When I have enough space on expos it should look like this .....




.... discussing the results of the mission,the P&W 's still hot and smoking .....


Btw, the grey boxes in the background are my aircraft carrier for expos, 6 decks big! And all bases are made by my french friend mark58
linkname

Now I say thank you for your attention, climb into my P-61 and fly to Bremen to Focke-Wulf to build a Sturmbock or two .....


.....oops! I should better learn how to fly an aircraft .....


Ciao
Torsten

Wow - super work Torsten.

And a nice diorama to boot. Did you make the truck and tent for this or did you have them laying around?

Congratulations Torsten, absolutely superb builds on both Widows !! As I said earlier, your builds have inspired me with my Pin-Ups "Lady in the Dark", my problem now is the other 2 Monogram kits in the stash. I'm sure I will be conniving some way of working them into another Campaign or two now that I've seen what can be achieved.

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us here, and thanks for supporting my BOOM BOOM Campaign !! You will have to wait a while yet for that ribbon though, sorry mate !!

Cheers, D

Hi

Is it too late to join this campaign? I have a nice P38 to do
Also do you have to post 'in build' pics?

thanks
Mike

Fantastic work Torsten! I am working on a 1/72 scale widow, one of my favorite aircraft too, from DML. Thinking of joining this campaign. Good job again. Russell

P.S. Your model show photos were outstanding! It must be great to have such a thriving model building community in your midst! I enjoyed them immensely. Thanks.

Hi Torsten,

Great job on both. The bases really set them off.

Now those are some widows to be proud of good job widow!





Build On,
Justin

Russell, don't be shy now. Enlisting is free and more Boom Boomers are VERY welcome !!!

Cheers, D

Great widows, Torsten. Superb modelling. I like the variations between the two versions - colour scheme, droptanks/no droptanks, canopy open/closed, turret/no turret. Congrats on a job well done.

Simon

Does anyone know where I can get those mark 58 bases here in the U.S., for 1/72 scale of course. I really like them and they look so much better than my home built ones! Russell

Hey Mike, you're most welcome to join the Boom Train. There's no obligation to post progress shots, but we all get a lot out of seeing how other modellers do what they do (especially rank amateurs like myself !!).

Fire it up and enjoy your build mate, and thanks for your support.

Cheers, D

I've put the decals on my P61. The red lines were masked and painted coz the kit decals werent long enough. Took a long time to mask but results are ok.






Simon

Excellent work Simon, those walkway stripes came out great !! This thread started out as P-38 Central but it's fast progressing to Widow Heaven.

Great masking work, Simon. That looks really good! Looking forward to see the finished result.

I have now made some progress on my FW 189. It comes together quite well despite being a very old Airfix kit. The cockpit is quite simple, but does the job taking the thinkness of the clear parts into account.

I have decided to build it as a wheels up example. I simply could not resist using the clear plastic stand included in the kit.

This will be an old school build - no airbrush allowed Hey, there is a campaign idea for you

More to follow soon. Work has actually already progressed a bit since these pictures were taken.

@all
Thank you guys for your comments! I tried my best on these Widows and I think I did quite well, though someone else can surely do better .....

@Scott
This car is simply Tamiya's nice US Army Staff Car in 1:48 scale, which I use on expos beside my aircrafts. It's an easy kit, not a weekender, you can throw it together in a day, just like this this cute little British Utility Car of the same scale, which stands beside my Mossie. The tent is from Mark58 but I guess he doesn't have any left, because production ran out ....

@Russell
Thanks for your comment about my expo report. Yes, we have quite a big community of plastic modellers clubs especially here in the south of Germany. Many of them are in a distance of 100 km or less to my home. And I must confess that I'm an expo junkie I have about 10-12 expos a year but not only in the near, the farest is in Leipzig, which is about 500 km from here. Compared to the USA or Australia, Germany is a small country. Btw, my next report will be about our own expo in Mannheim, called "Kurpfälzer Modellbautage", which take place on 12./13. June. Just have a look on our webside www.pmckurpfalz.de or press the www-button in the top of my posting.
Sorry, but you won't get these bases anywhere else outside France. Marc sells the bases from his home and he ships worldwide. So if you are interested just visit his webside www.mark58.oxatis.com where you also find his email-adress. I just sent him a note that you are interested in the bases so he might get in touch with you .....

@Justin
You are quite right, I am a little bit proud of my Widows, especially that I built 2 at once. This is definitively no easy kit! I hope my Eduard Fw 190 fall together easier - at least the kit is younger ....

@Simon
You are also right, I had these differences in mind when I decided to build "Lady Gen" instead of "Lady in the Dark". Well, "The Spook" was set right from the beginning. Guess why ......
I wouldn't say the walk ways on your Widow are quite ok - they are perfect !!! I had the same problem with these red lines on my Monogram kit. But I was too lazy to airbrush them, so I left the red triangles out on "Lady Gen", as I had decals left for only one triangle .....
So now we have 4 different Black Widows in this campaign, "Lady in the dark", "Times a wastin", "Lady Gen" and "The Spook". More are not possible with decals oob, right? Congratulations on your Widow, Simon! It simply looks great!

..... and finaly
@Damian
Thanks for your comments about my Widows, mate! I'm glad I could give you and the others some little help and motivation to get this kit going. It was a pleasure for me to join this campaign a it gave me the needed kick to start my P-61. And don't worry, I'm not out of this world - just on the other side .... I will watch closely what you guys produce here right to the end. We will bumb into eachother at the Spitfire and Warhawk campaigns. And don't forget I'm your wingman in our Zerstörer Campaign!

Happy modelling
Torsten

I took some more pictures of the FW 189 yesterday. The build is progressing slowly but surely.

I am brush painting everything - mainly because I wanted to go old school on this old kit, but also because I did not want to make masking tape for all those windows. The result would probably be better, but after all it is a hobby and should be fun. So I had to compromise a little.

The masking tape in the pictures is the only masking tape used so far. It is used to make the yellow eastern front markings on the lower wings.
Next is some small detail painting and then some light weathering.

Comments welcome

Jesper, hand painted splinter camo with NO masking, sweeeeeeeeet !!

Your Fw 189 is looking very nice, but MAN it's a fragile looking plane!!

Cheers, D

Thanks, Damian.

I will go over the cockpit glazing again with a sharp knife to carefully scratch any painting mistakes away. Any mat surface left over by the scraping I will repair with future.

I actually considered going for the camouflage below, but I have not had the guts yet.

Well, since I can no longer go back and edit the first post Roll Call ( ) I will have to post an update here, and another down the track some time.

alpha_tango P-38 (1/48 Hasegawa/Eduard plus extras)
Attman007 no kit notified yet
AussieReg 2 x Cessna O-2A (1/48 Testors and 1/50 Heller) FINISHED
bf443 no kit notified yet
BlackWidow 2 x 1/48 P-61 (Monogram AND Revell boxings) FINISHED and STUNNERS BOTH !!!
Blueheeler OV-10A Bronco (1/72 Academy)
Bungal DH Venom Mk 1R (1/72 CMR)
Camogirl P-38 (1/72 Academy) FINISHED and SUPERBLY SO !!
Dcandal
discordian P-61 (1/48 Monogram)
dobon68 no kit notified yet
eMan no kit notified yet
Grenadier37 P-38 (1/72)
guitarlute101 He111 Zwilling (1/48 Monogram/Cutting Edge/Squadron/Eduard)
hkopper P-61 (1/72 Dragon)
Jmartine P-38 Nightfighter (1/48 Revell)
Keeperofsouls2099 P-38L (1/48 Hasegawa) FINISHED (in 10 days no less!)
KrisMax P-61 (1/48 Revell)
litespeed P-38 (1/32)
magnusf Fokker G-1 (1/72 MPM)
MikeMx P-38
MoJimbo
Pedro P-38J (1/48 Academy)
Phantom2 OV-10A Bronco (1/48 Testors + Paragon + Cutting Edge)
PolarBear J21 (1/72 and SO COOL)
RotorHead67 no kit notified yet
RudolfFilip no kit notified yet
Ruffus no kit notified yet
Sayayin
SGTJKJ FW 189
Siderius P-61 (1/72 DML)
Skyhawk P-38J or L
TacFireGuru P-38 or F-82 (or both hehe)
Tigerbait P-38H (1/48 ProModeller)
Tomcat31 P-61 (1/72 Dragon)
Torchy Focke-Wulfe TL Flitzer (1/72 Revell)
vanize Vampire Mk 5 (1/48 Classic Airframes)
Victor DH Vampire NF10 (1/48 Classic Airframes)
Voncuda Cessna O-2a (1/48 Testors) FINISHED (and in that scheme you can't miss it !!)
warreni DH Sea Venom or DH2 (or both hehe)

If any of you guys have changed your mind about what you are building, or if you haven't notified me yet, please just drop me a PM or post your build here in the thread. I am keeping an Excel spreadsheet with all of the info so that I can quickly copy/paste it into a new post.

Cheers, D

Hi all,

I finished the P-61 this week, here's some pics. I used the kit decals for 'Times a wastin' mainly because I wanted my Black Widow to be black.









I like the way it turned out, and the gloss finish contrasts well with the flat finish of the other planes in the display cabinet. The kit needed a bit of work, fit isnt up to todays standards, but I enjoyed the build, particularly as this was my first campaign on Aeroscale.

Cheers,

Simon

Super job Simon, your Widow looks "factory-fresh" and ready for action. A couple of questions for you. The decals look to have gone down very smoothly, did you have any problems or use any setting solutions? What did you use for the aerial wires? Did you put in any nose weights or are you using the clear stand at the back?

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us, and thanks for your support for my first Campaign on Aeroscale. I'm sure we will see you in plenty more !!

Cheers, D

For the decals I used a dab of Micro Sol just to be safe, but with the glossy finish they went down very easily. They set very quickly, so I couldn't spend too long getting them in place. Not sure if that was because of the decals or the surface.
Just a comment on the paint job (Tamiya gloss black enamel) , first time I've used gloss and it really picks up the fingerprints. I'll definitely be very careful when handling this model.
For the aerial wires I have been using fishing line, but read about EZ Line recently and it's elastic properties appealed to me. It arrived from the states last week and, yes, it is easier to use. I might get the half-made Gladiator out now and try rigging it! EZ Line is from Bobe's Hobby House, if anyone's interested.
Yes, I put fishing weights in the nose. There's just enough room in the nose, plus a couple of small weights between the mounting plate for the radar assembly and the instrument panel. I even cut the top half of the mounting plate off to make more room for the weights. You need the bottom half as it forms the front wall of the nose wheel bay.

Thanks for the encouragement, I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing the build with everyone on the campaign. I've learnt from the comments of others and yes, you will see me on future builds.

Simon

Perfect build, Simon! Your Widow looks great! Now we have already 3 different finished P-61 in 1:48 in the air! Just imagine that sound! Join my flight! Your all black Widow looks a bit different to mine because mine has some red dots here and there. As I see you have also just opened one gun bay door, like I did and closed all Widow windows. Gloss paint always needs longer to dry than flat one. For the finish on my black Blacky I used Satin Varnish from Agama.
This kit is 36 years old so the fitting can't be like todays Hasegawa or Tamiya goodies. But I might add the antennas, too. Looks more like the real Big Black Bird. Well done, Simon!

Happy modelling
Torsten

Great work Simon!

Maybe someday I'll try a gloss or aluminum build, but for now I'm sticking with the more forgiving flats.

Hey - question for Widow fanatics, in case one of you has a reference book or two...
The PE kit I'm working with comes with the spoilers (or "spoilerons" as I've seen written too) that go on the upper surface of the wings in raised position.

What I can't find is what color to paint the underside. I saw a remote control Widow photo where the guy had them red like dive brakes in a bomber, but that was only one photo.

Anyone have a suggestion?

Hey Scott, I've got several reference books on the P-61, and one has a shot with the dive-brakes extended. Sad thing is I'm 3 hours from home right now on holidays with the wife and chitlins. I won't be home until Friday I'm sure somebody will have the info at hand. Looking forward to progress shots of yours to go with the other Widow builds we have going on !!

Cheers, D