The 2004 thread – MB-5 replica

If it is just ½ scale ?

Nah!

It’s part way through a conversion for ‘Tora Tora Tora II’ starring Tara Tara Tara Fitzgerald. 🙂

Mark

Don’t remember that stutter in D-D-Dark Blue World… 😉

SNJ behind looks funny though 😉

Nah!

It’s part way through a conversion for ‘Tora Tora Tora II’ starring Tara Tara Tara Fitzgerald. 🙂

Mark

The replica sure looks a bit like the MB-5, but a bit too much in the way as the Hasegawa egg models did 😀

SNJ behind looks funny though 😉

Fixed it

😉 🙂

Mark

Havent we done this before??

Its not an MB.5 replica in the strictest sense of the word but its still a pretty impressive undertaking. I dont even think the builder/owner claims its an exact replica. It does look a bit short though.

Still better than I could achieve and its been a labour of love for the owner so good on him. An MB.5 it isnt however.

Here’s a side by side comparison from almost the same angle. Even though it’s a bit off from the original it’s still one heck of an undertaking and I hope it all works out OK.

I applaud J Boyle’s comments and think QUITE a few people on this forum (no names mentioned) spend a GREAT deal of their time bitching about stupid sh*t instead of appreciating what some folks are trying to do out there in the world of warbird aviation….and these god-awful debates over whether a plane is original from parts actually used in it during it’s service life or whether the plane was built from the ground up (read OSCARS) with new materials to old specs…let’s get over that, huh? They’re kinda ridiculous….

Mark

Using my usual “the glass is half full…” standard, lets look at it like this: It’s the best looking MB-5 around.

Rather than make critical comments (and I agree the plane isn’t that pretty, but in my opinion neither was the MB-5, it looks rather like a P-51H with a Griffon).
Here’s a guy working for years to recreate in some form an extinct English plane. And instead of knocking it, our comments (publicly at least)
should be a bit kinder.
After all he’s been spending his time and his money to build a plane the rest of us can look at. If it weren’t for guys like him, the historic aviation hobby would consist of going to static museums, looking through musty copies of Janes and building Airfix kits.

Knocking it? The guy has spent an awful lot of money and ended up with…THAT?
Sorry – but (if I recall correctly) it has been built to his own specification. Now maybe you like it, but if his specification had required a podded jet engine on each wing, attached to a visibly piscine-like fuselage then what you have is still a Me262 (maybe), not an MB-5…
Just because it has paint on it does not mean it is the Mona Lisa…;)

Flood

Hmmm…that shot of the MB 5 at the top of this thread features Jack Cronyn’s ‘Navy/Denver’ T-6 in the background….flew a photo mission with it last month…and then we have some Key Publishing employess with it as OSH 2003 as illustrated here…

Mark

If I were a Director of Martin Baker, I would be instructing my lawyers to make very, very sure that the name ‘Martin Baker’ is never used in any way, shape or form in connection with this contraption.

Quite the opposite, there’s a link to it on the Martin Baker website.

[/QUOTE]
As opposed to taking valuable historic aircraft parts and then altering them to look like an Historic aircraft. Thats not Historic Aviation. He’s building a racing plane that bares a passing resemblance to an MB5. [/QUOTE]

I’m pretty sure the Mustang wings were new build, and the Griffon was just stiiing around, (it’s not like it’s desperately needed elsewhere), so no real harm done regarding the historic parts used.

All I’m saying is let’s give the guy a bit of credit, after all it’s better than any plane most of us have ever built.

QUOTE=J Boyle][SIZE=3] If it weren’t for guys like him, the historic aviation hobby would consist of going to static museums, looking through musty copies of Janes and building Airfix kits.[/QUOTE]

As opposed to taking valuable historic aircraft parts and then altering them to look like an Historic aircraft. Thats not Historic Aviation. He’s building a racing plane that bares a passing resemblance to an MB5. Im sure in one interview the man behind it said that the dimensions of the aircraft had to be altered so that it would fit in his hanger! Interesting approach. The way I look at it is that he’s enjoying himself making the aircraft and will undoubtedly have much fun flying it, best of luck to him but I still think it’s a pointless exercise. Didnt he sell his p51 to fund this?

Ok, it looks vaguely like an MB-5 (if you have an idea of what the MB-5 looked like, and squint a bit) (although it does look a bit like a Mustang too. Ish.). Hurray? – Nermal

It really isn’t very pretty is it?

It looks like one of Daz’s titchy spitfire replica’s to me.

¡Hey! ¡Volví a enviar eso!

Aslong as the builder of this lookalike is happy then I guess thats the main thing..

Using my usual “the glass is half full…” standard, lets look at it like this: It’s the best looking MB-5 around.

Rather than make critical comments (and I agree the plane isn’t that pretty, but in my opinion neither was the MB-5, it looks rather like a P-51H with a Griffon).
Here’s a guy working for years to recreate in some form an extinct English plane. And instead of knocking it, our comments (publicly at least)
should be a bit kinder.
After all he’s been spending his time and his money to build a plane the rest of us can look at. If it weren’t for guys like him, the historic aviation hobby would consist of going to static museums, looking through musty copies of Janes and building Airfix kits.

Aslong as the builder of this lookalike is happy then I guess thats the main thing. Personally I can’t see the point in spending so much money and time on an end product that fails to look like the original on so many counts.

If I look at these pics, I must admit that it’s ugly. And it does give a buget replica feeling. I think you made a good point there Robbo.

J.V.

Martin-Baker M.B.5

Here is the real thing, lousy photo scanned from Jane’s AWA WW2