Looking really good mate

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

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

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. 

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! ;-)

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. 

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...)

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.  

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.

As usual looks great, esp love your engines! 

And thanks for the warning about the issues, lucky for me my version is a later kit. 

tempestjohnny

Great work as always Joe. And a big kudos for dedicating this. I'll bet Hunter is upstairs with a big smile looking down

 

Thanks for stopping in guys...

I hope so Johnny, this one is for him.

Those ignition wires look great!  I would never have thought a PE harness could ever look good.  See now you made me want to try it!   The engines look terrific too!

So the ETO and the PTO had really divergent aircraft requirements. 

The ETO mostly were issued a new aircraft when one was damaged. In the PTO they repaired them a little more frequently.

Thanks Toshi, your always so kind and a good friend.  Your positive attitude is an inspiration to us all.  I'm also glad you get use out of my threads.  It's funny how in today's day in age you can make friendships with people and never actually meet them face-to-face. On that note, I just read about the loss of fellow modeler (and hero) Hunter Anderson to an unfortunate accident.  He was always so inquisitive and eager to learn about our unique but great hobby.  I just read all the PM's conversations we had, with the most recent a few months ago, and it pretty much brought me to tears.  My thoughts are with his family and I will dedicate the rest of this build to his memory. 

I decided I was going to chip up certain areas without getting to carried away.  I fired down some Alclad Aluminum on the wing leading edges and the front of the cowls. I then sprayed some AK worn effects fluid, which is basically the hairspray technique. After the paint is fired down,  I will go back and expose some Aluminum, well that's the hope...lol.

I then took a break from the air frame and switched to the radials.  I opted for the open cowl flaps option, but I wasn't happy with the single row "teeth".  I improved this area with some styrene. 

The GW Pratt & Whitneys are kind of lousy.  The gear box is wrong and should look like a canister on the P-61 (actually I think it's a cover that goes over the gear box, not sure). They also forgot the magnetos and the box in the middle (distributor?).  I found some from Tamiya P-47 parts in my stash to solve this issue. Accurate? Dunno, but better than nothing.  They corrected these issues on the later release.  I used the kit supplied PE ignition harnesses and must say they dont look half bad. I used copper paint to make the "wires" look round. Here we are after a wash and dullcoat.  I may grime these up more, not sure.   

I added the cowl flaps and exhausts.  The fit was poor and I needed to snip off some of the longer pipes to make it fit in the back. No biggie since they won't be seen. 

A test fit...not bad

I painted the general area red where I will tape off the wing walk stripes and angled tail stripe.  It's much easier than decals. 

I'm definitely ready to start painting this turkey. 

Exceptional work lawdog114!!!  You are one of my favorite top five builders. You also inspire beginning modelers on FSM Forums like myself.  I’ve built a GWH P-61 a few years ago but it fell from the ceiling and upon impact the P-61 exploded all over my modeling room.  lol!

Your friend, Toshi

P.S.  I hope to be at your level sometime sooner than later!

Thanks Damian, Nice to have you along.  

Again, missed the start of another of your splendid builds. Great subject matter and, as usual, well executed. Would love to build a bomber or similar one day, when I get time and learn patience.

Looking forward to the remainder of this build.

Rambo

Do you know if they changed them vents in later releases?

Thanks Clint. No idea, I was just going for realistic looking. I'm sure it's far from accurate.  

Trying to fix up my house for sale has been really cutting into my bench time lately. I did get some quality bench time in over the last few days.  I figured that before I started joining wings and booms, I'd knock out the canopy masks then attach them first. I procured the Eduard set for this. Whoever designed these must have been drunk because alot of them didn't fit at all.  I might as well have used Tamiya tape.  I had to trim alot of them with and Exacto and fill in with Tamiya tape here and there.  What a nightmare.  Also, the front canopy (by the nose) is too thick and leaves a step where it meets the body. I filled it in the best I could with putty. I think it's passable.    

The booms went on without issue.  They fit fairly nice actually.

This area needed a bit of attention.  Nothing serious though.

A little sanding filing, no big whoop.

All together....

I got Quickboost cowls.  The kit example is on the left with the "pin hole" opening.  GW fixed this on later releases. 

I added some fishing lead to the nose to keep it on it's landing gear.  I hope its enough.  Here's a test fit of the nose.  I also sprayed the canopies interior green then flat black.  seams were checked with grey Alclad primer.  I'm pretty happy so far.  It's been fairly painless.  

I deflected the rudders for effect...

Now with the cowls tacked in place...not bad.

Almost time for some paint, but I think I'll direct my attention to the Pratt & Whitneys next.   

I got a bit of bench time in the other night, mainly fuselage and wing work.  GW gives you an insert for leading edge wing intakes that is supposed to simulate the vents.  I must say this looks like complete ka ka, especially for an $80 MSRP kit.  I decided to improve these areas.  I carved out the inside "wall" with an exacto, then added sheet styrene to simulate the vents.  

Much better. This was actually very easy.  I'm not sure why GW couldn't come up with something similar, especially for this price.

Wings are together and fuselage is joined.  Almost time for the booms.

1943Mike

This IS your full time job .. right Joe?

 

I wish!  Thanks for all the kind words guys.

Pawel

I'd like to suggest you don't wait until you run out of Tamiya - just mix some MEK right in. That should give you a better "bite" right away.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions.  I will try this as I am now down to about half the bottle.  I never realized you could use lacquer thinner too,very interesting. 

Another fantastic cockpit!!! 

Looking forward to more photos!