ricardotdr Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone, Here is my latest model, the Northrop P-61A Black Widow “Lady Gen”, 422nd Night Fighter Squadron, 1944. I really love this aircraft, and I was lucky to find an old Dragon 1/72 kit in eBay at a reasonable price. Built mainly OOB, I only changed the decals (Eagle Editions, printed by Cartograph). Painted using Model Master and Humbrol enamels. Weathering using silver pencil, Flory Models washes, and Tamiya Weathering Master kits. About the kit itself, overall I am very satisfied; especially considering this kit was manufactured in 1994. Great quality of the plastic, no flashing, and well defined panel lines. Some fit issues in the engine/wings area. The P-61A is tail sitter, so I had to add an incredible amount of weight to the nose, engines and even to the cockpit. Now I am a bit concerned with the ability of the landing gears to resist the weight! I am happy with the result, and even more with the learning in the process – it was the first time that I tried several techniques, such as salt technique weathering (which resulted a bit too subtle), paint chipping using silver pencil, and some photography techniques. I have learned a lot with everyone’s posts here in Britmodeller, so thank you so much! Please see below some pictures. I included a size comparison with an F-14A Tomcat, which was very interesting to me. Feedback and comments are very welcomed. I hope you like it, and thank you for looking! Best, Ricardo Model pictures Size comparison Edited May 23, 2015 by ricardotdr 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Nice. I'm by no means a Widow expert, so may I ask about the turret? What's the arrangement there instead of the usual 4 guns or deleted turret? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardotdr Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Thank you JWM! Nice. I'm by no means a Widow expert, so may I ask about the turret? What's the arrangement there instead of the usual 4 guns or deleted turret? Thanks, Hi Mike! I don't really know, maybe it was a model inaccuracy added to my ignorance. The kit offered either this configuration or no turret at all. Now I am thinking that maybe this configuration was meant to be complemented with some aftermarket pieces, as I couldn't find any reference about this type of "turret" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhutchi Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Looks a really nice build. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 very nice work, looks great.. nice job on the paint and superb finish!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 For a first timer using those techniques you've done pretty well not to mention the photography Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardotdr Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Thank you jhutchi, batcode and Knight_Flyer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Top work, very nicely done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 (edited) Regarding the " turret ". As I recall it from my aging memory, the original turret caused some problems, especially with buffeting during rotation and was removed. Also, the B-29 program had priority over the P-61 in turret allocation. The large fairing, as seem on this model, is over a fuel tank that was fitted in the space where the turret went. Nice looking model. If I could mention one small quibble, the yellow band on the prop tips is too wide. A 4 inch band was the requirement/standard. Chris Edited May 30, 2015 by dogsbody 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardotdr Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Thank you Chris for the information and your comment about the yellow bands, completely true! Best, Ricardo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warreni Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Well done Ricardo. One question, why does one of the main wheels look like it is off the ground in one of the pictures? Cheers Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Onkey Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Loving the weathering- looks very realistic to me, just enough and not too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardotdr Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well done Ricardo. One question, why does one of the main wheels look like it is off the ground in one of the pictures? Cheers Warren Thank you Warren! I think it just a visual effect, probably worsened by the tires being modeled as perfect circles (no deformation in the bottom of the tire) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condor1 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Another piece of pure craftsmanship . You really mastered the 1/72. Beautiful job,congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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