My motivation to build the Martin Marauder was actually quite simple: I figured it was easy to build. Compared to other Bombers with their rounded rectangle cross-sections, the Marauder seemed an easy build, due to its round body. And as it was my first two-engine plane to be designed as a buildable model, I discovered the great thing about building two-engines with computer help: You only have to build the engine one time for the prototype, because it's mirrored for the opposite side.
Designing the airframe was easy, but the equipment parts needed some consideration. The first beta featured a more detailed landing gear, but it was too fiddly to be built in 1:60 size, and didn't even hold very good, so I simplified the landing gear. (Just before the release, I still added the optional extra detail) The first beta had no major issues, so the focus of the second beta was the "Big Hairy Bird" paint scheme. The pictures of the "Big Hairy Bird" in the gallery are actually of the second beta. The next part was making the basic paint schemes, which could then be used for different versions as they can be seen below
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Then, the different versions had to be build. My Marauder-versions are all 100% vector graphics, so all the nose art were repainted by me. Before publishing, I tested all the nose-arts, because they are almost all cut through by a glue edge.
What delayed the Release of the model significantly in the end was the Navy-version JM-1. From early on I had heard about it and wanted to do it, but couldn't find any pictures. When all else was finished, I finally found pictures. I still did the modifications for the JM-1 and had to move the two small rear windows several times (on all versions) until I was satisfied with the result. I also made a target drone to be pulled by the Navy-version.
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