Revell / Monogram P-61 1/48
Revell P-61 2016 release.
This has been an extensive project, this kit's molds are dated to 1974 and needs a lot of work and sanding to make it look acceptable.
This took me over a month to finish and I'm really proud of the result. First of all, I am going to show some improvements I did to this model, like riveting and full re-scribed panel lines, cockpit, Wing intakes, right open engine, main wheel wells, and canopy fitting.
For the engine I used a spare quickboost B-26 marauder resin engine, sanded it and detailed it to look right. As you can see, I tried to improve the wing intakes as they were flat walls with almost no detail, most of that work was made out of thin plastic cards and plastic tubes cut in half.
The wheel wells were empty cylinders, I tried to make them look "realistically" busy, is not my best work, but at least that's better than what came with the kit, As you may have known, the monogram P-61 has its major problem with the clear parts, they are really poor quality, but not because of the transparency (which is pretty good) but the fitting with the fuselage. I had to fill the gaps with plastic cards and Tamiya putty to make a smooth transition.
For the painting I used Tamiya and various shades of gray and black, I used German gray, Ocean Gray, deep-sea blue with black and white to play with various tones, I tried to look for a cold hue as you can see. To chip the paint I used the hairspray technique, first apply primer followed by any metallic paint you want to show through, then 2 or 3 light coats of hairspray decanted into my airbrush and finally al the paint job. When you're done, the only thing left to do is moist the surface with water to reactivate the hairspray and with a chopstick start scratching the surface revealing the metallic paint underneath.
I also painted the tail markings to better represent the 418th Night Fighter Squadron. Many aircraft profiles and also monogram had incorrect colors and numbers for this exact aircraft, thankfully monogram had enough numbers to have them correct. However, The yellow and red decals were trash, they were not printed over white, so when you apply them over a dark surface they get kinda lost, they are very hard to see, I should have painted the tail numbers tho...
I think that's all I can add, I hope you like it and appreciate the time and effort that was put in this model.
Have a nice day
-René
Terrific job...love the interior work and the weathering.
That's a really impressive build - clearly a dense month of work. You really bring out the sinister quality of the plane.
This is an outstanding work and a lot of work, Rene. You turned a 70's era kit into a masterpiece in every aspect.
Congratulations!
Really nice. Love the weathering! Only a month including rescribing!
That is a very nice result! Given the level of detail, I could never do this in only one month! Well done!
Superb job René, although you had to do a lot of grinding, you made it look great.
And what a lot of details, incredible.
The Monogram P-61 is a rough diamond. You turned it into a museum piece. Well done. This is masterclass work!
Nice job, Rene. I'm in the middle of building two of these kits and I agree with your build assessment. As a teen, model building became a life long passion and Monogram kits were considered state of the art back then, so I was expecting the "issues" but I am still enjoying the builds. I hope mine turn out as nice as yours. Again, great job on a classic!
I'm curious, was this a Monogram boxing which included Shep Paine's diorama pamphlet?
Thank you Gary! I'm pretty sure yours will look amazing too.
Nope, mine was a 2016 release, so no pamphlet.
A sow's ear into a silk purse! Great work!
All that work certainly paid off.
An amazing build, looks great!
excellent work dude. just goes to show with a little effort and patience, those old school monogram kits can still turn into real gems!
Great job Rene!
I know from experience how much work that Monogram P-61 is. Your work is amazing.
Cheers,
Scott
Indeed a fine work.
That's incredible and just shows what can be done with older plastic. It's inspired me to attempt (key word for me) something similar.
Well done Rene, well done indeed.
Rene you've taken a lump of clay and made it into a Venous de Milo . Some of us are assemblers and then some folks practice the art of making a thing of beauty.
Two thumbs up.
Great build! This kit, as is, is one of the better 48th scale kits on the market. With some resins, it becomes the best! Love those old Monogram kits!
That's a real beauty! Love all the detailing, riveting, etc. Weathering is great. Fantastic!