Gern's Hobby Boss 1/48 P-61B

[Gern]

Simon has pipped me to the post with his 1/72 version of this.

Anyway, this is what I'm going with:



So much for the autofocus function on my new camera! Back to the manual - again! I've got the cockpit parts assembled and painted interior green. Detail painting and pics (I hope!) tomorrow.

Reading your post about potential problems with your kit Simon, it looks like the 1/48 version is a much better kit. I've test fit all the major assemblies and found just two tiny gaps on the underside of the wing joints, everything else fits just about perfectly.

 

[SimonT]

Hi Dave - the parts breakdown looks totally different on yours

 

[AlanG]

I've heard this kit is meant to be a lovely kit to go together. Looking forward to seeing this built

 

[yak face]

Nice one dave , i love the widow. Dont forget to make sure theres lots of nose weight , i ended up just about filling the entire nose cone on my monogram one with lead! Cheers tony

 

[Gern]

Nice one dave , i love the widow. Dont forget to make sure theres lots of nose weight , i ended up just about filling the entire nose cone on my monogram one with lead! Cheers tony

The kit is supplied with metal weights Tony. Two for the cockpit area, one each behind the engines and a couple of small parts in the nose. I've looked at lots of pictures and all the ones I have seen show a 'solid' nose. I did read somewhere though that there was a translucent section at the front - d'you know if that's right?

If the nose is solid, there's lots of room for more weight. If it's translucent (the article I read said this can be duplicated by just using a matt clear varnish on the glass part), I may have to add a bit more behind the engines. Fortunately the engines can be left until near the end of the build so there won't be a problem checking if it will be needed.

 

[BattleshipBob]

Thats not a He 219 Gern lol

Count me in please, another tail sitter!

 

[Lee Drennen]

Dave very nice kit and choice

 

[yak face]

The nose radome was made of either a type of plexiglass or fibreglass and was sometimes left unpainted , so very slightly translucent if backlit by strong sunlight but by no means see through. It was mainly seen on p61A s with the shorter radome , i dont think there were many B models left unpainted . Sometimes the paint would wear off quicker on the fibreglass section than the rest of the airframe giving the impression of it being a different colour. Personally i would just do it the same as the rest of the airframe, cheers tony

 

[Gern]

The nose radome was made of either a type of plexiglass or fibreglass and was sometimes left unpainted , so very slightly translucent if backlit by strong sunlight but by no means see through. It was mainly seen on p61A s with the shorter radome , i dont think there were many B models left unpainted . Sometimes the paint would wear off quicker on the fibreglass section than the rest of the airframe giving the impression of it being a different colour. Personally i would just do it the same as the rest of the airframe, cheers tony

Thanks Tony. Black it is then so no problems if I need a little extra weight. Just got to clean up the seam line that runs right through the middle of the nose.

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Dave just joined in watching

 

[Gern]

I got some pictures finally. Not perfect but I still got a long way to go in the camera manual.





The tape in pic 3 is just there to remind me to insert the guns into the lower fuselage before buttoning everything up. Apart from very minor bits of flash - sometimes so small I only know it's there 'cos the parts don't fit properly - and a few small seams, every part has so far fit perfectly.

I've had to guess at all the colours. That's the only complaint I have about this kit, there is only ONE colour call-out - for interior green in the cockpit - in the entire book of instructions. There is nothing for anywhere else apart from the exterior colour schemes for the two aircraft offered.

They don't even show where the decal fits in the cockpit. OK. I know it's the IP and even I know where that fits (I didn't use it as a simple paint and dry brush did the job just as well) but it's pretty poor all the same. I've looked at lots of pictures and had to use a bit of imagination but I think the interior looks OK.

One thing I noticed from the pictures I looked at, the wheel wells and interior structure of the fuselage seems to be universally Zinc Chromate yellow, but most of the cockpit interiors are green; so that's what I've gone for.

 

[papa 695]

Looking good Dave

 

[john i am]

Great start Dave good idea with the tape cause as we get older we forget things! I had to rip the canopy of my focke wulf just the other day as I'd forgotten two items in the cockpit.

 

[AlanG]

Looking good Dave. What green did you use for the interior?

 

[BattleshipBob]

Going well Dave

 

[Gern]

Looking good Dave. What green did you use for the interior?

Tamiya XF71

 

[Gern]

Going well Dave

Thanks Bob. Got it all together now. Pics later.

 

[Gern]

Pics as promised.



Not looking too shabby so far. One really annoying problem though which is nothing to do with the quality of the kit. I used some 560 canopy glue for the main canopy. It fit perfectly. Unfortunately the elastic band I used to hold it while the glue set has shifted the canopy slightly. Now I've got to take it off and re-do it. My fault - should have made sure the elastic wasn't dragging anywhere.

Knowing how difficult it is to cover black, I did something slightly different for the red inspection panels on the wing tops. I stuck some masking tape to some scrap plastic sheet and used a hole punch to cut some discs - using the plastic card gives a better edge rather than just trying to cut the tape. I sprayed red (Tamiya XF7) on the light grey plastic the kit is moulded in and had no problems with coverage. Then I used the discs of tape I'd cut to cover the inspection panels and sprayed everything black. Worked a treat!

I don't know about you guys, but I've used Stynylrez primer for the black and I reckon it looks fine. I'll add some gloss varnish for decalling but I'm not going to try and cover the black primer with black paint.

I've not used Montex masks before, but they fit the framing very nicely. Like everyone else does, I'm sort of holding my breath and hoping the canopy won't have any bleed through when the masks come off.

PS I did remember the guns!

 

[yak face]

Looking really nice dave , i do like the widow. The paint looks fine , ive done the same thing lots of times before , using a primer as a finished coat . Its just a colour at the end of the day and if its right then why cover it up with another one thats exactly the same? I used black aerosol primer on my F117 a while back , and Halfords grey acrylic aerosol is a perfect match for US neutral grey so thats been used numerous times too , cheers tony

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Looks to have gone together well. Good plan for the red discs. I agree that covering black with black is pointless. I have used the Stynylrez grey primer as a base colour a couple of times.
Jim