Are ther any plans to come out with a '48th scale model of this aircraft? I think it’s one of the coolest designs going, I have the Monogram variety in my stash, and when I’m feeling low and in need of some punishment and depression, I get out the kit and work on it!
But I really would like to see a new kit. NOT with 1500+ parts and a price tage of $200.00 or so. But a nice new kit, with a reasonable parts count and a reasonable price tag. (Define reasonable in any way that seems reasonable to you.)
I’m afaraid the Revellogram P-61 is the only 1/48 scale kit of its kind and actually is still in production at quite a cheap price. It would be nice if any other company produces a 1/48 scale P-61 but it could be years.
All’s quiet on the western front when it comes to new P-61 kits. And that’s not really a bad thing. Let’s look at some recent Tamiya releases: The Fi-156 was abou $60 when released. That’s about 1/4 the plane a P-61 was! Tamiya’s new Zero was in the $60 range as well. It just worries me. Besides, once you know the P-61’s quirks you can tackle them without TOO much trouble. I’ve got three of these kits waiting in the stash…
It is sad that we came quite close to having new tooled P-61 kits in 1:48 about 10 years or so ago.
As I recall, AMTech was in the process of getting the tooling made, or very close to it, when they got hit by by problems in the owners personal lives that were long standing enough to put an end to the company.[BH]
As such, the old Monogram P-61 is the only game in town for one in 1:48 and I suspect it will likely stay that way for the forseeable future.
The Black Widow is my all time favorite aircraft and I would like nothing better than to see Eduard do one to the standard of their recent 1/48 scale kits… People still build the Monogram/Revell kit despite its problems so I’d say it would be a solid seller for sure…
I’m with you on the sincere desire for a newer (read “recessed panel line”) P-61, but I think the reason the Revell one sells is that it is a) the only game in town and b) relatively cheap (compared to other twin engine planes).
Eduard would definately do a smash up job, but I fear something in the $75 - $100 price tag, which would definately prevent me from buying one right off the bat. If they could do it under $50 it would be awfully tempting, though!
Can you imagine a P-61 royal class with 2 or 3 kits in one box? THe shipping alone would be expensive!
Eduard’s 1:48 110 series retails for just under $50, so I can’t see why a P-61 (despite being a bit larger) wouldn’t be around the same. I am definitely in the camp of wanting a P-61 done by Eduard, though.
There used to be a decent conversion kit for the Monogram Widow that would build out a P-61C or an F-15 Reporter… Damned if I can remember the name now…
I’ve got a total of 4 Widows in the stash now… Bought the last one a couple days ago… If you have 2 Widow kits, you can forego the AM kits to build a bird with both cowls open… You can build one with both cowls open, then build the other with both closed…
I’ve built that model at least 5 times since it was released in the 70s and (Shep Paine’s diorama blew me away), not counting the one WIP on the bench right now… The only real issue with the Monogram bird is the cockpit canopy fit which is easy enough to fix with a bit of putty and some styrene strip… Granted, it’s not a modern “Shake & Bake”, but overall, there’s nothing REALLY wrong with that ol’ bird that some TLC, patience, and putty can’t fix… And for 16-19 bucks, whattya cryin’ about?[;)]
Besides… If ya want to REALLY talk about a POS Widow kit, dig up a 1/48th Aurora Black Widow…
I generally agree with Hans on the Monogram P-61. It doesn’t have the modern features found in Tamiya/Hasegawa etc kits, like the recessed panel lines and the often times exhorbitant price tags, but with patience, perseverance, and some tender loving care, that kit can be built into quite a looker.
I built it within the last year and feel that I did a good job with it. The biggest problem I encountered was with the canopy pieces - some simply weren’t molded to size and there was this incredible gap between the roof over the pilot’s head and the surrounding “window” structure. I filled it with putty, and if you look closely you can see the putty from the inside but from the exterior it looks fine. I also used aftermarket tires because the tires that came with the kit, when I fit them together, looked terrible and I don’t believe they had the criss-cross treading that I was seeing in some color photos of actual wartime P-61s.
I also remember that AMTech kit that was to come out about 8-10 years ago. I remember seeing it on a pre-sale from some online place for about $42, which I would have paid in a heart beat, as that was before I decided to do another Monogram kit (which I’ve probably built about 4 times since it came out). Sad about AMTech, as I’ve always heard good things about the kits they did manufacture but I have never actually had the chance to build one.
In that case I’d be right next to you in line to buy one [;)]
Steve: I remember that build…truly a beauty. Those kind of builds give one a sense of pride because you know it wasn’t shake’n’bake, yet looks stunning when done.
I built the P-61 as probably my 3rd kit since getting back in the hobby. While it’s nothing like the one Steven showed, it came out nice and I’m proud of it. Now I should build another!
I have to agree with Hans Von Hammer and Aggieman I enjoy the Monogram P-61 it was my second build coming back to the hobby and I am pleased with the way it came out. Right now I have another on the bench that is going togeather better than the first one did. It is in the P-61 group build, I want one in OD this time, and another in the closet that I want to do in a NMF. A really nice thing about these kits is I got all 3 of them off ebay for under 10 bucks each, and being on a very small fixed income getting a model that builds up so well is a huge plus to me. To be honest I dont find the Monogram offering much worse than some of the other older kits I have built over the past year.
To my knowlege, there’s only been ONE P-61A/B that was operational in NMF. It was P-61A that a USAAF General (whose name escapes me at the moment) used as his personal hack aircraft. The turret was removed and an additional fuel-cell installed in place of it. He wnated it unpainted so everyone knew HE was on his way in to visit the various units under his command. I got a pic around here some’eres… I’ll post it later if ya want it, V… But if you want to do a conversion, the F-15s were all NMF as well as a number of P-61Cs…
Hans Von Hammer Your knowlage of WWII aircraft just amazes me I have to tell ya. Doing the Reporter conversion is a tad above my skill level right now, but may be a good excuse for looking for another P-61 kit [:D]. That canopy really makes that F-15 reporter stand out, I really like the look of it. Thanks for the link I have saved it for the future build that I am sure will happen. I didnt know there were any P-61s in NMF and would love the picture you spoke of as it may end up in the NMF Group Build, I will owe you big time for it. On my current build I am doing alot of scratch building and as much detail work as I can, decided to do it without any PE. I never liked the looks of the induction/ oil cooler ports on the wing leading edges so I opened them up and hopefully made them look better with a little duct work. I will be posting pictures in the GB today if you wish the check it out. Common sence tells me there were screens over the intake openings in the wing leading edges to keep out rocks, paper, and such, but none of the pictures I have show that. Maybe you could help me out on that one.
Ahh, I don’t know all that much, V-Man… Just certain aircraft that piqued my interest, that I’ve flown in, or that my Dad flew, and of course, all of the above, lol… Having access to a lot of the 1:1 scale Warbirds and their Pilot’s Manuals via the CAF helps a lot too. [;)] I’ll scan that picture in a bit, soon as I can find it (again)…
The carb and oil cooler intakes on the wing leading edges don’t have any screens, at least none that are visible at the leading edge… (You gotta get up close and personal to see anything but the vanes…) They sit up high enough that FOD isn’t an issue, even on the coral strips of the Pacific… I did the same thing as you, opening them up and adding strip to them. They just don’t look good with th’ molded fronts… Here’s a good shot of the MAAM’s Widow intake-interior.
Thanks for the picture Hans and letting me know about the screen means the wings are about ready to go togeather, just a little paint and I printed out the intake filters that I will glue in should look pretty good I hope. Heres the link to my build so far, and as usual any comments or advise are welcomed and encouraged.
You dug up a pretty old post, but the Aurora P-61 is about, no… it IS the worst kit ever produced, and isn’t even close to the quality of the Monogram P-61… I bought both kits back in the 70s, hoping to get a “Two Widow” diorama built, and the Aurora kit was about a third of the price of the Monogram Widow… Upon opening the Aurora kit, I was shocked… I built it anyway, but it was out of scale, closer to 1/40th scale, the engines were merely some kinda “shapes” molded into the face of the cowl that was badly mis-shapen.
The landing gear was plugged into the bottom of the booms, where they protruded from molded-shut doors, and the cockpits were non-existant…
Overall, it isn’t worth the effort needed to bring into line as a Black Widow model, other than as an ID model for Army Air Force pilots and gunners, and there isn’t much need for that anymore…
Oh come on guys… all quiet on the front of the P-61 kits?
A few months ago, Great Wall hobby released their new tooled P-61!
I have bought this one about 2 months ago, and it looks fabulous!
Yes, I have build the revell kit, and yes this kits is twice that price, but you get sooooo much more!
Just for you, I have made a few pictures of what is in the box!
The box
Instructions
Corrections**, Also**, I like the fact how they made a small space where you can put your weights!
Some parts
They go quite far, don’t they?
Resin parts
Some aftermarket decals, I didn’t really like the versions inside the box, and I really liked these, so I bought those.
I payed 69euros for this, and today I would pay 35 euros for the monogram (I’m using prices of various LHS, I’m not going to talk about internet prices) So yeah, sure, I payed double price, but just looking at what’s in here, I don’t feel sorry about it at all.
Just to show you, This is my monogram P-61 that I’ve build about a year and a half ago.
I think I can pick up the Monogram P-61 for about $19 here at my local hobby shop whereas the new Great Wall P-61 will cost me about $80 and that’s before shipping & handling. So the GW kits would cost me FOUR times more than the Monogram offering.
That reminds me. I need to stock up on some more Monogram P-61s. [:)]
Ninetalis, are those the Monogram kit decals you used? I love the high gloss finish on your Widow! The “Times-A-Wastin’” nose art is one of my favorite on the P-61 but I’ve never been able to find it as an aftermarket set even though it was the highest scoring Black Widow.
