Martin M-130 China Clipper

Martin M-130 “China Clipper”, NC14716. circa 1936
(Glencoe Models 1/130 scale, 1992 re-issue of original 1957 molds by Strombecker)

Pan American’s Juan Trippe was the engine behind the idea of routine, commercial trans-oceanic passenger air service. When his aspiration of inaugurating trans-Atlantic passenger flights were derailed by political discussions between the US and UK, he set his sights on flying the Pacific instead.

Trippe needed a better flying boat than the Sikorski models then in service for inter-American service, so he commissioned the Glenn L Martin company of Baltimore to build three all-metal flying boats with streamlined aerodynamics and engines powerful enough to meet Pan Am's specified range and payload.

In parallel, he set about finding a route to China. With the help of the U.S. government, especially the U.S. Navy, he commissioned the S/S North Haven with a volunteer crew and sent an incredibly ambitions expedition to build overnight facilities in previously-deserted islands and un-improved ports. The eventual route went from San Francisco to Honolulu, then Midway and Wake islands, Guan, Manila, and, eventually, Shanghai in as little as 6 days, compared to a month or more by sea. He named his magnificent flying boats after the traditional fast sailing clippers and clad his crew in naval uniforms to imply that this was merely an improved extension of the familiar service by sea.

On November 22, 1935, the China Clipper, piloted by Captain Edwin C. Musick, set off on the first trans-Pacific airmail route, landing in the newly-cleared lagoon in Midway and hosting his delighted passengers overnight in the quickly-erected Pan Am hotel before continuing to Wake and Guam, terminating with much fanfare in Manila and returning to San Francisco on December 6.

The three Clippers were eventually impressed for wartime service, and were all lost to enemy action or accidents before the end of WWII.

The old Strombecker model is listed as 1/144 scale but closer to 1/30 scale. For its age, it’s actually quite good in detail and fit. The engines are devoid of detail and prop hubs call for flimsy plastic shafts that just ask to be broken. Windows are thick plastic. It comes with a clear stand for in-flight display. The Glencoe release came with beautiful decals for both civilian and wartime (camouflage) markings, although they were not entirely trouble-free.

I filled the windows with clear acrylic and re-did the in-flight display to match my commercial aircraft collection. The engines fronts were simulated with decals. Prop shafts were improved with brass rod and will spin freely when the trade winds blow. The model was painted with Humbrol Polished Aluminum (spray) and Tamiya acrylics (black hull). It is devoid of weathering (my choice for shelf-top displays) and of fiddly bits (antennae, pitot probes, masts) so that my grandkids can handle them and practice water landings on the bed covers.

It was a fun build.