Chaotic Mike Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hello all, It's been about a year since I last posted an RFI, as I have been chipping away at Hobby Boss' magnificent P-61 Black Widow, augmented by... * Avionix resin cockpit and gunner's station set, and radar operator's compartment * Eduard photo-etch interior and exterior * Radu Brinzan seat belts * Miracle Mask custom serials, and stars and bars So, having done all that, what was it like? The cockpit was a real trial, trying to combine the best elements of each of the resin, photoetch and OOB features, as they all have their strong and weak points. Strongest point for me turned out to be the opportunity to make errors... cock it up with resin and it's OK because you can fall back to photoetch. And if you haven't sanded away the plastic, you might yet be able to revert to OOB. Go on, ask me how how I came to this conclusion? It was hard work getting the fuselage to close up with the resin onboard, in the end I had to install a shim of plasticard and fair it in, but having the gun access and undercarriage doors open means you can't tell it is ever so slightly podgy. After humming and hawing awhile, I decided *not* to go for broke and weather it heavily. Instead, I just relied on the effect you get when brushing Klear over extremely matt Tamiya NATO black paint to give it a semi used look. I didmake liberal use of Citadel washes around the interior bays and the engine, though. So, on with the show. 3 overviews... A couple of views into the cockpit. The 'H' shaped radar aerials on each side had the original plastic mouldings replaced with straightened out rioja-bottle wire - it's the gift that just keeps on giving! Drilling holes through the two 0.5mm diameter horizontal arms gave my pin vice and me a slight work-out, I don't usually get that precise! The radar operator's position. Sadly, not much to see for quite a lot of mucking about with very fine tipped brushes and washes, but (all together now) "I know it's in there..." The eagle eyed might have spotted the nose cone isn't a great fit. That's because I thought I would have a go at making up some *entirely ficticious* wiring around the dish, courtesy of more rioja wire, then leave the nose detachable. Same bottle? Who can tell... It took *a lot* of grinding with the Dremel to thin down the interior of the nose cone to allow it to fit, and even now, if you look at it sideways it drops off without a moment's hesitation. I also dressed up the undercarriage with a bit of fuse wire. I originally started with the Eduard PE, but didn't like the two-dimensional effect it gave so replaced it with fuse wire (Rioja wire just doesn't seem to have the strength to carry brake fluid!) One of the engines (they can both be exposed), showing further liberal application of Rioja wire. Yes, I know Hobby Boss neglected to supply exhaust stacks but I couldn't work out how I would plumb them in so did the sensible thing and turned a blind eye! Hobby Boss leave large voids in the leading edges where I suspect lights are supposed to go, so I plugged them. Also, for the first time ever, I acquired some Micro Mesh which allowed me to boldly sand the transparencies flush, and then restore clarity through polishing. Result! Phwoar! Waddaya think of them guns, then? And here she is, parked up with the Luftwaffe's contemporary solution to the same problem. Hope you like... Mike 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhutchi Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Looks good. Nice clean, crisp build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Looks excellent with the detailing you get in 1/32 and I like the scheme isn't entirely black with the red to contrast it a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 very nice work looks great, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Hi Mike: Congratulations for your nice and wonderful job in this one, The wonderful results deserve another Rioja Wine bottle or maybe two!!! Thank you very much for sharing, Cheers, Luis Alfonso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thank you everyone. I am now looking with a little trepidation at Airfix's 1/24 Typhoon. Another year there? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith in the uk Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Wow Wow & treble Wow , that's a fantastic result , what a beauty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 excellent work and fantastic detail - that's a pat on your back from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixup_1 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 This is fantastic!! Love the finish and the attention to detail! Should be very proud of this! Thanks for sharing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lipkicker Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 B E A utiful , loving your work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Great build and some nice detail, good work there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thankee! Anybody know any good manufacturers of display cabinets? When I took the Uhu down for the comparison shot, I couldn't help noticing it was knee deep in dust from the man cave... Mike PS: I'm now going to do some searching of the forums, because I bet someone has asked this before, probably more than once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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