GWH 1/48 P-61 - Finished!

[Bstarr3]

Got this kit for Father's Day last year, and it's been sitting in the stash ever since. I was inspired to model this plane, as I'm sure many people have been, by Shep Paine's maintenance diorama from the old Revell kit. 

 

 

However, this idea is definitely one of the more common diorama layouts I've seen online, and has already been done brilliantly by many others

 

 

Also, I have very recently completed my own ground maintenance diorama - though not nearly as involved as Shep's or those he inspired - and I wanted to try something else. 

 

 

So, inspired by this little guy from Reedoak

 

 

I'm planning to model a scene like this one:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Bstarr3

[Bstarr3]

I got a little way into the project, however, before I decided to start taking pics and doing a WIP thread. I have done some scratch detailing in the cockpit area and gotten down primer and first coat of interior green. The kit is very nicely molded and designed, but does not have the intricate puzzle like engineering of the best Tamiya kits. I'm already seeing that the way the cockpit floors and bulkheads fit into the fuselage halves is going to take a little finagling. 

However, there is some nice photoetch included with the kit, along with individual instrument dial and placard decals, which combine to make a very nice looking interior. 

 

Starting with the starboard sidewall, lots of nicely molded detail, to which I've added some additional wiring looms and replaced the oxygen hoses with guitar string

Added some scratch built oxygen system for the radar operator

Port sidewall. The levers are from the included PE. 

 

The radar operators station is nicely detailed out of the box, but I again tarted it up with some extra wiring and added some photo etch bits since I ended up deciding to use the very nicely detailed plastic IP

 

 

More building and detail painting and weathering to do before I start putting this into the fuselage, but a nice start

[Shawn M]

nice, having built the old Monogram beast I too have the GWH kit in the stash.

[Bstarr3]

2 hours ago, Shawn M said:

nice, having built the old Monogram beast I too have the GWH kit in the stash.

It's a kit to look forward to, for sure.  Very nicely thought out, and big enough in this scale to really have some presence, too!

[Bstarr3]

Some quarantine work today! Detail painting using Mission Models and Vallejo paints. MM paints, by the way, brush paint very well and are the perfect consistency right out of the bottle, although I do thin them when painting very tiny details. Finished up the kit supplied PE harnesses, glossed with MRP, and applied kit placard decals and IP decals. Also added a few Airscale placard decals to busy things up a little more. Got a wash on after these pics, then will do a little chipping with a sponge. 

 

 

I've seen the radar operators compartment in green and yellow. I decided to go with yellow for further visual interest, since there were no good references I could find to confirm the right color. 

[Bstarr3]

Final pics of the crew area before I put the fuselage halves together. 

 

[Gazzas]

That's some pretty awesome work!  I remember that kit from my childhood.

[Shawn M]

very nice

[red Dog]

Nice start,  I always had a soft spot for the P61. 

Luckily I never could make up my mind to go 1/48 or 1/32

 

So I'll take my P61 fix by reading your progress

[Bstarr3]

Thanks, all. This is going to be a big ass plane in 1/48, so I can't imagine doing it in 1/32

[Landrotten Highlander]

Pulling up a chair, as I too have this in my stash.

[Bstarr3]

Posting some updates, as I have been working on this, but just haven't been posting. 

 

I ended up with a pretty good step where the canopy glass met the nose.  I laminated a couple pieces of the thinnest card stock I have (pro tip - this is a plastic "for sale" sign I bought at the hardware store - much cheaper than buying Evergreen!), then smoothed out the edges with Miliput. 

 

 

Since I plan to pose the hatches open, I've added some styrene strip to show the framing inside. 

 

 

I did something wrong in the assembly of the fuselage halves - I ended up with a 1mm gap just fore of the cannons that required a lot of filling.  For those who have this kit in their stash - the instructions call for installing the cannons in one half, and then finagling the barrels through the openings while connecting the two halves.  This is very difficult to do. I would instead propose leaving the barrels to be installed through the openings at the end. This will require some surgery, but I think would make it much easier to go together. 

While we're at it, the instructions also call for installing the front crew ladder and landing gear early on.  Although the kit is engineered for this, it's possible to add them at the end. You'll have to cut off a couple of tabs on the parts, and attach them with superglue at the end. I felt this would be easier than masking around them. 

 

The masks that come with the kit don't fit. Need and Eduard set, or do it yourself

 

 

Wings and booms went together well and what little gap there was was easily filled with Milliput.

 

 

 

Engines go together well out of the kit. They are completely hidden behind the cowling and propellers. If you're not planning to open some panels to show the engines, it's not worth doing any excessive detailing.

 

 

This boxing of the kit also comes with a handy nose weight for the radome.

 

 

Reading through previous reviews and builds of this kit, I've agreed with their assessment that the kit decals leave something to be desired - too thick.  I got this set from Kitworld

 

 

Last night, finally got the wings on the fuselage.  The wings are heavy. I used superglue for an instant connection, then welded around the edge with Tamiya extra thin. There's a bit of a gap to fill but overall pretty good. Finish seam work and gap filling, and then I'll get on to painting.

 

 

 

[Bstarr3]

Got all my seam work done. Now a nice smooth layer of Stynylrez black before Vallejo metal color aluminum. This will be the base for chipping. 

 

 

[Bstarr3]

After a layer of Vallejo chipping fluid, I started getting the color down. For my base shade I mixed black and tire black 2:1. These are all Mission Models colors throughout. Their tire black is a little less black than Tamiya's rubber black, and more of a sooty brownish dark gray. 

 

 

After this, I added the dark ghost Grey to the base shade, about 1:1, and sprayed this through some pulled apart 0000 steel wool. I've seen this method described with a scotch Brite pad, but I didn't have one so tried the steel wool. I then lightened it up a second time a sprayed a couple patches very sparingly. Then blended it all back in with a very thin base coat. Hard to see the variations in the photo but it's just as I wanted it to look. 

 

 

Finally, some chipping with water and a stiff bristled brush. 

 

 

I left it for now. I might do some more chipping. But once I'm finished with that I'll gloss coat everything in preparation for decals. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Bstarr3

[D.B. Andrus]

Well done work on a nice looking kit. May have to look at acquiring this guy.

 

Cheers,

Damian