Hi all I am building a P-61 Black Widow from Monogram and I am building it wheels up in flight. Does anyone have any advice for me on this?
…yes, retract the landing gear into the wheels wells…add a pilot/crew…consider replacing props w/ AM in-flight props…
Find some good references, and consider replacing the canopies with vac-form. There is enough canopy that some replacement of cockpit detail is justified even for a closed-up bird.
The pilot figure for the Monogram 1/48 P-38 is a good fit for the crew figures. You will need to make 3 copies if you want to use the figure in it’s original kit.
Replace the 20 mm cannon barrels (and the .50 cal. too) with hypodermic tubing.
The forward crew ladder (in the nose gear well) folded up against the inside cover.
You will have to close the open cowl panel, and replace the cowl flaps on both engines to make it look right.
I build at least half of my models “in-flight”.
Here’s what I’ve found to be a great way to support them:
I get a block of balsa, then roughly carve it to shape so that it
will be a snug fit in fuselage at the location where the mast will go.
Bond the balsa in place with a semi-thick super glue, then saturate
the balsa block with a thin super glue (this adds A LOT of strength).
Then, you can drill a hole into the balsa and bond the mast in place.
Often, I will do this after I’ve closed up the fuselage, but you have
to be careful with your drill depth so you don’t drill completely through!
I just posted a completed B-47E in this forum that used this method.
Note: if you are building the 1/48 scale P-61, I would recommend
that you put the mast near the center of gravity. That’s a big
(and heavy) kit! I’m sure it will look sweet. Post pics please.
Where can I get the AM in flight props the correct size? Where can I get hypodermic needles for the barrels? The canopies in the kit look great, why should I replace them?
How do redo the cowl panel and flaps. I noticed last night that one side is closed and one is open
Can’t help you with the props—I’d like to find some, myself, especially for the C variant. Maybe someone else knows.
Hypodermic tubing can be had from Small Parts.
The kit canopies are over a scale foot thick, and the framework stands as much as five scale inches above the glazing. They’re actually not bad for a kit of this era. Suit yourself!
The cowl panel should be a close enough fit that you can just put it in place with a little work. As for the cowl flaps, I’d cut them away entirely and replace them with sheet stock on both sides. I have two of these kits, and I was thinking of swapping the parts from one to the other, but after examination, I’ve decided to cut them away and replace them. Of course, I may change my mind, again, later…useful thing, having a spare mind laying about… [(-D]
Another approach I considered was making a mold of the one with closed flaps. That is also an option.