{"product_id":"glencoe-models-05001-martin-mb-2-bomber-nbs-1-1-74-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","title":"Glencoe Models 05001 Martin MB-2 Bomber \/ NBS-1 — 1:74 Plastic model aircraft kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: Glencoe Models\n\u003cbr\u003eKit number: 05001\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft: Martin MB-2 \/ NBS-1\n\u003cbr\u003eScale: 1:74\n\u003cbr\u003eBarcode \/ UPC: 090843050010\n\u003cbr\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\n\u003cbr\u003eOriginal tooling: Earlier ITC\/Ideal moulds\n\u003cbr\u003eGlencoe release: 1988\n\u003cbr\u003eStatus: Discontinued\/vintage\n\u003cbr\u003eManufacturer and kit history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGlencoe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1988 dating is supported by multiple vintage-kit catalogues and current marketplace records.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 05001 is a relatively straightforward vintage kit, but it is particularly attractive because the subject itself is unusual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKnown contents\/features include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Injection-moulded plastic airframe\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Large twin-engine biplane fuselage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Two Liberty engines\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine nacelles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Twin-tail assembly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Landing gear\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Bombing equipment\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Defensive gun positions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decal sheet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Marking options for three aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOldmodelkits 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne 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.\n\u003cbr\u003eMoulding and detail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is definitely a vintage kit, rather than a modern highly detailed 1:72-scale tooling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit's age means that modellers should expect:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Raised rather than modern recessed surface detail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Basic cockpit\/interior representation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Simplified engine detail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Simplified gun positions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Relatively thick struts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Basic undercarriage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Vintage-style decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe large biplane configuration also gives the finished model a distinctive appearance.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe full-size Martin MB-2 \/ NBS-1\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Martin MB-2 was an American twin-engine bomber developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company shortly after the First World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was subsequently redesignated NBS-1, meaning Night Bombardment, Short range, under the Army's revised aircraft designation system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe MB-2\/NBS-1 was a large wood-and-fabric biplane, powered by two Liberty engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA 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.\n\u003cbr\u003eProduction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMartin designed the aircraft but did not build all of the production examples itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Army purchased the design and awarded subsequent production contracts to:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Glenn L. Martin — first 20 aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Curtiss — 50\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    L.W.F. Engineering — 35\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Aeromarine — 25\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis resulted in approximately 130 aircraft being produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe famous 1921 bombing trials\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe MB-2's historical importance is largely connected with Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's 1921 bombing demonstrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn 21 July 1921, six Army NBS-1 bombers participated in the attack on the captured German battleship SMS Ostfriesland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft specifications\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe National Museum of the United States Air Force gives the MB-2 approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 4\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engines: 2 × Liberty engines\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: 99 mph\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Range: 558 miles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum bomb load: 3,000 lb\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Defensive armament: 5 × .30-calibre machine guns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOther Air Force historical material gives a wingspan of approximately 74 ft 2 in and a length of 42 ft 8 in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the kit's unusual 1:74 scale, that corresponds to approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Length: 17.4 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wingspan: 30.2 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo despite being an unusual scale, the model has a fairly substantial wingspan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glencoe Models","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509849399676,"sku":"Glencoe-05001","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/glencoe-models-05001-martin-mb-2-bomber-nbs-1-1-74-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}