As I admitted in one of my earlier replies, I was lazy with the research on the details and kind of saw this as another experiment with my complementary pre-shading method more than anything, since the kit is not great. Just wanted to make the cockpit more interesting by introducing silver to the hoses. I am sure that that’s just one of many color mistakes I made, haha.
However, I am waiting for two HobbyBoss 1/72 scale kits to arrive and will put more time into research. Your suggestion is well noted.
I just got the same kit for Christmas this year! Reading your thread has me really excited to get started, despite a little fear of the fit n’ finish problems.
I’m still very new to the hobby, so I feel like it’s going to be a good learning experience, and my expectations are properly lowered for what my final product will be like [:D]
I’m planning the Moonlight Serenade version myself, as much as I hate to delete the turret on top.
Don’t worry about the issues and enjoy the build. It is a very interesting aircraft to model and learn from. You’ve got nothing to lose. I too gave up on great expectations and I am just having fun. Usually great results come from this kind of attitude though, as one focuses on the process itself instead of the end result.
My advice so far would be to be patient with this one, clean all the parts and dry fit everything, even couple of times, and have filler ready.
Also, you will need a lot of lead in the nose so you don’t end up with a tail sitter. Although they provide a clear post in the kit, I didn’t like that, ditched the radar system entirely and filled the whole thing with lead. Almost 70g!
Yes this is a huge problem!! When I built mine, I put about 1.5 oz in each engine nacelles, and I put another 1.5 oz under the pilot’s seat. I never did get that front gear down. I ended up replacing the clear peg anyway. I had considered weighting the nose as you did but I put a lot of work in repairing the radar system and I had always thought that was what made this aircraft unique so I didn’t.
The nose on your model looks opaque, did you buy the opaque nose “upgrade” or is that paint job tricking my old eyes? That’s the way they were in real life. (If they didn’t paint them black or OD green.)
She has been salted and filtered with flat white. Then when the salt was removed she received another flat clear coat to get rid of salt ‘‘fogging’’ effect and an overall Desert Yellow filter.
She is now ready for exhaust stains, final gunk wash with Abteilung 502 Starship Filth, chipping and various final touches.
Just a quick update - Ailerons and flaps installed, and exhaust stains made with a 50-50 mix of Tamiya Flat Brown and Rubber Black followed by Tamiya Buff.
This is turning out nice. I like the looks of the Widow in OD/NG. I haven’t built one of these in 30 years but there’s a couple in the stash, and if I ever get around to building another, this is how it will be painted.
Yes, the OD/NG scheme is very attractive on this aircraft, although the black scheme with red prop hubs really makes it a Black Widow. Got to do one of those as well one day.
