During the mid-1950s, front line units of the USAF were reequipping with Martin B-57 and Douglas B-66, jet powered bombers, leaving the remaining examples of Douglas’ venerable B-26 Invader to head into retirement. However, in the early 1960s the 1st Air Commando Group began developing counter-insurgency techniques. Additionally, a small number of B-26Bs were operating clandestinely in South Vietnam.

Unfortunately the aging B-26Bs were suffering frequent wing spar failures, leading to their withdrawal from service. Recognizing the fact that Invaders made cost-effective attack platforms the USAF ordered the On-Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, California to upgrade an Invader, specifically for the counter insurgency (COIN) role. On-Mark had never held a military contract but they were experts modifying Invaders for the civilian market; their Marketeers and Marksmen being among the top executive transports of the day.

On-Mark stripped the airframe of one Invader, rebuilt and strengthened the wings, added eight under wing hard points, 165 gallon tip tanks, 2500hp engines, reversible pitch propellers, anti-skid brakes and new avionics. These modifications took four months to accomplish and the prototype flew for the first time on January 28, 1963. Internally, a bomb load of 4,000 lbs could be carried, as could a further 8,000 lbs under the wings. Considering the typical wartime bomb load of a Boeing B-17G was 4,000 – 6,000 lbs, the Invader packed quite a punch. Impressed with the new plane the USAF designated On-Mark’s plane the B-26K Counter Invader and placed an order for 40.

Deliveries occurred between June 1964 and April 1965 but with the aging B-26s in Vietnam having been replaced by Douglas Skyraiders, the B-26Ks were kept stateside in training roles. In the spring of 1966 the decision was made to deploy the Counter Invaders to Southeast Asia to target traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Permission was granted to base the planes in Thailand, however that country maintained a policy of not allowing bombers to be stationed within their borders and B-26Ks were redesignated as A-26As – the Invader had come full circle.

While operating over Laos, Counter Invaders were quite successful in attacking targets along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Most missions were flown at night as the anti-aircraft weapons possessed by the communists were quite effect against slow moving aircraft in daylight. Gradually the interdiction missions were taken over by AC-130A and AC-130E Hercules gunships. By the time the Invaders had left Thailand in November 1969, 12 of the 30 aircraft had been lost to enemy action.

The Kit:

For decades modelers interested in 1/72nd have only had the ancient, rivet covered offering from Airfix. Finally, we have a new Invader that appears more inline with today’s quality and finish.

Typical of current Italeri kits, the plastic is soft and light grey in colour. The panel lines are acceptably thin and recessed, but details appear subdued or simplified. Fitting the parts looks like they’ll go together nicely.

Apparently this release was done in partnership with MPM, an Eastern European manufacturer who’ll release the earlier A-26B and C versions. This is certainly apparent in the parts, as all that’s lacking is the gun turrets and older R-2800 engine cowls.

Construction:

I started by assembling the interior components. These are mainly bulkheads that have to be glued into place without the aid of a lot of alignment or placement pins. I also proceeded to break off the front of the cockpit floorboard at this point. Its existence isn’t too important as it’s primarily for the glass-nosed A-26C, but it affected the installation of the nose gear doors and the cockpit’s forward bulkhead. Take care here because I didn’t apply much pressure to break mine. It has been suggested that the builder grind or cut away the locator pin ahead of the nose wheel. This is probably a good idea, but something I didn’t do.

Using the plethora of detail photos from Scott, I painted the interior of both the cockpit and the rear compartment black and used dry-brushing to bring out the details. The cockpit seats both had noticeable ejector pin marks on their fronts, so these were removed before painting and installation. Since I was building my B-26K out of the box, I left the cockpit without corrections. In reality the WW2 bicycle seat should be removed, the instrument panel extended to the co-pilot’s side and a second control column installed – nothing beyond most modelers.

The fuselage assembled without much trouble, although I did need a of putty. The locations of the top and bottom gun turrets have been replaced with plugs that need some attention with a file to ensure a nice fit. Even then, I had to use my putty to smooth the transition. Since there aren’t many panel lines on the lower rear fuselage, I didn’t worry about loosing any of them. The bomb bays were okay to close, but the opening needed a touch of sanding and I placed a plastic strap across the inside of the doors to reinforce the joint.

Next, I attached the horizontal stabilizers and assembled the wings. None of these gave cause for concern, although I had to remove the machine guns from the wing’s leading edge. Only the prototype Counter Invader was equipped as such. One mistake I noticed was that while there were machine guns in the wings, there were no access panels. Invaders had two wings; one with guns and access panels and ones with no guns and no panels. Italeri has combined both of these, and while this problem isn’t an accuracy issue for the B-26K, it will be for further releases of the A-26B and A-26C.

As I installed the engines to the nacelles, I discovered two things. First the top of cowling produces a bump that needs some sanding to reduce. Second, the raised areas around the cowling (part no. 15) need to be cut back by about 1mm to allow the cowls to fit tightly. After I’d completed my model I discovered that the carburetor air scoops on top of the cowlings do not fit as I have them – behind the cowl flaps – but flush to the forward edge of the cowl flaps (literally on top of the cowling). The instructions are not clear in this regard.

The locator tabs for the wings do not provide a sure location, nor do they give the proper dihedral. What I discovered was that if I inverted the fuselage and laid it on top of a Squadron sanding stick, laying the tip tanks on the work bench produced enough dihedral. Super glue held the wings in place while putty was needed to fill in the gaps.

I filled the nose with lead shot and then dumped super glue in to hold them in place. Oops. The glue leaked out the gun ports and all over the work bench. The result was enough weight in the nose, but also the destruction of the machine guns. I carefully drilled holes in the ports and inserted some short lengths of brass wire - not because I wanted to but because I had too.

Finally all of the little bits were glued in place.

Painting and Markings:

Italeri includes markings for several USAF machines, as well as some for the planes operated in the Congo by the CIA. Considering that only 40 Counter Invaders were converted, this covers about 10% of all Counter Invaders.

First, I painted the underside with Polly Scale’s German Night Black then I proceeded onto the camouflage. This first colour was medium green, then tan and finally the dark green. Paper masks were used to create a soft edge effect on the camouflage. A coat of Future floor wax was airbrushed to give a smooth, glossy surface for decaling.

All three wheel wells were Light Ghost Grey, painted with a brush.

Italeri’s decals appear thin but flat. Not having used these before, I did a couple test decals using the Congo markings. They responded quite well to my Gunze Mr. Marksofter although some help was needed along some of the panel lines. In the end, I just used my knife and poked holes along panel lines. The only problem occurred when I found a photograph of this particular aircraft in a book. It turns out that Italeri’s nose art is better suited for a 1/48th scale model. But since I like naked ladies, I didn’t mind.

Another coat of Future, then some Polly Scale clear flat finished off the colours. Exhaust stains were created with black and brown pastel chalks.

Final Assembly:

After the model had its markings complete, I finished it off by attaching some under wing stores, True Detail resin wheels and the propellers. The under wing stores are quite fragile and could probably benefit from being pinned with wire, while the True Details nose wheel is too big in diameter. I saw one modeler revert to the kit’s wheel, but I chose to simply cut off the axle and super glue the resin wheel in place.

Conclusions:

I’m pleased to finally have a Counter Invader in my collection. I’d been thinking about building one based on the larger Monogram kit and a couple aftermarket sets, but now, for a fraction of the price, I have a B-26K. Maybe I’ll build a civilian Marksman or Marketeer to keep it company.

This model is certainly an Italeri kit - the plastic, fit and detail are all typical of that manufacturer’s product line; some modelers will inevitably be disappointed with the need to use a little putty, or the simplified details. Italeri certainly didn’t set modelers’ dream afire with this release. They missed some major differences between the B-26K and older versions of the Invader. One modeler has even gone so far as to publish a list of two dozen things wrong with the kit. Of those items, I only corrected the wheels and from two feet my Counter Invader looks very much the part. I certainly don’t think there’s any reason to detail the cockpit or rear compartment – you’ll never see in there anyways.