P-61 Black Widow

Hi! hey i have a question, i´ve beeen trying to paint a P-61 in a 48th scale, i first thought that i might paint the plane in black with the top turret on but then i saw a pic where the plane was in Olive Drab without the top turret and with a white nose so i thought the plane would look prettier without the top turret and in olive drab with the white nose, but then i saw another pic of a P-61 in olive drab with the invasion stripes, the instruction sheet says that the invasion stripes are only painted in the bottom part of the plane but in the pic i saw the plane all painted, i mean the invasion stripes were painted all over the wing ( at least thats what can be seen ) and all over the booms, but is this right? can any one out there help me??

Everyting you mentioned is possible. FSM had a excellent article on invasion stripes a couple of months agoo- they came and went on the uppersurfaces.

I havn't heard about the missing top turret- maybe a different version?

Although some of us are sticklers for historical accuracy- I would reccomend do what you think looks best!

Hector,

Concerning the invasion stripes, you could do it either way. The initial application of the stripes saw them completely wrap around all wings and fuselages. This was for easy identification from both the air and the ground.

After a certain time, it was deemed that the upper portions of the stripes could be removed, leaving only the lower parts intact. This was because of the return to "normal air operations", (the days of and after the invasion saw much increased activity in the air) and the continuing need to make allied aircraft easily identifiable from the ground.

Ultimately, they were deemed un-necessary altogether and could be removed entirely, although many units left their aircraft as is until the end of their service lives.

Fade to Black...

Indeed toadwbg, as far as i know there´s two versions "A" and "B", the first version of the P-61 (the A version) was with the top turret but because of buffeting problems was deleted from the second half, then in the "B" version (that was longer) the plane was again with the top turret on but again was deleted from the second half because of the B-29, general electric (i guess) neded the systems used on the P-61 for the B-29 proyect, so as i understand both "A" and "B" versions had the top turret on and off. Also i think that the first "A" planes were painted in Olive drab with Neutral grey, and then all were painted in gloss black. Please correct me if i am wrong, and from what i uderstand is correct if i paint the plane with the stripes all over the wing and booms or only the bottom part, am i right?????? :-)

Thank you very much Blackwolfscd!!!
My best regards
Hector Reymundo
hreymundo@yahoo.com

My grandfather flew a "C" model w/ turret , oddly thoogh it had been painted in in R.A.F. upper green and bleu, black lower w/ invasion stripes on the bottom half of booms and wings. Markings were R.A.F. as well, even though it flew out of Kinsale and somewheres out of northern England. I did my revell kit in these markings. Had to hand paint most of the markings though, what a bitch!! Try to send pictures if I can find the digital cam.

Thanks a lot! if some one out there has pics of P-61´s in Olive Drab that want to share please let me know, or just please send them to my e mail, once again THANK YOU ALL!!! :-)

My Best Regards
Hector Reymundo

As far as the paint scheme goes, depending on who recieved the order for the Widow first they all experimented in different schemes first w/ olive all over then went from there (most "A" models w/ shorter noses had white noses as the first radar's were more light receptive as I understood) gloss black seemed to be the color that most prefer as it was harder to spot by search lights from below. Allthough, some Euro countries developed they're own scheme for the Widow depending on the role they were intended to be used for . The R.A.F. hoped to use the Widow as a replacement for the Mosquito, Boston, and a few other planes all in one punch had the war continued longer.
diablo31
hellsangel@mailcity.com