GWH 1/48th P-61 Black Widow "Nocturnal Nemesis" Build

Started by Walt · 104 · 3 years ago · 1/48, Great Wall Hobby, GWH, Nocturnal Nemesis, P-61
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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 7 months ago:

    Interior looks great, Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman), and will look even better against the dark exterior. I find it frustrating when the fuselage won't close around the cockpit. It is always a "duck hunt" to figure out what is causing the problem, and how to fix it.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 7 months ago:

    Looking real good Walt.

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    Walt said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    It's been a while, But I have made some progress. I cleaned all seams on major components and have not put most of them together. The wing to fuselage joint has no spar but the fit is pretty good and turned out okay for me. I am not building the radar unit and on the plane I am building the fiberglass nose was painted black. So to get this to sit on its nose correctly I filled my nose up with lead shot and put JB Weld over it to hold them in place.

    7 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Looking great @luftwaffe-birdman!
    Nice weight added!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Happy to see some progress here @luftwaffe-birdman. That is on heavy nose! By the way, it would seem that someone might be able to sell a build jig for twin-tailed planes 🙂

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Great progress, Walt.
    Let's hope the undercarriage can handle the weight 🙂

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    Walt said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks everyone, and I am concerned that the kit landing gear cant handle the kit let alone that added weight John, @johnb. They are extremely flimsy even the main gear, and building the nose gear incorrectly has added to my problem. I am really affraid that when I put the kit down it will collapse under its own weight.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Walt: Have you considered popping for Scale Air Conversions landing gear metal set? That should handle the weight and TC says they are the corrected length.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    In similar cases of weak landing gear, if the model can stand on its feet for a minute or so, I let the model rest on two paint tinlets or so, placed under the wings. I let those models stand on their feet only for very brief exhibition/photography purposes, my friend @lutftwaffe-birdman. I know this solution sounds weird and "lesser", but I can live with it and have a scale correct looling landing gear!

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Good luck on the landing gear, Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman). I hate it when you get this far along in a build and then start having problems. I had similar problems building a T-41 (Cessna 172) and the spindly gear simply flattened and that was it. I think in this case I would be sure the glue joints were solid, let them dry at least 24 hours, and then see if they will hold the weight. In the meantime, have Scale Aircraft Conversions on speed dial.

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    Walt said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Some of the Landing Gear issues are self inflicted. @gblair, @fiveten, @eb801 Both the Nose and Main gear are supposed to be installed when you put the landing gear bay area into the nacelle and the fuselage. I built the fuselage in the incorrect sequence so I didn't capture the gear in the horizontal holding fixture built into the bay area. I did on the Nacelles, but the issue there is the gear are weak as hell, and since they too are "captured" when you glue the nacelle and gear area together it is hard to retro install anything else. I am trying to come up with a plan for the nose gear, wish me luck.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Yep, good luck, my friend @luftwaffe-birdman!

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Ditto what Sprios said. I'm sure you will come up with a solution. Good luck!

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Ditto on the good wishes, Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman). Things like this are frustrating, but I am sure you will figure something out.

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    Tom Cleaver said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    @luftwaffe-birdman: the landing gear on this kit is weak. Get the Scale Aircraft Conversions white metal gear. For one thing, they give you a nose gear the right length.

    Looking good so far.