GWH P61A Black Widow - 1/48

PhilJ

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Bloody fiddly eh? I always have a set of instrument decals on hand from airscale, that way the cursing and threating is only temporary
 

BarryW

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Some pictures of the cockpit subs before I close it all up

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Finally a decision to make. The front wheel leg is meant to be inserted between the fuselage halves before closing it up. But, the pins are very small and this piece will be very vulnerable. Should I leave it out and when doing final fittings cut off one of the pins to cement it in place? I am inclined to do so even though it will weaken the fixing even more. By the way, those two moulded in aerials did break off and I have kept them safe to reattach in finals.
C66A7723-EEB8-4D76-9307-702E4C7DA7BA.jpeg
 

Tim Marlow

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Not sure of the wheel bay arrangement on that front leg, but is, it possible to slot one of the fixings from below (keeping the top of the hole intact so the leg stays level) to allow the leg to be added after assembly? That way you maintain the little strength that is already there, and can glue both sides to improve strength if you think it necessary.
 

BarryW

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Not sure of the wheel bay arrangement on that front leg, but is, it possible to slot one of the fixings from below (keeping the top of the hole intact so the leg stays level) to allow the leg to be added after assembly? That way you maintain the little strength that is already there, and can glue both sides to improve strength if you think it necessary.
No, I have tried a dry fit to see if I could find an option like that but no luck at all. Incidentally, the fuselage clicks together beautifully…..
 

Allen Dewire

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Hi Barry,

When you clamp the landing gear between the fuselage halves, does it retract forwards or rearwards? If forwards, does the counterwight interfere wit it going into the fuselage? Looking at the destructions, it looks like it would move if you don't attach part F49. Could you blue tac it in place and/or cover it so it doesn't get damaged? Just my 2 Pfennings worth looking at the destructions.............

Prost
Allen
 

BarryW

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Hi Barry,

When you clamp the landing gear between the fuselage halves, does it retract forwards or rearwards? If forwards, does the counterwight interfere wit it going into the fuselage? Looking at the destructions, it looks like it would move if you don't attach part F49. Could you blue tac it in place and/or cover it so it doesn't get damaged? Just my 2 Pfennings worth looking at the destructions.............

Prost
Allen
I don’t really see how you can protect it from damage to be honest. I have decided to add it after as a final fitting and rely on F49 cemented in place to give it a little strength.

While the fuselage sides fit well in the first test fit, actually there will be an issue with all the internals in place. The guns need threading into the holes and I have already removed some detail that gets in the way of doing that. I am currently trying to work out why the front wheel well does not fit well into the other fuselage side. I have not worked that one out yet and I think trying to do it with the wheel in place will just give me more problems.
 

Jim R

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Stunning looking cockpit. The landing gear is a real dilemma. If you fit it as they say and don't knock it off that's ideal. If it is knocked off, very likely, then reattaching will make for a weak fix and there is a high chance of damaging paintwork. If you fit it later with one pin removed you have a weaker join but at least it's all planned and the glue is where it should be :thinking:
This modelling lark is just decision after decision!
Jim
 

Andy the Sheep

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Barry, a really fascinating job with that cockpit.:cool:
I'm following your build with attention, waiting for the black livery moment, when I will discover what I could have done better with my P70.:flushed:
...and I already know I should have used MRP instead of Tamiya :tongue-out3:

Andrea
 

BarryW

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I had a real fight with this kit to join the fuselage halves. The main problem was the wheel well sides, I just could not get them to fit neatly into position despite a dry fit working. In the end I managed it with superglue which has left a bit of a mess.

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The above can be cleaned up, no problem.

A bigger problem is how some interior parts broke loose or broke ‘during the fight’.
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I am hoping that I can fix them back into place. If not, you know me, I am not one to mess around, I will call it a day with this kit. Not at that point yet.
 

BarryW

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I can report that the internals went back in OK. The biggest problem was the seat mainly because it’s structure is so fragile. The two arms are broken and lost but the back is on. In the picture you can also see that in the struggles the folded up ladder is broken and the gunsight is broken off and lost. This cockpit is a bit of a disaster. Thankfully in 1/48 not much of it will be seen. Provided the seat holds together I will get on and finish the model but I do have a lot of filling and sanding to do next so let’s hope the seat does not get shaken loose!

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BarryW

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Waiting for Mr Surfacer to cure so I have been getting on with some odd jobs.

Bear in mind that this model will not have a glass nose and will be black all over. I decided to add weight to the nose and not install the radar.

So I wiped some ipa inside and then poured into it liquid gravity. Next step, to fixe the liquid gravity, I poured in some thin c.a. making sure it went all over the surface of the liquid gravity. Job done

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The next session will be one of sanding the seams.
 

adt70hk

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Waiting for Mr Surfacer to cure so I have been getting on with some odd jobs.

Bear in mind that this model will not have a glass nose and will be black all over. I decided to add weight to the nose and not install the radar.

So I wiped some ipa inside and then poured into it liquid gravity. Next step, to fixe the liquid gravity, I poured in some thin c.a. making sure it went all over the surface of the liquid gravity. Job done

View attachment 456230

The next session will be one of sanding the seams.
interesting idea....looks exactly like the very small lead shot I used for fishing.....I still l have lot left and had thought of doing exactly what you have.

ATB

Andrew
 

BarryW

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I have been masking up the canopies with Eduard masks. I realised, however that these were cut for a different version on the GWH P61 and some don’t fit.

Look here.

The length of these is reversed, front too short and rear too long.
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Not a difficult fix, cutting the longer ones and a bit of tape on the others.

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There were a few other areas needing adjusting too on the main canopy part.
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Jim R

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Despite the masks being for a different kit you have made a neat job.
Jim
 

BarryW

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I have been working on the wings (more later on this) and noticed these two slits on each wing.

D976E687-2EDB-4213-ABF0-E718172CF543.jpeg

These must be for external wing tanks that I know occupied these positions. But, there are no such external tanks with this kit!

Some careful filling and sanding will be needed on these.
 

BarryW

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Stage 1

Plastic card inserted and cut off just proud of the surface. A drop of cement to fix in place. When dry I will use some Mr Surfacer 500 initially and when set I will sand it down.

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BarryW

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How odd. Is it possible they were on a sprue that was missed out when packing?
Jim
No Jim. Nothing in the instructions either. I suspect they were included for a different version and left out of this one for some reason. The wing is pictured in the final part of the instructions with the slits under the wing but not showing in the colour page.
 
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