Douglas A-26C Invader

Italeri, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Italeri's 1/72 scale A-26C Counter Invader will be available from Squadron

The Douglas A-26 was one of the longest serving WWII bomber designs, with evolving versions of the Invader appearing over the skies of Korea, Vietnam, Africa and Latin America.

Italeri delivers the second in its Invader family with their 1/72 scale A-26C. This was the glass-nosed bomber variant used in the last months of the Second World War, and more widely in Korea. It also saw service with foreign Air Forces, notably the French armée de l'air in counter insurgency operations in Indochina during the 1950s.

Italeri's 1/72 scale A-26C shares much in common with the Counter Invader released late last year. Indeed, some of the parts of that kit, including the tail, the wheels, the style of reduction gear housing and cockpit, were not entirely accurate for that release but are more appropriate for this earlier variant.

Under the attractive box art lie four sprues of crisp grey injection moulded plastic with 96 parts attached. Two large sprues are (mostly) generic. These contain the fuselage halves, the wings and a number of major components. The fuselage is designed with inserts at the top and bottom to accommodate the supplied turrets. The specific nose and turret parts for the A-26 are also moulded on this sprue. The two remaining identical sprues hold some of the unique elements of the A-26C including propellers, cowls, engines, and ordnance.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Surface detail is crisp and fine. Panel lines are recessed, while control surface demarcation is convincingly rendered by way of deeper engravings. Some raised detail is also present as appropriate, including structural features on the fin and the interior of the fuselage. I could only find one tiny sink hole, and even this was on the engine nacelle under the wing. Moulding is otherwise first-rate.

A high level of detail is present in this 1/72 scale kit. The cockpit configuration is correct for this variant.

The kit includes a nicely detailed bomb bay with separate doors.

Small details look great. It is also good news that this release includes bombs and gun packs.

Each R-2800 engine is a single part with the basic shape of the crankcase, and the front half of the front row of cylinders. They'll look okay when hidden behind the big props and inside the close cowls, but are not mastered quite to the same standard as the rest of the model.

Kit engineering is straightforward, with no frightening prospects for construction. The undercarriage looks to be strong, with the top of the gear legs being somewhat simplified as a compromise to ensure positive fit with four locating pins inside each engine nacelle. Although there is no detail inside the main gear bays, the nose wheel well is quite complete and the open doors are cleverly moulded as one with the sidewalls. The main gear legs even have brake lines moulded in place. All tyres are bulged and flattened, and the wheels are typical of this A-26 variant.

Clear parts are very thin and free of distortion.

The marking options are another high point.

Two Korean War US Invaders in black with red trim are joined by two French A-26Cs based in Indochina. One of the French machines is in natural metal, while the other wears a suave black and white scheme with red trim. Wing walks and propeller stencils are also supplied on the sheet. The decals themselves are crisply printed with thin carrier film and a matt finish.

Italeri's 1/72 scale A-26K is as good as the earlier Counter Invader in terms of moulding quality and detail, and more accurate thanks to the inclusion of appropriate cockpit, engine crankcase and wheels.

It boasts restrained surface features, has plenty of ordnance and marking options, should be quite easy to build straight from the box and will look impressive when finished with its clear nose and sleek lines.

Highly Recommended

Thanks to Italeri for the review sample