GWH 1/48 P-61 - Finished!

[mustang1989]

Man I've been missin' out like a BIG dog on this one!!! Can't get over the level of detailing and great paint prep work on this bad boy. Keep 'er comin'!!!! 

[Bstarr3]

On 4/21/2020 at 10:33 PM, mustang1989 said:

Man I've been missin' out like a BIG dog on this one!!! Can't get over the level of detailing and great paint prep work on this bad boy. Keep 'er comin'!!!! 

Thanks! More coming... 

[Bstarr3]

I decided to try painting the wing walk lines. I'm really pleased with how they came out - and so much better than decals, especially when the lines are as prominent as these!

 

Obviously I didn't mask wide enough so I got a little over spray. Fortunately I had sprayed this like fifteen minutes earlier so it was easy to wipe off with some water. Some went through to additional chipping, some I was able to keep just to the black

 

 

Then two coats of MRP gloss has it ready for decals. Some mild chipping on the spinners. 

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Bstarr3

[mustang1989]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Out2gtcha]

Very cool! 

[Bstarr3]

Alright, I'm calling primary construction finished!  I've saved the fiddly bits (antennas, clear parts, open hatches and crew ladder) for the very end, while I tend to the rest of the diorama elements.  

 

A tip: if you are planning to do this kit, get an after market decal set that includes insignia, or mask them.  The decals that come with the kit suck!  This is after multiple layers of first Micro Sol, then Mr Mark Softer after the Micro Sol didn't seem strong enough.  

 

I put two thick coats of clear over it, and sanded down the edges with 2000 grit sanding sponge.  Took the thickness down nicely.  Went through the clear to the decal in a couple of spots, but I felt that added to the worn  effect.

 

 

A few overall pictures.  After fixing the decals, another coat of clear, then a light grey pinwash. I worked that out pretty thoroughly so that it wasn't in every single panel line, but just a random effect.  After that some additional post-shading and filtering with oil paints, then a final coat of MRP semigloss.

 

 

The nose art from this KitsWorld decals are very thin, but thankfully not too delicate.  They do tend to roll up at the edges though, so they take quite some work to get right.  This is actually my second choice nose art after the first one got ruined. Another tip - do the nose art before the tail numbers, so if you mess one up, you can have the correct tail number to go with the nose art (if you're concerned about that)

 

 

Quickboost gun barrels. The kit barrels don't have the appropriate flash suppressors. 

 

 

It's worth putting the extra work into interior detail on this kit - it's quite visible through all the glass, especially if you pose any of the hatches open. 

 

 

In addition to getting heavily chipped from the crushed coral airstrips, these planes also had very extensive exhaust staining that was very evident on the black surface. I always use Mission Models light neutral tan as my exhaust color for allied aircraft. I thin it 2:1 and spray it on in light strokes. Then I go back over it with pastels to add a little more soot deposit close to the exhaust stubs.

 

 

 

Finally a little fuel staining.

 

 

Now on to the rest of the display. I've got a couple of these guys. This mechanic looks like Michael Meyers...

 

 

And this ancient Bandai jeep kit, which has a couple figures as well. They're decently molded although they have a lot of flash, and their uniforms will need some customizing if I end up using them. 

 

 

Once I get the PSP base on the slow boat from Australia, I'll be able to start mocking things up, but for now I'll work on assembling the jeep and painting the figs.  

Edited April 25, 2020 by Bstarr3

[Neo]

Man those are sore seriously think decals!! 

 

Great idea to sand them down fits rith in with the weathering!! 

 

Love your weathering all together

[Bstarr3]

Thanks, Maru! 

[Derek B]

Great work on your P-61 - it is looking really nice 

 

Derek

Edited February 21, 2022 by Derek B

[Bstarr3]

The PSP base finally showed up today from BNA, so I put the finishing touches on this one. Base is very simple. Sprayed it with an exhaust manifold color, then some MRP clear red brown, which gave a very nice rust effect. Lots of airfield dust pigment and some dark panel loner completed it. 

 

 

 

Here's the scene from its intended viewing angle

 

 

Close up on the figures. These are not my best efforts at figure painting, but they were poor figures. Honestly I think the biggest difference in outcomes is staring with a crisply molded figure. This was my first time doing  the wet pallette technique as shown in a lot of Mig and Vallejo videos on YouTube, which I did for the clothes, although I still used oils for the skin. I liked the results though, and may try acrylics all the way for my next figure

 

 

Some oil staining under the engines

 

 

And then I cleaned my bench and prepared for my next project! 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Bstarr3