Ibaught this thing today, can’t wait to build it!
The nose art is pretty cool. it’s my 3rd aircraft, should be fun to work on? I’ll post a progress report thing as I go with this lil’ bird.
Is it the 1/48th Monogram bird?
Or did you get an advance copy of the AMTech bird, you sly dog!!! 
It’s a revell but if I’m correct I think it’s a remake of the monogram from the 70’s?
maybe the 80’s? it’s something like that I’m sure.
that kit is a great kit, take your time and have fun, I got 4 of those big fighters in my collection and each time I build one it just keeps getting better, if you have the chance to read?, get some info on the Widow they have a very ausome history, and like I sais before ENJOY
I have the revell kit also but it is still in the box , cant wait to get to it. It is a pretty good kit, i cant wait for the AMT version. let us know how it goes!
I’ve got it all metalized and ready for the green primer some salt and some satin black. I hope the salting tech works well with this lil’ bird?
If there was ever a model to try that technique on, this is it. Can’t wait to see her when she’s done!
Fade to Black…
P-61 were glossy black. I suppose it weathered down, but the fresh paint was gloss.
I have a few of the mongram kits, from going back to the 70s, but I never seem to get around to building them. I’ll probably build the AMtech kit before the Monograms.
When was that kit first released??? I thought I remembered building that as a kid back in the mid 70’s but the guys at my hobby shop said it didn’t come out until the late 80’s or so. I thought Revell or Monogram one had it back then. Does any one know? (I’m trying to find out if I’m going crazy, senile or both!!! [:p] )
Eric
They must have weathered down quite a bit! This past December, I saw the P-61 and the Smithsonian’s Garber Resoration Facility and it was a dead, deep, flat black. I’ve got a picture I can scan and post.
Thoughts?
Regards,
-Drew
I built a Monogram 1/48th P-61 in the late 70’s. It’s been around that long.
This bird is a major tail-sitter, too so, be ready with the weight. I put mine
in the engine nacelles. BB’s held in place with CA glue and accelerator.
Ray
I just dusted off my original P-61 box and it is dated 1974. It wil be 30 yrs. old next year and a second kit is only now being manufactured. It may have it’s defects but it’s still a good looking model.
I’ve made some progress with it, I made it to finnishing the internal cockpit area/the front landing gear needs painted/ and the turret is started.
before I paint this birdy black do you guys think or know if it had green primer under the black? or just alum.?
I’ll download a few tommorrow night ( pictures ), I still have to iron my BDU’s for work. Thanks for any imput by the way!
anybody…green base or just black?
Red, I’m just guessing but I would think it would be black paint over bare aluminum. Like I said though, just a guess. [:)]
Eric
Black paint over aluminum for the exterior. Interior green for most of the cockpit and radar operator’s area. Some wheel wells are in yellow zinc chromate, some in green. If they’re available, check color photo resources for that. BTW, some of the early Black Widows were decked out in Olive Drab over Medium Grey.
thanks for the heads up on the widow, now i can start the outside!
I looked at my P-61 book this morning. All the pictures are in black and white, so I can’t tell if there is any chromate under the black. Very few of the pictures show a lot of paint loss. Most of what I could see was along the leading edges of the wings. There is another thread in here with pictures of major paint loss on the booms, but that seems to be an exception.
I remember building the Monogram P-61 middle 70’s. Remember the paint instructions said if gloss black was used all upper surfaces were to be weathered to matt black/grimy black. Kept all canopies on ‘loose’ so I could take them of and see all that cockpit and radar area detail.It did have a lot for those days.
Teise