Scalehobbyist has two Revell/Monogram P-61 kits in 48th scale. One is the old Monogram kit and is $20. The other is labeled Revell of Germany, is called P-61A/B, and is $36. I’ve read elsehwere that it’s the same kit. Are there any differences between these kits to justify the price difference? Are the molds the same? Any additional details?
They are in fact the same kit.
Its the same kit, only differance will be the decals.
Same kit, it still holds up today, too. All things being equal, if I had to buy one or the other, I’d buy the Monogram boxing because it’s the cheaper of the two. But for that matter, you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere, especially on the secondary market, and you might get the kit for a sale price and shipping totalling less than $20.
The old Monogram kit can still be a bit of a challenge. As far as I know the only other option is the Great Wall Hobby (GWH) P-61 which is more pricey, but builds up easier.
Not a lot options out there in 1/48.
I’d like to take a shot at the Monogram kit eventually.
There is also the oooold Aurora(I think?) P-61. I saw one, once…on a vendor table, for very cheap. Even at $5…no thanks(I’m sure there’s a collector out there somewhere that would pay far more for it though). If I had the desire to build another 61, I’d still stick with the Monogram/Revell…mainly because of the price of the newer G/W offering. I do see them regularly on vendor table for 10-15 bucks. The fit is a bit less than great, but with a little elbow grease and a few [cnsod]…it comes out nice.
Isn’t there a 1/72 kit out there? Can’t remember who makes it though. Dragon?
John
Ye, Dragon did one, i used AM for the Dragon kit on my old Airfix kit. There is also one from Great Wall which i think is 48th.
Got one of those in the stash (Dragon)…looks pretty good too!
Yep…but go to ebay and find one with the white box with black letters on the top. This was when it was originally released in 1974 and the molds were new. The fit of everything was much better and as intended. In the latest incarnation the glass doesn’t come close to fitting anymore. Time to retire this mold.
I have to agree with this!
I don’t remember many issues the first time I built this kit…then again, I was maybe 11-12(mid-80’s). Did another in the mid-90’s…still decent, as I recall. Did another in the early 00’s…little bit tougher. The latest was 6-7 years ago (current boxing for the time)…that was a tough build! Shims all around the canopy, sheet plastic for filler in a lot of areas, some gruff words…probably a word or two that I didn’t know I knew!!! In the end though, I came out proud of myself…and it still sits proudly in my display!
That’s a good point, and very true, of pretty much every Monogram subject currently available in the Revell catalog. I have a pair of white-box P-61 kits in my stash right now, too, as a matter of fact.
Has anyone built the HobbyBoss kit? They have the -A and -B variants as separate 48th scale kits. They also make a 32nd scale, which must be huge!
When the Great Wall kit first came out, it was pretty well regarded although it had a few errors that I think were corrected.
Now Hobby Boss…The reviews are pretty positive and it has some white metal parts too. Decals kind of get a bad rap.
If you do get it, do a WIP. I like the airplane and am always interested to see good builds of it. My father-in-law flew them in the MTO and had a lot of reference info he gave me.
There’s a pretty fun flight instruction video on youtube.
My goal with the P-61 is to recreate Shep Paine’s diorama of a plane under maintenance on a South Pacific airstrip. Since I plan to spend quite a bit on aftermarket bits for the plane and figures, base, etc, I’d love to save $30 on the kit if it’s of good quality.
LIKE
So the concensus opinion is the old Monogram and newer Revell kits are the same but the older one builds easier and doesn’t have the fit issues of the newer Revell?
I’d offer a clarification that that’s not opinion, but fact. The 1/48 P-61 kit in Revell’s catalog today is the kit originally produced by Monogram, and carried forward through the mergers.
But yes, it is opinion, based on individual anecdotes, that the newer pops of this kit (and other old Monogram kits now produced by Revell) tend to have issues related to the age of the molds, especially with flash and fit, that the original pops didn’t have.
White box…black letters…built model (not drawing) on cover. You’ll be happy you did. They are relatively easy to find on ebay. Mine was still sealed with the $2.50 price tag on it.
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Alright, that’s three recs for the white box monogram kit in one thread. To eBay!