P-61A Black Widow

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March 19, 2017
Some of the modified interior pieces.
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March 19, 2017
Radar operator's cockpit parts. Aires floor needed some modifications to fit. The access door was vacuformed and detailed with styrene and brass.
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March 19, 2017
Modified main cockpit tub, mainly to allow for opened hatch.
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March 19, 2017
Radar operator's and main cockpits installed. Gun bay not yet installed.
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March 19, 2017
Aires set included PE interior structure for the radar operator's cockpit, but the fit was poor and I thought I could do better with styrene.
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Scratch built main wheel well interior.
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Gun bay was scratch-built from styrene and brass. I replaced the brass gun barrels with steel piano wire in the end.
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Aires resin engine next to the kit's.
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March 19, 2017
The Aires engine painted and weathered (yes, there are two 😉
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March 19, 2017
Exhausts were simulated by flattened brass tube.
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March 19, 2017
Radar operator's station, painted and weathered.
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March 19, 2017
Main cockpit, painted and weathered. The fact that the cockpit is a one-piece made it a challenge to paint.
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March 19, 2017
Gun bay, painted and weathered.
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March 19, 2017
Instrument panel installed.
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March 19, 2017
Modified canopy pieces. The two sections at the top were vacu-formed. The cone tail section has been blunted, and still needs to be polished. All clear parts were dipped in Future.
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March 19, 2017
Weight in the nose.
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March 19, 2017
Wing to nacelle mating was poor. I struggled to have the proper leading edge alignment and sanded the heck out of the mating surfaces (gap between the wing and nacelle is visible)
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March 19, 2017
Masking...
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March 19, 2017
...and more masking.
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March 19, 2017
Masking done! I use paper tissue dipped in water for cavity masking (need to try foam masking I have seen on this forum).
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March 19, 2017
Entire model was airbrushed with Mr. Surfacer. There were some seams and other problem areas that needed fixing before moving onto the next step.
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March 19, 2017
I decided to try out the hairspray chipping technique. I started by applying Alclad 2 White Aluminium (ALC 106) overall.
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March 19, 2017
I then decanted Aquanet Hairspray and airbrushed the liquid onto the model, allowing it to dry overnight.
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March 19, 2017
Undersurfaces were airbrushed with Vallejo Model Color 70.992 Neutral Grey with a bit of Acryl 4769 Flat White added.
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March 19, 2017
The invasion stripes were applied next: the areas were first masked and then airbrushed with Acryl 4769 Flat White, Areas to remain white were then masked and Acryl 4768 Flat Black airbrushed on.
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March 19, 2017
Upper Olive Drab camouflage was airbrushed next, using Acryl 4842 ANA 613. Several light coats needed to be applied as the silver underneath kept showing through, I believe due to the coat of Aquanet Hairspray.
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March 19, 2017
Fabric-covered tail control surfaces were airbrushed with darker green.
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Base coat painting finished.
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March 19, 2017
Panel highlights were done with white oil paint. Here it is seen dabbed on with a Q-tip...
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March 19, 2017
... and here after spreading within each panel (only right side received this treatment so far).
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March 19, 2017
Undersurfaces received the same treatment.
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March 19, 2017
Chipped panel lines and wear. P-61s looked very worn in period photos, so I hope I did not over-did it.
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March 19, 2017
Chipping the lower surfaces. I used a toothpick and hobby knife blade to remove water-softened paint.
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Aaaaand... we don't have a tail-sitter. Phew!
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Here are the finished pics.
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March 19, 2017
And finally, a little photo montage...

Album info

I was looking for the DML P-61A kit some time, and when I found it in the vendor room at the 2014 IPMS Nationals, I snatched it. It is very nice by 1990's standards, although the detail is not as crisp as top of the line fare these days. Clear parts are thick and have blemishes, although they fit very well. Decals are on the thick side, but still usable. There are some fit issues with this kit, but I was happy with it overall.

I opted for the Aires interior set as I liked the resin bits (Eduard makes a PE interior set No.73296). I skipped Eduard's No.72476 exterior PE set as it seemed more geared toward the B version, and I felt I could do better scratch-building with styrene. I used engines by Quickboost (these are very nice). Main wheels came from the True Details set, and the front wheel from the otherwise unusable landing gear set No.72025 by Scale Aircraft Conversions. Aftermarket parts also included canopy mask from Eduard and the Microscale decal set.

048: P-61A Black Widow

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