GWH P61A Black Widow - 1/48

[BarryW]

This will be my first GWH build and it looks to be very promising indeed.

First my workbench, all cleaned, restocked and ready.


The box


The kit sprues labelled and ready


I might do something different and, with one kit, represent two different aircraft. Looking at it from the left it will be ‘Night Take Off’ and when you look from the right it will be ‘Cooper’s Snooper’. Purists will hate it but as you cannot see both sides at the same time and both aircraft had the same black with red trim scheme, so what! This gorgeous nose art is too good not to take advantage of it.

Etch seatbelts and canopy masks


Tomorrow I will start cutting plastic.

 

[adt70hk]

I like idea of a two sided aircraft. I've seen it done fairly recently on a 1/72 Mossie.... In that case I think it was bomber/PRU combination. The finish wasn't brilliant but it was a different way of looking at it.

Good luck with the build.

Andrew

 

[stillp]

That's a really vicious-looking aircraft!
Pete

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
I like your 2 in 1 plan. What does GWH stand for, I don't think I've heard of them?
Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

I’ve seen that done a couple of times in full size. B17 Sally B is/was marked up as Memphis Belle on the other side, and the Watercress line had a West Country/Battle of Britain locomotive which had Swanage on one side and Tangmere on the other. It was known as Tangage to the crews…..

 

[BarryW]

Hi Barry
I like your 2 in 1 plan. What does GWH stand for, I don't think I've heard of them?
Jim

Great Wall Hobby was their original name but they just now market as GWH.

 

[Jim R]

Thanks Barry
Now you mention it I think I have heard of them.

 

[BarryW]

I have made a start on the cockpit. The plastic is nice and cleanly moulded, easy quick clean up. There are a lot of very thin and fragile parts though and even getting them off the sprue is tricky. I am using a razor saw to reduce the stress placed on the part.

Even so, some parts are just vulnerable. The ip had by four sprue attachments, two to the pedals, very tight on the sprue with little room to work on. The result is this.


There is a hairs width of plastic attaching the pedal. As you can see one ‘leg’ twisted and snapped. I was unable to cement this back together as there is just not enough plastic. Fortunately I don’t think it will be visible so, while annoying, I will just go ahead and not have the pedal. Incidentally the instructions suggest replacing the plastic pedal with an etch one supplied anyway. A bit of a fools errand that.

Some more pit parts. The seat legs and attachments were also very small and awkward but not impossible.

 

[Jakko]

A bit of plastic strip behind it will probably reinforce it enough that you can glue the pedal back on, I think?

 

[BarryW]

This kit is almost like it was designed for 1/32 scale and downscaled to 1/48 without any considerations of practicalities. This kit is perfect if you have a very delicate touch, perfect vision and tiny hands…. I have none of those.

I have lost count of the number of parts I have broken, even if you get them off the sprue you need to somehow clean them up…. Most breakages I have repared, some I did not bother with as they will be behind closed hatches.

I am still preparing internal sub assemblies for painting so I can close up the fuselage.

Look at the nose wheel instructions.

The mudguard is attached only by a small and vulnerable piece of pe.

The components


I managed to fix the pe to the mudguard, it did take a lot of time. A lot of ca was smeered all over and needed sanding off when fixed


I also managed to fix it to the leg but will it survive the build? That is the question…. In the pic below the wheel is dry fitted, I will paint it soon.


As you can see above, it’s not the neatest of jobs but hopefully will look better under paint.

This will need to be fitted early in the build so it’s goi g to be very vulnerable.

Talking about vulnerable. I really don’t like it when companies mould aerials into a fuselage side, what are the chances of these below surviving, I am wondering whether to cut them off and replace in final fitting with brass rod.


I will say one thing, this model is good preparation for the Border Models Lanc as that too will have a lot of delicate parts to deal with.

 

[Ian M]

Suddenly that slightly soft plastic that Airfix use (used) is not so bad after all. Fine parts just bend a bit ant not snap if you look at them wrongly. LOL.

 

[langy71]

....This kit is perfect if you have a very delicate touch, perfect vision and tiny hands…. I have none of those.

That alone puts about 93% of us on here out of the picture....lol

 

[BarryW]

Suddenly that slightly soft plastic that Airfix use (used) is not so bad after all. Fine parts just bend a bit ant not snap if you look at them wrongly. LOL.

Ah but there is a mid point where Tamiya and a few others sit.

It is not just the brittleness of the plastic, it is how thin and delicate parts are, the number and thickness of sprue gates and how enclosed and tight they are grouped together.

 

[PhilJ]

Firstly Barry, very jealous of your working area, absolutely love it. Looks like this is going to be an interesting build

 

[BarryW]

a quickie for anyone building this.

If you plan to install the crew ladder in the closed position, as I do, do not fit it at this stage as you will not be able to fit the floor in the next stage. The instructions really don’t give you any good idea in what position it should go closed up. Like so many Chinese kits they cater to the ‘all hatches open’ crowd and take less notice of the rest of us.

 

[BarryW]

I have been applying individual dial decals to the ip. This has really tested my patience. I have used individual dials before in 1/32 scale but not 1/48 and never so many so close together. I had to stop using MicroSet as dials already positioned would float off. The problem is that you cannot really seat them into position so they stay. Trying to press them with a cotton bud does not work as the decal comes away with the bud. The only option was to press them down with a cocktail stick so they are left sorta hanging not bedded on. The good news is that two of each dial was included on the sheet so those that disappeared could be replaced. I think most are in the right position but I doubt that any are the right way around. I also left a few off that are just to small to bother with. It’s a good job that you will not get more than an impression of an ip when peering into the pit.

This process confirmed my guess that this kit was originally designed to be 1/32, as I am sure that GWH would see how impractical this method would be in such a small scale.

Anyway this is how it looks before applying Microsol. It’s not great but hey-ho it teaches me to find 3D decal or pe sets in future.

Take a good look, at least one disappeared (top right small one) when applying Microsol I got away lightly as I really expected more to ‘float’ away
It will do in this small scale I would not be happy if this was 1/32 though.

 

[adt70hk]

That doesn't look like it was fun Barry. Well done for persevering!!

 

[BarryW]

A bit of artistic licence here. Some of the left over decals used on the bulkhead to add some detail. Not sure if it will be seen but it does make it look better.

 

[Tim Marlow]

What a strange way of doing things. Still, it will look suitably busy through the glass.

Edit, I mean the IP, not the bulkhead LOL……you posted seconds before me….

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
A real test of patience but I'm sure that once in place it will look the part. It does seem a step too far. A single decal on a smoothish surface would have been more reasonable.
Jim