Really nice work on the Engines mate, seriously well turned out pair of power plants.

Looking forward to the next build installment.

Thanks again for having the patience and time to post.

Thanks guys, building and posting has been tough lately with everything I have going on.  I have a painful splinter in my index finger which is making typing this challenging...lol.  Anyways, I did sit down for a bit the other night. 

I left off with the wing walks. I basically cut thin strips of Tamiya tape and followed the pattern.  It was easy and highly recommended.   

Times A Wastin' had an angled stripe on the tail.  I added that too.  

Time to add the black.  Black is a pain and I struggle with it immensely.  I used a black on black technique on my F-51 that I concocted and liked.  It was basically difference shades of black, which was then lightened.  I started with XF-69 NATO Black.

Next I added a touch of XF-2 Flat White to lighten it up, as these faded quite a bit in the Pacific.

Next I went back with slightly diluted XF-1 Flat Black and dusted the panel lines, a reverse preshading if you will. The cowls were added and got the treatment as well.

I did a bit on the underside too, but not as much.  Note the holes for the drop tanks, yet the kit does not come with them, unbelievable.  I'll have to hork these from the Monogram kit.

I wanted to get the exhaust staining right.  On the P-61 these streaked down the wings quite prominently thusly....

I though white would be too stark, so I took some diluted XF-57 Buff and sought to mimic these photos.  Low pressure and in close.  I'm fairly happy with the results.  I suppose it could get more, but I don't want to overdo it.  

The stripe turned out ok too....we dont need stinkin' decals!

This particular boxing does not come with a top turret.  I had to hork one from the Monogram kit. It actually fits fairly nice. I also used replacement Quickboost Fifties.  The QB barrels were bent slightly (my luck).  I will have to live with it as these are fragile and may snap if manipulated too much. 

I finished off my night on the wheels.  I decided to use the kit wheels.  The treads were shallow and the seam was horrible.  Sanding it out would remove the checkered treads. Solution?...turn them into a smooth treaded tire.  I can live with these.  They are basically XF-24 Dark Grey with the "tread" area dusted with XF-57 Buff.  I gives it that dusty used appearance.  

Almost decal time.  

Very nice, very nice indeed!

Great work on the paint work espically the masking and weathering.

Are the tyres/wheels AM, the look so cool the wat they look worn down.

As always, look forward to the next instalment ( I just wish I spent less time looking at your superb builds and more time on my own...)

damouav

Very nice, very nice indeed!

 

Are the tyres/wheels AM, the look so cool the wat they look worn down.

 

Thanks Damian. They are the kit tires. I sanded off the treads. 

Awesome shading work on the black finish, Joe! But shouldn't this bird be gloss black? Most pictures seem to show quite shiny planes ; I heard someone say that the underside was kept glossy, something to do with evading the searchlights but I may have get it wrong.

There was a wonderful P-61 on a french forum, the builder went crazy to find the right way to shade the gloss black, I think he did it by using midnight blue over and under the gloss black, but it was a work hard to catch on camera.

Glad to see you take on this one anyway, I kinda fell in love with the P-61! ;-)

Thanks Hobbie, they started out gloss but quickly faded out in the South Pacific. The coral runways really gave these turkeys a beating. Most of the pics I’ve seen show they were quite dull looking.

Thanks all for dropping by..I’ll be decaling soon. 

One of the few things I can truly remember for Art class many moons ago is that there is no such thing and "black", but rather varying shades of greys. For some reason that has always stuck with me. I think you nailed the look and concept perfectly, Joe.

BK

Wow Joe.  I don't know how you do it but you just get better and better. Fantastic job on creating variations in the all black finish

Looking really good mate

Thanks guys, indeed, it's hard to make a large plastic airplane look like real metal.  I hope I achieved it.  

I have a quick update.  I gloss coated it with Alclad Aqua let it cure for a few days before decals.  I used the nose art from a 1994 Monogram release and they behaved great.  What a relief...

Other than the tail "star and moon", also from the Monogram kit, the rest were from an old Aeromaster sheet.  I had no issues.  It's time for a pin wash.  I'm thinking a dark grey to bring out the details.

I'm hoping to wrap this one up soon.  

Rambo

. So these did have the blue circle around the star and bar? From alot of color photos it's hard to tell if it did or not. Also are you going to do a dead flat or a semi gloss finish?

 

Thanks! Indeed they were normal stars and  bars, the blue was hard to see due to the black finish, as it kind of blended in. I haven’t decided on the sheen. I’ll probably go with sem-flat as these faded quickly in the Pacific. I believe they fared better in Europe though. I’ll see how it looks when I dullcoat it. 

Stunning

Love your work mate, you ARE the master.

I'm still to disovery the magic gloss base prior to decals, but you have nailed it again.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Your builds never ceases to surprise me every time I see one!

Your friend, Toshi

Thanks guys..

I'm finally done with this turkey. To recap it's the original release of the Great Wall kit in the markings of the 547th NFS Carrol "Snuffy" Smith and R/O Phillip Porter.  Smith was the highest scoring American Night fighter ace with 7 kills.  Four were on December 29th 1944, that being two JN1 Irvings, 1 A6m2-N Rufe float plane, and 1 K-84 Frank, all while expending only 382 rounds. 

I know I covered this, but I'll rehash a bit.  The kit is far better than the old Monogram kit but it's far from perfect, especially the original boxing which I used. I threw alot of aftermarket at this one, to include gun barrels, resin cowls, and resin props. I horked the turret and drop tanks from the Monogram kit because Great Wall opted not to include them.  I also used the Monogram decals for TAW and the Snuffy cartoon.  I lucked out as they worked great. Insignias and such are Aeromaster. I painted in the wing walks and tail stripes.  A few gripes are the ridiculous wing intakes (which I reworked), the lousy engine gear boxes (later releases fixed it), and the flimsy landing gears (I used copious amounts of super glue up in there). 

Overall, I'm happy with it. TAW wasn't the most flamboyant Widow but that's not always a bad thing.  I decided to keep the weathering to a minimum with exhaust streaking and coral dust in the panel lines. 

I think I will use the updated boxing for future widows though.   

Thanks for following....questions comments welcome.         

It a pleasure to watch your builds!

I subscribe to what ever you build next immediately.

Thanks for taking the time to post your build.

Damian

She's a really beauty Joe! Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Bueatiful build. I have a Monogram kit that I hope to do soon. I hope that it turns out half as good as this...

That's an amazing looking beast Lawdog!

Superb build from you as usual.

Joe, forgive me if I missed something but what do you mean the turret was not included in the kit?

Ok, now that’s just one cool looking bird!

Absolutely stunning.

Wow Joe, not sure how you improve on perfection but you do with each new model!

I've done black and thought it looked pretty good but yours is simply outstanding.

1943Mike

 

Joe, forgive me if I missed something but what do you mean the turret was not included in the kit?

 

Thanks guys, your kind words are appreciated.  

Mike, The original A release does not come with a turret.  I did come with two drop tanks, however, I now remember horking them for the B I built a few years ago.  The B version had four tanks.  Sorry for the confusion.    

WRONG SQUADRON. Carroll Smith was the CO of the 418th NFS. My father took over his job when Smith rotated back to the States. My dad was the CO till just after the end of the WW II.