**** DONE: 1/48 P-61A – Heavy Hitters II GB

[Night Fighter Nut]

Excellent job.

 

[Airframes]

Beaut job !

 

[vikingBerserker]

NICE!

 

[N4521U]

Them seats and belts are terrific.
Fit nicely in a great cockpit!!!!
Nicely done.

 

[Catch22]

Wow.

 

[Rogi]

:O

 

[ozhawk40]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!

Todays update

Pic 1 2

Props - obviously - these are the resin ones from Vector, not the kit parts which are all one piece a look a bit naff considering the quality of kit. I painted them in gloss and used the kit supplied decals which went on very well.

Pic 3
A relatively well known issue with this kit is the openings for the cowls are too small. I enlarged the opening by cutting with a scalpel and then using sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.The one on the left is enlarged. The one on the right is the original size.

Pic 4
I've started on the engines, which are nicely detailed. So much so, it's a shame to hide them behind the cowls, but I think I must.

Pic 5
All sub-assembly's' are ready to put together. Masks done, Transparencies installed. Tamiya super thin cement on hand....

Pic 6
Bit of a juggle getting things all lined up, but a nice fit in the end. Not much room on the bench now. Only thing I was not happy with was the fit of the canopy front edge. You can see the additional filler required to blend in at the front.

Pic 7
I need a nose - but which one? 3 Options, but since this is an A Model and will be painted, it's the one on the left. I'll add some more weight here too, so it doesn't tail sit.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Airframes]

Good progress Peter, and nicely done on the cowlings. Looking forward to the next bits.

 

[Gnomey]

Looking good so far Peter!

 

[Crimea_River]

Must have been entertaining getting all that stuff to line up in one go.

 

[Catch22]

Agreed, don't envy you that!

 

[ozhawk40]

Must have been entertaining getting all that stuff to line up in one go.

No easy way to do it, but everything aligned well, double bonus points to Great Wall! I wonder what they will do next? I'm not a fan of the Devastator to be honest, so looking forward to their next release of what ever they are beavering at now.

Things are moving on with the 61, so time for another update.

Pic 1 - 4 Engines
I painted all the components prior to assembly and chose the cowl flaps as closed. GWH provide both open and closed. The exhausts were particularly well done, but in the end I had to remove them as there is not enough room for them when selecting closed cowl flaps.

I painted the photo etch ignition harness on the frett, and then added them to the engine. The etch goes under the engine nose case, but luckily I hadn't glued them down. Last pic is all assembled. I had to go back and retouch the harnesses, as most of the paint fell off getting them into position. Wise and then not so!

Pic 5
First step in painting was to do the cockpit frames in the interior color.

Pic 6
Added nose and rudders. Sits nicely, so just enough weight added. Painting a segment of the "roof" highlighted a visible join, so a little bit of putty was needed.

Pic 7
Engines installed. Taking up lots of space! I need compare this to the B-25 I did for the last Heavy Hitters Build - it looks bigger!

Pic 8
Added details to the underside, including grills for under the engine nacelle.

Pic 9
Masked and ready for the fun bits.

End of update!

Cheers

Peter

 

[fubar57]

Very nice job on the engines.

Geo

 

[Wayne Little]

Looks great Peter!

 

[rochie]

very nice Peter

 

[Crimea_River]

Fine work going on there.

 

[Rogi]

Nice, shes almost near completion

 

[Catch22]

I promised myself no more kits, but the excellent job you're doing on this makes me want one!

 

[Wayne Little]

resistance is futile Cory...

 

[meatloaf109]

Well done!