LetLetLet ~ Warplanes

Let Let Let - Warplanes => Aircraft Modeling => Topic started by: GregM on January 20, 2013, 05:09:47 AM

Title: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on January 20, 2013, 05:09:47 AM

While the B-29 is on hold I wanted to make sure I keep some projects going.  I've had this P-61 kit for quite a while and after staring at my stash, pulling a few out and putting them back, the P-61 was the one that kept calling to me. 

I most likely bought this on eBay and it looks complete but lacks instructions.  It's a pretty simple kit though and shouldn't be hard to figure out.  The overall quality is fairly poor by modern standards but hopefully I'll be able to turn it into something presentable.  I don't have a plan for markings yet but I'm leaning toward a black plane rather than olive drab over gray since I've already built one that way.

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/002_zps1b36b61e.jpg)



I got a start tonight on the very simple interior, and I got the wings and horizontal stabilizer together.

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/003_zps4f4aeb8f.jpg)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: No.1 on January 20, 2013, 07:15:14 AM

I have this kit long time ago :-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Sall on January 20, 2013, 12:39:43 PM

This will be nice mate! :-clap Go forward!! :-clap

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: draken35 on January 20, 2013, 02:34:54 PM

Nice aircraft. I will follow your build ;)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: memitus on January 21, 2013, 10:10:47 PM

Great!! One of my favorite twin-engine fighters form WWII

I follow you

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Nico Braas on January 21, 2013, 11:48:33 PM

Nice occasion for a photo upload!!

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: No.1 on January 21, 2013, 11:53:30 PM

Nice images Nico :))

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Sall on January 22, 2013, 12:03:56 AM

Great images mate! :-clap

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on January 22, 2013, 05:34:12 AM

Thanks for the photos! 

I got some cockpit painting done tonight and hope to have the center section together tomorrow.

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Second Air Force on January 23, 2013, 01:49:40 AM

This looks like fun!

I have some of the small bits of one of these that I built in the late '60s. It was probably the third or fourth kit I fully assembled without help from my older cousin (who started me off in modeling).

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on January 24, 2013, 06:24:49 PM

A day later than I hoped but I got the center section together last night.  The nose is on and booms are together, now I have to figure out how to get this mess together into something resembling a straight airplane!

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/004-1_zps40e1fe66.jpg)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: No.1 on January 24, 2013, 07:47:45 PM

Now is mess but very soon... ;)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on January 25, 2013, 04:10:30 AM

That wasn't so bad!

I started by glueing the booms to the wings to let them tack up a bit.  After about ten minutes then I went ahead and assembled everything.  There were a few tense moments but overall it went pretty well.  It's not 100% perfect but it's pretty close!

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/008_zps9bab2f55.jpg)


(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/003_zpsa7a5c9f4.jpg)


I realized tonight that I should have put some lead in the nose before it went on.  Hopefully I'll be able to fit some in the cowls behind the engines but I don't know if I'll be able to get enough in there to keep the tail up.  I guess I could drill a small hole in the bottom of the nose, add some lead and fill the hole back up if I had to.

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: No.1 on January 25, 2013, 08:23:05 AM

Fast work :-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Sall on January 25, 2013, 03:37:28 PM

And nice job! :-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: draken35 on January 25, 2013, 05:57:11 PM

:-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on February 04, 2013, 03:05:57 AM

I got some work done on the seams and decided to throw some primer on it so I could better see what I was doing.  Looks like I'll have the seams done in a day or so and then I'll be able to get the gear doors on.  I would have liked to have had them on for this coat of primer but wanted to leave them off for as long as possible while handling the model this much. They'll get their own coat of primer before they go on.

 Hopefully I've still got some black paint that isn't hardened at the bottom of it's jar.

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/024_zpse822253f.jpg)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Sall on February 04, 2013, 03:14:55 AM

 :-clap :-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Second Air Force on February 04, 2013, 03:28:53 AM

Looking really nice!

I have the same problem with black Testors--my bottle of gloss black is more like sludge right now.

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on February 04, 2013, 03:36:02 AM

I've been noticing an annoying trend with all my Testors enamels.  Even when I was building often I still didn't use the paints fast enough before they'd dry up and I ended up wasting alot of money in unused paint.  The first bottle of acrylic paint I bought was in the fall of 2010 when I was building my 1/48 B-24, I can pick it up and in ten seconds of shaking it's ready to spray again.  Finding that, as I use up my enamels I've been slowly switching over to acrylics.  My only complaint so far was how fast they dry and the problems that come with that when trying to airbrush them, but Tamiya acrylic retarder takes care of that. 

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Second Air Force on February 04, 2013, 03:41:33 AM

The new Testors enamel formula isn't nearly as good as the old formula from the nineties. I quit building for about a decade and the old formula paint I had is still mostly good. The new formula doesn't seem to last more than a year without curdling or getting lumpy. My old practice of pouring thinned paint back in the original bottle is probably what is causing part of the problem. I've also gone to spraying practically everything as the new formula doesn't respond at all well to the brush. I suppose I'll switch over to acrylic some day, but I've always used enamel and I don't really like to change.....

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: draken35 on February 04, 2013, 05:47:44 PM

Comes nicely...

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: GregM on August 28, 2016, 11:11:05 PM

Three years, six months and four days.  That's apparently how long it takes to paint a P-61. But hey, progress is progress, right?

(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/WIXerGreg/P-61/20160828_162813_zpsroonrww6.jpg) (http://s807.photobucket.com/user/WIXerGreg/media/P-61/20160828_162813_zpsroonrww6.jpg.html)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: No.1 on August 29, 2016, 06:04:08 AM

Long drying paint I guess ;)

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Second Air Force on August 29, 2016, 04:21:22 PM

Looks nice in gloss!

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: draken35 on August 29, 2016, 05:47:43 PM

:-ok

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: modellius on August 31, 2016, 09:21:36 AM

looking nice

Title: Re: 1/72 Airfix Northrop P-61
Post by: Jicehem on August 31, 2016, 03:04:35 PM

Hello,

You turn this kit into a good one, well built and surelly with a good rendering. Only to say that old kits are always of good value...

Jicéhem :-wave