1:48 orthrop P-61A-10/B-6 Black Widow

A night hunter with a radar of its own

The black-painted twin-boom Black Widow was the first American aircraft designed from the start as a night fighter. Under the nose it carried a radar, in the nacelle four cannons and in a powered turret four heavy machine guns. The sheet offers six individual machines, which is an unusually rich choice for one sheet.

Six machines, three continents

Version P-61A-10 is represented by five aircraft. Machine 42-5616 flew with the 426th Night Fighter Squadron from Kunming in China at the close of 1944, 42-5576 belonged to the 425th Squadron in France and 42-39365 returned to the 426th Squadron, this time from Chengtu. The aircraft 42-39440 served with the 547th Squadron on Luzon in the Philippines at the beginning of 1945 and 42-5565 flew with the 422nd Squadron from Etain in France. The sixth airframe is the later P-61B-6 with the serial number 42-39533 of the 417th Squadron, captured in Germany in the summer of 1945.

The nature of the set

In the package you will find one printed sheet in 1:48 proportion. No model is supplied. With night fighters the markings are the only thing that tells an airframe apart, because the camouflage is almost identical on all of them, smoothly black.

Advice on the black finish

On matte black every edge of film stands out, so with this type a gloss intermediate coat pays off more than anywhere else. Apply the elements onto a perfectly smooth area, blot off the excess water and let the model rest longer than is usual. Apply the unifying matte clear coat in thin layers.

How night fighting was done

The radar operator sat in the middle of the fuselage and guided the pilot by voice until the target came into sight. The combination of a slow closing speed and heavy armament made the Black Widow an opponent that could not be outrun. The six machines on this sheet cover both main theaters, the European and the Pacific.