DONE: 1/48 Revell P-61 Black Widow of Maj. Carrol C. "Snuffy" Smith Group Build

[rochie]

looking better all the time Maglar

 

[Maglar]

Thanks Rochie and Wayne. Here is a photo Airframes sent me from a book of his which was the ultimate factor in deciding to repsray it, also referenced shep paines P61.

 

[Micdrow]

From what I seen it looks great Maglar, check out this old color picture of P-61's over Okinawa. The one in front is really shows the wear and tear.

 

[ellis995]

Well done Maglar.

At first glance i thought it was one of those DI-CASTS?

Bloody good job

 

[Catch22]

Great pic Paul!

 

[ozhawk40]

Looks pretty good to me Maglar, can't wait for the finished shots.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Micdrow]

Great pic Paul!

Thanks!!!

 

[Maglar]

Damn, nice paul. It looks like that front one got into a bad fight then into another! I bet the pilot behind him is yelling nanana look at my fresh bird!

What factor could make it get that beat up? Pilot probably got bored on the airfield and started scraping sections off

 

[Maglar]

Thanks keith and peter.

Keith, I thought it looked ok, but not a di-cast look-a-like, thanks a bunch man. Also never been saluted on here before..

 

[Micdrow]

Damn, nice paul. It looks like that front one got into a bad fight then into another! I bet the pilot behind him is yelling nanana look at my fresh bird!

What factor could make it get that beat up? Pilot probably got bored on the airfield and started scraping sections off

From the quote under the picture it said that the unusual wear was because of the climate. Ive seen other aircraft of the pacific look just as bad but as you said most people like taking pictures of freshly painted birds. Thats true even now of days. Most would take pictures of a freshly painted bird then the one next to it that is war weary and photo geneic.

 

[Maglar]

I'd take pictures of the beat up ones, I bet their "story" is going to make a better news article then the factory fresh one. Only opinion though. Well, now I dont feel so bad about my chipping..

 

[Maglar]

I manned up and did the decal way, came out great! BUT, had a decal shortage and both triangles didnt get the base they need, simply ran out of red. Njaco (Chris) is going to see if he still has a spare P61 kit he offered I could use parts from, because in no way am I hand painting the rest. Stay tuned!

 

[Wayne Little]

Done great so far!

 

[RAF Liberators]

Great work my young padawan (can I still call you that here? )

 

[Maglar]

Ofcourse RAF! there seems to be lots of Jedi references in this place..

 

[Airframes]

Nice work so far Mag, it's coming along well.
It seems certain types of aircraft, particularly 'smooth skinned' types such as the P61 and B26, shed their paint more easily than others, especially Olive Drab. Many years ago, I talked with an ex - USAAF crew chief, who had been based in the UK, and later in Japan at wars end, and then Korea. he described the weathering and wear on paintwork, mainly in the damp climate of the UK, and attributed it to the paints being specified for Stateside use, and that they didn't hold up so well in harsher climates. This is evident when any pics of virtually any OD painted kites are seen, as the fading, and flaking/chipping, is very apparent.

 

[Maglar]

Thanks Terry, my P61 nut gave me a nice paint mix to do for the exhaust. He said do a mixture of brown, metalic blue and dark gray then fade to a light gray the further I go back. Will be practicing on cardboard first!

I think I might lock down the rest of the decals before the exhaust.

 

[muller]

Lovely job on those decals Corey! I hate long skinny decals myself! It's really coming together now 8)

 

[Maglar]

Well I attached the fuel tanks. Probably going to decal it next. I painted the canopy and dry fitted it and like catch said back when, there are problems with the fit. Theres a minor gap between the main body and plastic. I could possibly try to fill it in with pva and paint over it or some sort.

 

[Airframes]

Yep, seal those decals before you do any exhaust streaking or weathering Mag. And good idea to use the PVA for the canopy. Just brush it in, or better, use a cocktail stick or similar. Wipe off the excess with the end of a wet finger (!), immediately after, then repeat if required, when it's dried a bit. Should find its own level, but let it harden for about 24 hours before you paint over it. Job done!