P-61A Black Widow

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Some of the modified interior pieces.
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Radar operator's cockpit parts. Aires floor needed some modifications to fit. The access door was vacuformed and detailed with styrene and brass.
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Modified main cockpit tub, mainly to allow for opened hatch.
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Radar operator's and main cockpits installed. Gun bay not yet installed.
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Aires set included PE interior structure for the radar operator's cockpit, but the fit was poor and I thought I could do better with styrene.
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Scratch built main wheel well interior.
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Gun bay was scratch-built from styrene and brass. I replaced the brass gun barrels with steel piano wire in the end.
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Aires resin engine next to the kit's.
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The Aires engine painted and weathered (yes, there are two 😉
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Exhausts were simulated by flattened brass tube.
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Radar operator's station, painted and weathered.
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Main cockpit, painted and weathered. The fact that the cockpit is a one-piece made it a challenge to paint.
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Gun bay, painted and weathered.
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Instrument panel installed.
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Modified canopy pieces. The two sections at the top were vacu-formed. The cone tail section has been blunted, and still needs to be polished. All clear parts were dipped in Future.
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Weight in the nose.
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Wing to nacelle mating was poor. I struggled to have the proper leading edge alignment and sanded the heck out of the mating surfaces (gap between the wing and nacelle is visible)
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Masking...
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...and more masking.
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Masking done! I use paper tissue dipped in water for cavity masking (need to try foam masking I have seen on this forum).
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Entire model was airbrushed with Mr. Surfacer. There were some seams and other problem areas that needed fixing before moving onto the next step.
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March 19, 2017
I decided to try out the hairspray chipping technique. I started by applying Alclad 2 White Aluminium (ALC 106) overall.
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I then decanted Aquanet Hairspray and airbrushed the liquid onto the model, allowing it to dry overnight.
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Undersurfaces were airbrushed with Vallejo Model Color 70.992 Neutral Grey with a bit of Acryl 4769 Flat White added.
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The invasion stripes were applied next: the areas were first masked and then airbrushed with Acryl 4769 Flat White, Areas to remain white were then masked and Acryl 4768 Flat Black airbrushed on.
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March 19, 2017
Upper Olive Drab camouflage was airbrushed next, using Acryl 4842 ANA 613. Several light coats needed to be applied as the silver underneath kept showing through, I believe due to the coat of Aquanet Hairspray.
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Fabric-covered tail control surfaces were airbrushed with darker green.
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Base coat painting finished.
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Panel highlights were done with white oil paint. Here it is seen dabbed on with a Q-tip...
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... and here after spreading within each panel (only right side received this treatment so far).
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Undersurfaces received the same treatment.
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Chipped panel lines and wear. P-61s looked very worn in period photos, so I hope I did not over-did it.
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Chipping the lower surfaces. I used a toothpick and hobby knife blade to remove water-softened paint.
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Aaaaand... we don't have a tail-sitter. Phew!
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Here are the finished pics.
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And finally, a little photo montage...

16 19 March 2017, 02:23

gorby
Wow! That is a stunning model Alec! Thanks for taking us through the build process – fascinating. Even your photo edit at the end is spot on.

19 March 2017, 08:37

Eelco Gregoire
Great build!

19 March 2017, 08:48

Urban Gardini
Fantastic work mate, just marvelous to behold!

19 March 2017, 08:54

Spanjaard
fantastic scratchbuilding, with amazing painting. lovely model all the way. a stunner for sure. congratulations.

19 March 2017, 10:20

Rui Reis
Wow... Superb build and photos!

19 March 2017, 10:39

Alec K
Humble thanks mates! Fun project, learned a lot 👍

19 March 2017, 17:48

Tim Heimer
Great work! can't believe the scale!

19 March 2017, 17:55

Stefan Schacht
very nice 👍

19 March 2017, 18:17

Christian Keller
Stunning work

19 March 2017, 20:20

Alec K
Thanks much!

20 March 2017, 22:03

Christian Bruer
Very nice scratch build details and very nice overall work and finish 👍

13 April 2017, 16:48

ForestFan
Excellent work all round, really like this!

13 April 2017, 17:32

Spanjaard
very nice!

13 April 2017, 17:44

Alec K
Thank you mates!

13 April 2017, 23:36

Bernd Grün
Absoluta amazing and outstanding build. Congratulation! 👌

13 January 2023, 07:45

Finn
Well done indeed!

13 January 2023, 10:28

Alec K
Thanks guys! An old build but still one I am proud of.

13 January 2023, 14:10

Guy Rump
Very impressive. 👍

13 January 2023, 16:28

Ludvík Kružík
Very nice model. I really like the finish. 👍

13 January 2023, 16:45

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work and effects.

13 January 2023, 16:46

Pietro De Angelis
Very nice work!

13 January 2023, 17:03

Alec K
I appreciate your comments mates 👍

18 January 2023, 20:18

Album info

I was looking for the DML P-61A kit some time, and when I found it in the vendor room at the 2014 IPMS Nationals, I snatched it. It is very nice by 1990's standards, although the detail is not as crisp as top of the line fare these days. Clear parts are thick and have blemishes, although they fit very well. Decals are on the thick side, but still usable. There are some fit issues with this kit, but I was happy with it overall.

I opted for the Aires interior set as I liked the resin bits (Eduard makes a PE interior set No.73296). I skipped Eduard's No.72476 exterior PE set as it seemed more geared toward the B version, and I felt I could do better scratch-building with styrene. I used engines by Quickboost (these are very nice). Main wheels came from the True Details set, and the front wheel from the otherwise unusable landing gear set No.72025 by Scale Aircraft Conversions. Aftermarket parts also included canopy mask from Eduard and the Microscale decal set.

048: P-61A Black Widow

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