Nikola Topalov Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Just about to start on a new endeavor, trying to conquer the notorious lady, Revell's 1/48 P-61 Black Widow. Apparently she has numerous fit issues, especially with the clear parts. They say she is a tough lady and from what I've heard she has often made modelers give up on her. We'll see how long I survive, as those widows are known for destroying their suitors. 😜 I am planning to do the "Midnight Mickey" version, which means olive drab/green base color. From what I've seen, these planes very pretty battered, so weathering should be fun. After my first experiment with the complementary pre-shading method on my last build (Tamiya's 1/48 Zeke where I used dark yellow primer followed by purple pre-shading before IJN Ash Gray base color), I will test the method further and go with the same primer, red or dark red pre-shading followed by the olive drab/green base colors. We'll see how it goes. Let's get crackin'! Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola Edited December 6, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Should be fun watching this one come together. I hope those decals are 1/48 though... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 +1 for what Thom said! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 17 hours ago, Thom216 said: Should be fun watching this one come together. I hope those decals are 1/48 though... Hi Thom, Bellow are the decals which came with the kit. Looks like they are to scale. Correct me if I am wrong. Best, Nikola 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 (edited) Ah!! The pic of the decal sheet you showed in your first post says 1/72. Glad it was a woopsie!😉 Edited December 8, 2019 by Thom216 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigster Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Is this an old Monogram kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f111guru Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 It is the old and several reissue Monogram kit. I have at least 10 kits and can say none are molded in gray. All are black styrene. So I'll grab a seat and watch with interest behind the front runners. All The Best Ron VanDerwarker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 I’m in! You’re right, weathering will be fun. I built the 1/72 HobbyBoss kit, in the green & gray scheme. I used the very same pic you posted, of the in-flight aircraft, as my weathering example. - Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 5 hours ago, Thom216 said: Ah!! The pic of the decal sheet you showed in your first post says 1/72. Glad it was a woopsie!😉 Hi Thom, Whoops, sorry for the confusion! The instructions are in b/w, so I just used this one to show the aircraft I'll be building. Best, Nikola 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 3 hours ago, f111guru said: It is the old and several reissue Monogram kit. I have at least 10 kits and can say none are molded in gray. All are black styrene. So I'll grab a seat and watch with interest behind the front runners. All The Best Ron VanDerwarker Hi Ron, I was surprised myself when I opened the box and saw gray plastic since all the reviews I saw showed black. Maybe I got magically lucky and this one is not so bad in terms of fit issues which everyone talked about. What was your experience? Cheers, Nikola 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 1 hour ago, billn53 said: I’m in! You’re right, weathering will be fun. I built the 1/72 HobbyBoss kit, in the green & gray scheme. I used the very same pic you posted, of the in-flight aircraft, as my weathering example. - Bill Hi Bill, Cool! What's the HB kit like? Have you got any pics of your build for inspiration? Cheers, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 5 hours ago, Nikola Topalov said: Hi Bill, Cool! What's the HB kit like? Have you got any pics of your build for inspiration? Cheers, Nikola The HobbyBoss Black Widows go together like a breeze, I finished mine in two weeks (a record for me). Here is the WIP: and the RFI pics are here: - Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kushan_Farsight Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Nice color scheme choice, its always nice to see these birds in something other than the standard night fighter scheme! will be following! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 1 hour ago, billn53 said: The HobbyBoss Black Widows go together like a breeze, I finished mine in two weeks (a record for me). Here is the WIP: and the RFI pics are here: - Bill Hi Bill, Thank you very much for showing your work. Great model and very inspiring! I'd be very very glad if I even get anywhere close to that. Cheers, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Just wanted to share with you my rough "virtual test" for the complementary pre-shading method for the Widow. The colors are approximate. Here it goes: Step 1 - Dark yellow primer: Step 2 - Complementary pre-shading: Step 3 - Base color: Bellow - Regular pre-shading for comparison: Comments, opinions and criticism are more than welcome! Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola Edited December 10, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Just an update on the Widow: Dark yellow primer and complementary pre-shading finished for the interior parts of the plane. I used red pre-shading for interior green base (cockpit etc) and purple for zinc chromate and aluminium (wheel wells, underside, etc...) The project is going slowly because I had to spend A LOT of time cleaning flash and seam lines from every single piece. The molds are really old. I can't imagine what's in store for me when time comes to fit the pieces together, as the wings already caused some slight issues, but we'll see. The kit is notorious for a reason, but hey, it's a skill honing challenge. Also it's a great subject so I keep on going! Anyhow, bellow are the project update photos. Again I apologize for the image quality. Thanks for looking guys. Cheers, Nikola Edited December 22, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Surreptitiously hitting the follow button to see what that pre-shading technique is going to look like... first time I've seen such primary colours used like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, alt-92 said: Surreptitiously hitting the follow button to see what that pre-shading technique is going to look like... first time I've seen such primary colours used like that. Hi Alt, As for my complementary pre-shading method, if you wish to take a look, here is the link to WIP, my first experiment with a Zeke (did it only on the exterior this first time): And here is the link to RFI: Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola Edited December 22, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 26 minutes ago, alt-92 said: Surreptitiously hitting the follow button to see what that pre-shading technique is going to look like... first time I've seen such primary colours used like that. You can even go further when doing a "virtual light source" method (I don't know the proper name :)) and introduce "warm" colours for pre-shading "cold" base colors in areas which will be in shade and vice versa, "cold" pre-shading for "warm" ones. This is done in painting. The complementary pre-shading method (pre-shading base color with it's complementary) came to my mind recently and it is more of an artistic than realistic approach to painting models, but I like to mix both in my work and try to be somewhere in between. We'll see how far I can develop the method. Looks promising to me anyway. Best, Nikola 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Love the work on the A6M, so well curious how this one turns out. Thanks for the links! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 36 minutes ago, alt-92 said: Love the work on the A6M, so well curious how this one turns out. Thanks for the links! Thank you Alt! Appreciated. You are welcome. I am curious as well. I hope I don't screw it up. Cheers, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 25, 2019 Author Share Posted December 25, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Update on the Widow for those interested Interior base colors (Interior Green and Zinc Chromate) airbrushed over dark yellow primer and purple and red complementary pre-shading scheme. Certain corrections still to be done, paintwork and flash wise. We'll see how it turns out when blacks, highlights, washes and wear are applied. Again, apologies for the image and lighting quality. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Nikola Edited December 26, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Very smooth and spotless base layer. It will be very interesting to see the next step. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 I like how that chromate green on purple has turned out, very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) 36 minutes ago, alt-92 said: I like how that chromate green on purple has turned out, very nice. Thanks Alt. Though I think it could be just slightly more purplish. I will see to maybe add a very subtle purple filter in post shading. Or maybe not, I don't know. I'll see. Cheers, Nikola Edited December 28, 2019 by Nikola Topalov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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