Douglas A-26A/B Invader
US Late WW II Medium Bomber

Italeri, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Glen Porter

Italeri's 1/72 scale A-26 A/B will be available online from Squadron.com

Designed and first flown mid war, the A-26 Invader didn't get operational until just before the end. However, despite some initial problems, it proved itself to be one of the fastest and most nimble bombers of the Second World War. Initially to have three variants, A-26 A as a Night Fighter, A-26 B as Ground Attack with the gun nose and A-26 C as the Bomber with the glazed nose, the Night Fighter was soon dropped but the “B” and “C” both participated in the war. It then went on to fight in Korea, Algeria with the French and Vietnam.

This kit by Italeri represents the Ground Attack version of World War II with the original asymmetrical six gun nose. It's the fourth Invader out but the third was under the Revell label. I'm not sure why they've included the “A” in the title because as far as I can tell the original “A” (Night Fighter) was not produced. It's also the first A-26 with markings for WWII. I hope they will do the “C” (glazed nose) with Second World War markings in the future.

The A-26 B released by Revell is the Italeri kit but with the eight gun nose and has markings for the Korean War only and the modified dorsal turret plus no ventral turret.

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The sprues in this kit are almost identical to those in the Revell kit with the exception of the nose and turret set-up. All four kits share many parts.

Sprue A has fuselage halves, tail plane, interior floor, nose wheel halves, gun nose, modified turret (not used with these markings), gunner's station, turret inserts and some other small bits and pieces.

B carries the four-piece main wing, engine nacelles, front and main under carriage legs and doors, instrument panel, control column and pilots seat for the cockpit and all of the interior bulkheads.

There are two identical Ds. These have the bombs and racks, two two-piece under wing gun packs, main wheel halves, standard gun turret, engine and cowling.

C is the clear sprue. As is usual from Italeri, it is well moulded and very clear with main canopy, gunner's canopy and two smaller parts.

For an Italeri kit this is highly detailed in the interior of the fuselage and the bomb bay but lacking some what in the main wheel wells and engines. There is detail in the nose which is left over from the A-26 C kit which has the glass nose and some of it can be left out as it can't be seen once the gun nose is fitted.

The instruction show four under wing twin gun packs being fitted but the paint/decal instructions show version B and D having only two and A and C with none. This should be explained in the instructions or the builder will discover too late that he or she has fitted too many.

The large decal sheet is printed by Cartograph. Need I say any more? The four aircraft covered by the decals are as follows :

• A is the well known A-26 B “Stinky” from the 552nd BS, 386th BG at Beaumont, France1944. It's in bare metal over-all with the name Stinky, shark mouth and eye and nose on either side of the nose and the 386th's yellow fin flash.

• B another A-26 B from the same group but the 554th BS, France 1945. in the same over-all bare metal, it has the name “Kiwi Boid” on the port (left) side of the nose and of coarse the yellow flash.

• C also an A-26 B of the 86th BS, 47th BG, 12th Air Force, Italy 1945. Again no camouflage, it has no name but gloss yellow wing tips and a red fin flash with a black 58 super imposed.

• D is A-26 B “Rose Marie” of the 670th BS, 416 BG, France 1945. Yep, you guessed it, over-all bare metal with the name “Rose Marie” on the out side of both engine cowlings and a vertical green stripe on the rudder.

A, B and D have Olive Drab anti glare panels on the nose and the inside of both engine cowlings while C has Black. The decals include a full set of stencils and their placement is shown on the Paint/Decal Instructions.

This is a very impressive model of not only the fastest and best handling bomber of WWII but in my opinion also the best looking. Now, if we could just get Mr. Italeri to revisit some of his other twins and give them the same detail inside and out, there would be a very happy bunch of Braille Scale Aircraft Modellers out there.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Italeri for the review sample