Hello, I thought I would submit some pics of the Monogram, P-61 “Midnight Madness” I built about two years ago. This is the first aircraft kit I ever built as a kid and I was feeling nostalgic so I figured I would have another crack at it. This kit was a challenge and the glass doesn’t fit whatsever…anywhere. This was complicated by the fact that black finishes are hard to make convincing (at least to me). I shaded the panel lines with Tamiya German Grey then painted the panels different shades of black (custom mix). I think it turned out decent. This was also my first attempt (and last) at scribing panel lines. Again, a moot point on a black plane [bnghead]. The prop 'blades" were hacked off and replaced with two spares from the Tamiya Thunderbolt which were in my spare parts box. I used the Eduard exterior set, True Details tires, and Quickboost guns. I have a love hate relationship with the latter since they always break on me (see the turret). I still have yet to fix this. The decals were Aeromaster and I masked and painted on the red walk lines in lieu of the decals.
Maybe I’ll try a drab version some day. I got an original release 1974 version off Ebay recently and I’m curious if the glass on it will fit better since the mold was brand new. Anyways, here she is. Its no contest winner but it still gets alot of attention in the display case.
I could only notice the canopy issue in the picture second from the bottom but other than that the paint looks great to me? Unless there is something really wrong with the paint?
But really the black widow looks great! I like it.
Thats one really nice looking build…if I may ask, why are both sets of spoilers up on the wings? And where did you find that set, or did you scratch build them?
Thanks for the kind comments. I have no idea what those spoilers are but I thought they added interest to the model. Just speculating here, but they may be dive brakes or some form of combat flap, not unlike the Japanese Ki-43 series? I’ve always heard the P-61 had excellent manueverability considering its size. These came with the Eduard “exterior” set and I installed them per their instructions. In hindsight, I probably should have painted the visible area underneath them interior green. Oh well. Theres probably someone out there who knows exactly what they are for.
Well done, nicely weathered! I didn’t really notice any effects of the poor canopy fit, either. If I had any to find fault, it’s that you didn’t use the kit figures [;)] (I like to include figures)
You’ve produced another example to show that the Monogram kit can be built into a nice model, whatever anyone else may say.
That is a freakin’ AWESOME build of an equally awesome airplane. Above all others, the P-61 is my favorite. You did a magnificent job on the black. It gets a standing O from me. [t$t]
Those are actually spoilers on top of the wing. Technically only one should be up with the other one remaining retracted when the pilot threw the plane into a turn. You’ll notice how small the ailerons are in relation to the rest of the plane. The spoiler would pop up into the slipstream and aid in slinging the rest of the plane around in a turn. To be honest with you, I thought they looked neat and, on my Black Widow, I have them both up, too. In my head, I’m telling myself that maybe some maintenance is being performed on them so they have them both elevated. LOL!
I agree…with patience, however, I must caution those with small children. Do not build this kit with them in earshot because they wil certainly learn some new cuss words…many. To quote that Direct TV commercial, you’ll end up with a grandchild with a dog collar. Don’t have a grandchild with a dog collar, build the P-61 alone and away from impressionables. The box should come with a disclaimer. Trust me on this one [;)].
Right, if they are only used for turning, the spoiler actually just reduces the lift on that side to make the plane roll. In some cases, and I don’t know about the P-61 for sure, both could be used to dump lift and descend while keeping the power up on the engines. Rapid descents could cause damage to the engine from “shock cooling” if power was reduced too much. So maybe they were able to extend both at the same time[:D]
Those rectangles aren’t the spoilers themselves at all… They’re the maintnence access covers for the spoilers… The spoilers are stowed inside the wings, against the bottom wing-skin… The spoilers come up from the rear slot on the covers, and are themselves perforated (ala SBD/SB2C dive flaps), curved panels that deflect the air in turns, just like ailerons and in conjunction with the “Up” aileron… When one spoiler comes up however, the other spoiler remains stowed, and only it’s adjoining aileron drops… The small ailerons on the wings operate like normal ailerons… Under the wings, you’ll find the curved bulges for the spoilers in their down position… They do NOT get raised together… They do not get used for dive-brakes, adding drag, dumping lift, or any other SWAGs…
Don’t you guys EVER watch the training films that the AAF produced? [;)]
Glad you liked 'em, Herc… Ya know, those films are a great way to get ref-pics of details that you can’t get anywhere else… All you need to do is pause it, hit “print screen” then open MS Paint. Once that’s done, click on “edit” and then click “paste”. Then save it whatever file you want by clicking “File”, then “Save As”, (I use jpeg) name the pic, then click “Save” and yer done…
