After pulling a large chunk of what’s remaining of my hair out, I finally finished this plane. I tried to do something a little different by giving it invasion stripes, OD upper camo and light gray lower camo. The build itself was not so good, lots of putty, sanding and re-sanding. The cockpit windows were a nightmare, but I did what I could. But the surprise to me was how bad the decals were. Oh well, it’s all for fun. I did, for the first time, attempt the ‘dirty tires’ look and hit that just about right I think. Also, I did a panel highlighting that I’ve never done before. So it wasn’t a total mess. If you look too long you’ll see all my errors and fit problems, etc. (you might even find some of my hair clumps nearby :). In any case, all suggestions, critiques, etc. are most welcome!
UHH, ok next time youll have to put Xs and O`s where all the bad spots are, because I defently cant find them, Wait! I think I see one… never mind, it was a booger on my monitor! Seriously, you did an outstanding job on the widow. Smoke stain came out great as all the weathering. You did good!!!
Good to see people are still working on them. The only thing I can see that is off is the gunner and RO canopy hatches. They swing down, not up - but only somebody who has spent way too much time looking over the books would even know that [;)] [(-D]
But I like the color scheme and the weathering is great. The color scheme makes it look like a retrofit early A.
Good job, Bob!
And make sure to post this in the GB thread as well. Everybody in there needs all the inspiration they can get with P(ITA)-61 [(-D]
Very well done, Bob! The Widow is a difficult kit on several levels and you have mastered it in no uncertain terms. I certainly can see no flaws in your work. Thanks for sharing with us!
Nice job on a kit that is well known for its poor fit especially the canopies. People have been screaming for a new 1/48 P-61 for years. Or at least a vac form canopy as the one supplied in the kit is to small for the opening. The OD camo looks good also for a change.
That looks like Monogram’s Black Widow… in 1/48 It’s got the one engine nacelle with the cowl flaps open. I’ve built one too and I know… Getting everything aligned is a pain in the pa-toot, and all that glass!
Nice job…your panel lines came out very nice! Refreshing camo scheme!
The stripes set it apart also.
I too would be interested in hearing about your tire weathering. I had hit on a good formula many many years ago, but I’ve forgotten what I used to do.
Thank you all so much for the kind comments. I truly appreciate them all! For the dirty tires, I tried something I hadn’t done before on the advice of others on the forum. I loaded my airbrush with a real dilute mixture of Earth Red (about 1:3 paint to 91% propyl alcohol). I just misted the tires repeatedly until it picked up a good coating of the dirt look. I’m not an expert with the airbrush, so occassionally I got a stronger ‘mist’ and blasted a little too much. But the diluted colors dried fast and light, so it didn’t really cause a problem when this happened. For the panel lines I mixed 2:1 Interior Black and OD in 91% propyl alcohol (1:3 paint to alcohol) and just gently followed the panel lines. I did this after a clear dullcoat application. The dilution really allowed me to layer and made the process very forgiving.
I will put it up over at the Group Build location. I also forgot to mention (although I think everyone knows at this point) that this is the Monogram 1/48 P-61. My five year old wants it on the shelf in his room. I’ve got to make sure I get him into model building. Thanks again everyone for all the kind comments!
Nice job on a difficult build, Bob! I know, because I built one years ago. You did a fantastic job of finishing and weathering it. Too bad about your hair, though…[:D]
