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Introduction
The North American A-36 Apache is a somewhat forgotten aircraft from the Second World War. It goes by several names; Apache, Invader and Mustang. It was the dive bomber version of the P-51 Mustang. Its most notable feature setting it apart from the early Mustangs was the addition of dive brakes atop and underneath each wing and twin .50 cal machine guns in the chin. The first A-36A emerged from North American Aviation's Inglewood CA plant in September 1942 and was withdrawn from service in late 1944/early 1945. It served primarily in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia theatres.
The Kit
I built several AM kits back in the 90's, notably the SBD-Dauntless, TBF-1C Avenger, B-25 Mitchell and Yak-3. They set the standard for kits at the time, they were highly detailed, had nearly flawless fit and outstanding decals. Sadly, AM is no more.
This kit is a bit of culture shock for me. I have not built a quarter scale aircraft in a very long time. I got this kit on Ebay for a pittance because it was "open box". Upon opening the box it was culture shock for me. I am used to building "Braille Scale" kits with 300+ pieces and a dozen or so sprues. Opening the box was culture shock for me, finding only 3 sprues plus a clear sprue and it left me wondering if some of the sprues were missing. Upon looking at the instructions I found out that really was all that there was.
The first impression I got looking at the sprues was pretty much the same as I got at looking at all AM kits. The detail was great for that scale, the panel lines were sharp and appropriately sized. The clear parts were reasonably thin and very clear and the decals thin and very sharp.
Examining the sprues more closely I did notice a couple of things lacking. First, the prop blades were very thick and did not taper to a razor's edge at the tips. Second, AM fell into the same trap as nearly every other model maker when it came into the wheel wells. They have put a back to the wheel wells. The truth of the matter is that the rear of the wheel wells did not stop at their rear margin, rather they extended all the way back to the wing main spar. Not a big deal really, I have cut them out and added a partial wing spar on every P-51 kit I have ever built.
The Build
First off I decided to start on the wheel wells. As with essentially every Mustang kit of this period, the main wheel wells were boxed in on all 4 sides. In reality, the back of the main wheel wells is open all the way to the main spar. I cut out the back of the wheel wells, extended the ribs and added a piece of sheet styrene to simulate the main spar. It is a detail that would not be visible unless you picked up the model, but in all my AMS/OCD way of building models, I could not let this go.
Now it is on to the cockpit. Detail there is not bad for a quarter scale kit and the Apache cockpit is admittedly pretty spartan. The seat is very thick so I will just scratch build another one. Something that is brand new to me are these 3D printed "decals". I have never used them before and since there is an excellent one by Quinta Studios for the Apache I thought I would give them a try. They will save me a lot of time when it comes to scratch building and using Waldron seatbelt hardware and instruments. I think the older I get and longer I have built models (going on 60 years now for me) the lazier it seems I am getting when it comes to all that.
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