CAG's Revell \ Monogram Black Widow ***FINISHED***

[Raptor]

The transparencies on this kit are reputed to be a little iffy. I've not assembled one, so I can't comment.

I've heard the same thing Brews - and a friend of mine has warned me about it...... oh well - I'll just keep whispering to myself: "I'm a model maker not a kit builder" !!!!

[Raptor]

Still really enjoying this build, even if I did jinx myself. Maybe my comment about "no fit issues' was a little premature! Read on....

I'm kind of at the stage where I've abandoned the kit instructions - things are being left off, added, changed, all out of order now. I like to leave things like antennas and undercarriage off until after the main painting is done. I'm a bit ham fisted, and I just know stuff is going to get broken off.....

One thing that is disconcerting is the plastic. The merest hint of sandpaper turns it grey - you can see it in the photos. Makes the sanding marks look MUCH worse than they really are. I'm learning to ignore it though....

So I put the booms together, built the second engine, and got ready to put it all together...... and thats when it hit the wall! The wings roots were terrible. A nice 2 mm step ..... and a hell of a time carving and sanding to try and get the root face flush. Eventually I got them to fit - kinda sorta.

Time to put it all together. I held my breath - expecting the worst. Nope - went together really nicely - the booms fitted beautifully into the wings, the spacing for the tail plane was exact. All I had was a small gap at the rear of the wing \ boom join. She's starting to look like a plane now......

So this is it so far - I'm ready to start masking off the internals, so I can spray the main body. I'm going to try Model Master Classic Black - research says a semi-gloss black, so that should be about right. I hope....





I'm still not put off by any of the issues I've had. for such an old kit, it's going together quite well. And now that my mate Don has given me an extra set of ground crew figures - I've been thinking about the basing possibilities..... anyone know who makes 48 scale palm trees??!!

Next pics you see will be of a black Black Widow.....

[DH-Drover]

Any Model Railway shop should be able to help. OO/HO for small ones, O for average and 1/G for biguns.

Dai

[novokits]

Nice view! I see great job
I have remembered mine is NOVO P-61, I have painted this kit with a bitumen varnish. This varnish has been sold as a black paint...

[Old_Tonto]

This is looking very sharp, keep up the good work.

[Martin R]

This is looking very sharp, keep up the good work.

Ditto!

regards,

Martin

[Raptor]

Thanks folks - it's a big build, but the constant encouragement is making it fly by (no pun intended). For such an old kit, it really isn't that bad, the only thing I dont like is the raised detail - recessed panel lines are so much easier to deal with.

[splash]

That is looking so cool.

Regards
Splash

[Martin R]

Is it finished yet?

[Raptor]

Been busy decalling and masking canopies - there is so much glass that masking it seems to be taking forever.
Once the masks are done and the frames painted, all that remians is to fit the undercarriage and antennas.

On a complewtely separate note - every review I have read if this kit says the fit of the transparencies is awful - I dry fitted the major pieces last night - and they look ok to me!!

hopefully, she'll be finished by the end of the weekend.

[Martin R]

hopefully, she'll be finished by the end of the weekend.

So, what's the next twin-boomer on the slop sheet?

[Raptor]

Strangely enough - I dont think I have a single other twin boomer in my stash....... may have to go and look tonight.

[Raptor]

A small update - wherein I prove the value of not assuming anything, no matter how strange....

I have been working, but if you recall right at the start, I did say I was in the middle of moving house..... damn don't you hate the way life gets in the way of modelling??

She's now all decaled and stenciled...... BUT

While waiting for the decals to set, I decided to put the fuel tanks together........ what a bad fit they were. Check out the huge difference around the edge of this......

So I spent ages cleaning up two of the fuel tanks - making the side match up.... after spending the best part of an hour cleaning up a single pair, I took a break.... and flicking through some photo's, discovered that the fuel tanks were actually correct!!?? WTF??!! I have photos that actually show that difference between the two halves. Buggered if I was going to undo what I'd done, so two of the fuel tanks are going to be odd.....

Also spent ages masking all the transparencies. I've taken to lining the frames with a fine point Gundam paint marker, so that when the tape is on, the frames are far more obvious when trimming the tape away....



So now everything is ready for the final leg - undercarriage, props, bay doors, and antennas will go on tomorrow - once the cement is dry, the transparencies will be added, then a hit of dullcoat..... and done!

[jssel]

Wonderful work on a real classic. I bet Monogram/Revell has sold a ton of these and I have yet to see one built up.

[Raptor]

thanks Jeff - I am really enjoying this build. I know I keep saying it - but who cares if it is an old kit with a few "issues".... it's fun!!! I've seen a few built up - but given the numbers that must have been sold, you are right - finished ones do seem to be rare.