Glencoe Models 05001 Martin MB-2 Bomber / NBS-1 — 1:74 Plastic model aircraft kit

Manufacturer: Glencoe Models
Kit number: 05001
Aircraft: Martin MB-2 / NBS-1
Scale: 1:74
Barcode / UPC: 090843050010
Kit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit
Original tooling: Earlier ITC/Ideal moulds
Glencoe release: 1988
Status: Discontinued/vintage
Manufacturer and kit history

Glencoe Models became particularly interesting to collectors because it revived a number of older American plastic-model moulds that might otherwise have disappeared from production. The 05001 is a good example: the kit uses the earlier ITC/Ideal tooling, but was issued by Glencoe in the late 1980s.

The kit is moulded in the unusual 1:74 scale, rather than the more familiar 1:72. That difference is small but important when cataloguing it or comparing it with other kits.

The 1988 dating is supported by multiple vintage-kit catalogues and current marketplace records.
Kit contents

The 05001 is a relatively straightforward vintage kit, but it is particularly attractive because the subject itself is unusual.

Known contents/features include:

Injection-moulded plastic airframe

Large twin-engine biplane fuselage

Two Liberty engines

Engine nacelles

Upper and lower wings

Twin-tail assembly

Landing gear

Bombing equipment

Defensive gun positions

Clear parts

Decal sheet

Assembly instructions

Marking options for three aircraft

Oldmodelkits specifically describes a complete example as including all parts, decals and instructions, and identifies markings for aircraft of the 96th Bombardment Squadron, 11th Bombardment Squadron and 14th Bombardment Squadron, including aircraft associated with the 1921 bombing trials against Ostfriesland.

One modelling review of the Glencoe kit reports one decal option, so there appears to have been some variation between particular boxings/decals. For a collector, I would therefore check the actual decal sheet rather than assuming every 05001 has identical markings.
Moulding and detail

This is definitely a vintage kit, rather than a modern highly detailed 1:72-scale tooling.

The kit's age means that modellers should expect:

Raised rather than modern recessed surface detail

Basic cockpit/interior representation

Simplified engine detail

Simplified gun positions

Relatively thick struts

Basic undercarriage

Vintage-style decals

That said, the kit has an important advantage: there are very few injection-moulded models of the MB-2/NBS-1, so this Glencoe release remains useful even though its tooling is old.

The large biplane configuration also gives the finished model a distinctive appearance.
The full-size Martin MB-2 / NBS-1

The Martin MB-2 was an American twin-engine bomber developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company shortly after the First World War.

It was an enlarged development of the Martin MB-1 and was specifically intended to carry a greater bomb load, with performance sacrificed in favour of payload. The US Army ordered the design in 1920.

The aircraft was subsequently redesignated NBS-1, meaning Night Bombardment, Short range, under the Army's revised aircraft designation system.

The MB-2/NBS-1 was a large wood-and-fabric biplane, powered by two Liberty engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing.

A particularly clever feature was its folding outer wings. The wing sections outside the engine nacelles could fold backwards, reducing the space required for storage in the relatively small hangars of the period.
Production

Martin designed the aircraft but did not build all of the production examples itself.

The Army purchased the design and awarded subsequent production contracts to:

Glenn L. Martin — first 20 aircraft

Curtiss — 50

L.W.F. Engineering — 35

Aeromarine — 25

This resulted in approximately 130 aircraft being produced.

The aircraft became the US Army Air Service's principal multi-engine bomber before being replaced by the Keystone bomber series in the late 1920s. The type was retired from service around 1928–29.
The famous 1921 bombing trials

The MB-2's historical importance is largely connected with Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's 1921 bombing demonstrations.

On 21 July 1921, six Army NBS-1 bombers participated in the attack on the captured German battleship SMS Ostfriesland.

The aircraft employed specially developed 2,000 lb demolition bombs, carried externally beneath the aircraft. The demonstration was intended to examine the effectiveness of aerial bombardment against major naval vessels.

The event became one of the most famous demonstrations in early American military aviation and contributed to the continuing debate over the role of air power against naval forces.

The Glencoe kit is particularly appropriate for this historical connection because its decal options specifically include aircraft associated with the bombing units involved in the Ostfriesland demonstration.
Aircraft specifications

The National Museum of the United States Air Force gives the MB-2 approximately:

Crew: 4

Engines: 2 × Liberty engines

Maximum speed: 99 mph

Range: 558 miles

Maximum bomb load: 3,000 lb

Defensive armament: 5 × .30-calibre machine guns

Other Air Force historical material gives a wingspan of approximately 74 ft 2 in and a length of 42 ft 8 in.

At the kit's unusual 1:74 scale, that corresponds to approximately:

Length: 17.4 cm

Wingspan: 30.2 cm

So despite being an unusual scale, the model has a fairly substantial wingspan.

There is no original MB-2/NBS-1 known to survive. The aircraft displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force is a full-size reproduction constructed using original Martin drawings and completed in 2002.