Monogram White Box 1/48 P-61A

[kyledehart5]

lol. Surely not. 

[jeaton01]

Kyle, I am glad, and you can be proud, that it is all your fault!

After reshaping. No issues with thickness differences on the sides or the top being too thin so maybe there is a difference between old parts and new here.

[stikpusher]

Excellent job correcting the mismatch John!

[tcoat]

Jan 30, 2024 19:47:30 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

Kyle, I am glad, and you can be proud, that it is all your fault!

After reshaping. No issues with thickness differences on the sides or the top being too thin so maybe there is a difference between old parts and new here.

Not counting the tiny amount of flash mine had it is the only significant discrepancy between the two so far. The whole sprue is probably very close to being short shot but you cant tell on the boom halves since they both come off the same sprue.

[kyledehart5]

I’m actually really happy everyone enjoyed my P-61 so much. And I’m very much enjoying both these builds. Nice job getting that squared away John!!

[406 Silverado]

Jan 30, 2024 22:00:32 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

I’m actually really happy everyone enjoyed my P-61 so much. And I’m very much enjoying both these builds. Nice job getting that squared away John!!

  Yeah.......look what you started Kyle. 

LOL!!! 


This is looking good so far John. Looks like you got a good fit on your fuselage bud. 

[keyda81]

I did the same filing of the fuselage just aft of the canopy. The over all canopy fit on my Revell boxing was pretty bad. I had to make shims in places to get it match up properly. There was zero hope of actually closing the canopy, the upper piece was so undersized. So I glued it in the open position. Problem is it decided to flop over even after drying, and instead of being vertical, it's horizontal. :shrugs:

[deafpanzer]

Catching up!!! Thanks for the head up about newer P-61 kits because I bought one by GWH recently. You are making a great process on yours and I will be with you til the end!

[lyle]

Jan 31, 2024 6:00:05 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Jan 30, 2024 22:00:32 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

I’m actually really happy everyone enjoyed my P-61 so much. And I’m very much enjoying both these builds. Nice job getting that squared away John!!

  Yeah.......look what you started Kyle. 

LOL!!! 


This is looking good so far John. Looks like you got a good fit on your fuselage bud. 

I was in Hobby Lobby a couple of days ago and ALMOST bought a new, kit….I was strong this time…and it probably makes no difference.

[handiabled]

Looks like you have it well in hand John

[jeaton01]

I have the fuselage sides together and most of that seam work is done. It's taking a lot of time to fit the windows in the tail section, I hate it when windows don't set flush with the outer skin. I have been assembling other parts; wings, control surfaces, wheels, and engines. As my usual I have inserted brass tubing and music wire in the engines and props.

[jeaton01]

Moving along on the P-61. I decided to put a pilot in it so it would be more believable to do an engine run up. I found one from a Monogram P-40B so I'm still keeping it in the familia. The glass is fitting pretty well, but I've been very careful with some pieces, especially the windows in the back that are inset. I found the best way to get them fit correctly was to put masking tape on the inside, and then tack two corners with canopy glue. I had a bit of a struggle getting the engine for the left boom installed in a position that let the halves come together without stressing the plastic, but eventually everything fell in to place without any trimming of parts. Not sure how it did or why but I'll take it. I'm still stuck with the cowl flaps closed on the left side and open on the right, but I'll just assume the oil temp is still low on that engine.

[reserve]

Nice job on the oldy moldy this was not an easy model. I did one many years ago, still remember the fight it gave me and in the end I made a horrible mess out of it. Not tempted to try another

[handiabled]

John you are making this problem child look great and making look easy doing it

[lyle]

John, this is terrific. You make it look easy.

[stikpusher]

Nothing less than inspirational John! So many today pooh pooh this kit, yet here you are showing all, how to do it, and do it well.

[kyledehart5]

Very nicely done!! Yours is no doubt going to look even better than mine. I’m loving this.

[jeaton01]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sure there will be some divots in it when I'm done, but so far I am having fun. Well, sort of. I spent at least 5 hours putting on masks, and that was with the Eduard set. This would be a nightmare to do from scratch. Today I taped all the parts together to figure out how much nose weight and with the short nose it needed 63 ounces. 61 ounces was a no go, although it might work since I have made flats on the bottoms of the main gear tires.  It's just sitting on the axles here, and the tail is a bit lower that it will be with the tires on.  I melted some lead into a ice cream ladle and smashed it into a shape that fits into the nose part using a big hammer on my anvil.

[deafpanzer]

Looking good! 👍

[tcoat]

Feb 9, 2024 19:55:09 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

Thanks, everyone. I'm sure there will be some divots in it when I'm done, but so far I am having fun. Well, sort of. I spent at least 5 hours putting on masks, and that was with the Eduard set. This would be a nightmare to do from scratch. Today I taped all the parts together to figure out how much nose weight and with the short nose it needed 63 ounces. 61 ounces was a no go, although it might work since I have made flats on the bottoms of the main gear tires.  It's just sitting on the axles here, and the tail is a bit lower that it will be with the tires on.  I melted some lead into a ice cream ladle and smashed it into a shape that fits into the nose part using a big hammer on my anvil.

I used Bare Metal Foil to mask. Only took a couple of hours but I haven't pulled it off yet so may look like crap. Since I will be doing it with the nose off to show the radar I gave up any and all hope of weighting it. The clear tail rod it will be.

[cbaltrin]

It's looking great John. What markings are you using? Sorry, if you mentioned that already...

[stikpusher]

The anvil of Crom!

[jeaton01]

Feb 9, 2024 20:48:14 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 9, 2024 19:55:09 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

Thanks, everyone. I'm sure there will be some divots in it when I'm done, but so far I am having fun. Well, sort of. I spent at least 5 hours putting on masks, and that was with the Eduard set. This would be a nightmare to do from scratch. Today I taped all the parts together to figure out how much nose weight and with the short nose it needed 63 ounces. 61 ounces was a no go, although it might work since I have made flats on the bottoms of the main gear tires.  It's just sitting on the axles here, and the tail is a bit lower that it will be with the tires on.  I melted some lead into a ice cream ladle and smashed it into a shape that fits into the nose part using a big hammer on my anvil.

I used Bare Metal Foil to mask. Only took a couple of hours but I haven't pulled it off yet so may look like crap. Since I will be doing it with the nose off to show the radar I gave up any and all hope of weighting it. The clear tail rod it will be.

Always best to prop up the back if you are working on the front!

[jmarc]

Just stumble on your post .. you bet I'll be following the balance of it .. Go,go,goooooooooooo !

[jeaton01]

Welcome, Jean Marc.

Feb 9, 2024 22:12:21 GMT -5 cbaltrin said:

It's looking great John. What markings are you using? Sorry, if you mentioned that already...

I'm going to make up some decals for this one.  It's a minefield trying to keep consistent markings with the turret/no turret business matched with the correct A or B nose, and whether it had drop tanks or not.  And the OD or Black finish.

I decided to do a better job on the nose weight as I want to do more P-61's, and also my bash to fit weight interfered with the radar bulkhead.  Without the radar bulkhead there is very little glue area as Monogram intended that that bulkhead support the nose along with the butt joint to the fuselage.  I cast a resin master inside the P-61B nose with masking tape inside the nose to keep the resin from welding to it.  I still had to cut the B nose in two to get the resin plug out, but I won't be needing it for this build.  I used the B nose because I think it is a bit more pointed, and a weight cast for it will also fit in the A nose.  I made a silicon mold using the resin plug, and then poured my re-melted 64 grams of lead into it.  All is well now as with all the voids filled in the A nose it just fits over the radar bulkhead and the weight will easily work in the longer B nose.

Here's the tooling.

[keavdog]

That is brilliant John.

[kyledehart5]

Agreed. That’s great.

[TJ]

Great idea on the weight

[dean48ws]

This is a very interesting build with heaps of extra information, great looking aircraft.

[handiabled]

That is a great solution to making counterweight!