder

ICM

Catalogue number 48325

Price: around 70€

 

“The Glenn L. Martin Company's Model 179 answered a January 1939 Army Air Corps specification for a high-speed bomber. The Army ordered the streamline twin-engine, all-metal monoplane, designated the B-26 Marauder, in September and the first production example flew in November 1940. The design incorporated several new innovations. The high wing loading of the design and the resultant increased landing and take-off speeds caused many accidents in training. Intimidating epithets such as the "Widow Maker" and "One-a-Day-in-Tampa-Bay" added to the B-26's initial reputation as it underwent Congressional scrutiny.

 

As those problems were being resolved, Marauders immediately went into combat after American entry into World War II. On June 4, 1942, Army Air Forces (AAF) Marauders defending Midway Island attacked Japanese aircraft carriers with torpedoes, but failed to score hits. The AAF sent Marauders to North Africa after the Allied invasion in November 1942 for service with the Twelfth Air Force. Eighth Air Force B-26s flew the first bombing mission against German forces in Europe on May 14, 1943. In preparation for the invasion of France, the Eighth's Marauders were transferred to the Ninth Air Force, the primary American tactical air force in Europe, in October 1943.

 

Like the M1 Garand combat rifle, the Sherman tank, and the LST, the Marauder was an important weapon in the war against the Axis powers. B-26 crews flew over 100,000 sorties and dropped approximately 150,000 tons of bombs, primarily against Nazi Germany. The AAF lost fewer Marauders than any Allied bomber it flew—less than one-half of one percent. Besides the United States, the air forces of Great Britain and France operated Marauders in combat. Few Marauders survive today out of the 5,266 produced by Martin.

*History from National Air and Space Museum.

 Just a brief history for a very well know aircraft.

ICM Model released the 1:48 B-26F Marauder (kit number 48325) in 2025 as a follow-up to their very well-received 2024 B-26B kit (48320).

This is essentially a rebox with new parts to capture the F variant's specific features, such as the adjusted wing angle and modified nose.

We also review already the G version. You can see it here.

 

And as for the G version, the F version also have the same ergonomic wing incidence.

 

The early versions of this model exhibited landing and take-off characteristics that resulted in a high rate of accidents during these phases of flight.

To reduce the landing and take-off speeds, the wing incidence was increased by 3.5 degrees. This modification lowered the landing and take-off speeds, but at the expense of maximum speed, which was reduced to 277 mph.

Another significant change was the standardization of internal equipment, thus creating the “G” version of the B-26. The last of the 1931 B-26G units left the production line on 30 March 1944.

Economic concerns and the reputation created by the early versions of the B-26 (nicknamed the “widowmaker”) led to the abandonment of this model and its replacement largely by the A-26 Invader, which had greater range and speed. Meanwhile, for example, a B-25 had 25% lower production cost.

 

Externally, the B-26F is nearly identical to the B-26G. The main difference is that B-26G featured more standardized interior equipment compared to the B-26F.

 So, both models sprue are identical.

 

 Sprue A1 includes the fuselage with modifications to the wing angle (which differs from earlier versions).

 

 

Others close details of the tail.

 

 

And the inside halves of the fuselage:

 

Similarly, sprue K1 provides the specific parts for this version, featuring spars for attaching the wing root, a new instrument panel, and the wheels' rims for the landing gear.

 

 

Sprue H1 supplies the specific plexiglass nose for this version.

 

 

With a wingspan of about 454mm, when assembled, it's a substantial model that replaces outdated offerings like the 1978 Monogram kit, which suffered from fit issues and limited detail.

 

The usual ICM flip top cardboard with a separate card lid showing the artwork. featuring eye-catching artwork of a B-26F in action.

Inside you have sprues separated in two plastic bags and the clear parts in another bag and full protected. You'll find around 380 plastic parts (up from 348-363 in the B-26B kit, accounting for variant-specific additions), molded in gray styrene with two clear sprue for canopies and windows. Parts are bagged separately to prevent damage, with the clear pieces protected by foam for excellent clarity and no scratches.

 

The sprues are cleanly molded with minimal flash and sharp, narrow panel lines representing rivets and fasteners—far superior to the raised details on older kits like Monogram's. The plastic is soft and flexible, which is a mix felling as it which helps prevent breakage of delicate parts like antennas and gun barrels, but I used Deluxe Materials in a current ICM model that I making and the glue melt part of the plastic… So try to use a “delicate” glue on this plastic.

 

 

 

 

The interior with separate bulkheads, crew access doors (via the nose wheel well), and a fully equipped bomb bay that can be posed open or closed with inserts is quite good from the box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cockpit features like instrument panels and seats are crisp, but aftermarket boys are already making their patch offering excellent options to ultra realism of the B-26 cockpit, at least of the B version. Check Essentials Elements sets on facebook.

 

 

 

The engines detail looks quite good. No doubts a very good effort have being made in giving a nice looking detail engines on this one. Kudos engine. To make it almost perfect in this scale you just need to add some wires.

 

 

The clear parts, as usual are pristine and very clear with no distortion at all.

 

 

 

 

 

The usual standard from ICM with a booklet with the first and last page in satin paper and the rest in normal paper.

The color table chart only have ICM paint range and it start to make some sense (at least in Europe) as you start to have some online store that sell them as Art Scale Kit.

The decal sheet has a good color registration and supply 3 finishing options

 

 

 

B-26F-1-MA 42-96255 “Miss Maookie”, 586^th Bombarment Squadron, 394^th Bomb Group, Holmsley South, August 1944;

B-26F-1-MA 42-96281 “Redlight Rosie”, 587^th Bombardment Squadron 394^th Bombardment Group, 1944

 

B-26F-1-MA 42-96323 “Zombie IV”, 587^th Bombardment Squadron 394^th Bombardment Group, 1944

 

 

A negative aspect that I already pointed when I review the B version.

So if you watch carefully the sprues, you have notice something that is not the best solution (at all) from ICM…

 

ICM decided to mould in the pitot probes in the fuselage and in the wings….

Why??? This is the best way to break during construction. I bet that at least 98% of those will be broken in the construction….

So the best way will be remove both, make the respective hole and store it an put it in only in the final steps of construction.

 

It`s a negative aspect on this beautiful kit.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

ICM's B-26F captures the variant's nuances well, including the increased wing incidence (reflected in wing root and spar design), absent nose gun (faired over), and modified windshield. It represents a late-production F model accurately, with the larger wingspan and 8-degree tail dihedral matching historical specs.

The detail out of the box is very good and it will make a very good replica. For the expert and keen modeler some AM will make some extra detail to make this beauty into a total masterpiece.

The construction is not totally straightforward as there are several sub-assembly that you need to take care and time (as undercarriage is a complex sub-assembly steps) to get it right on spot., so the novice could have some trouble in build this one. But all other modelers can make from this a truly fantastic model of the B-26F

 

VERY Highly recommend this to intermediate/expert modeler

 

My thanks to ICM for making this fantastic model.