Anigrand 1/72 McDonnell P-67B Moonbat "Virgin Widow II"

[Rhino]

Here's a sneak peek!
Now, the Chinese-made sharky-sharkmouth decals are quite thick. They took 3 generous dousings of Solv-A-Set to get them to conform to the complex curves on the Moonbat nacelles. The mouth decals are mostly pairs, so I molested both of my decal sheets to get both sharkmouths in place. They are nicely opaque and colorfast.

The kit decals take a LONG time to soak off the backing paper. They are nicely in register, and NO decal likes the angular side profile of the P-67. I know now why my Anigrand kit came with 2 sets of decals.

My red serials, aircraft numbers and Widow II woman artwork clear paper decals are too translucent to use over black paint. They work ok on the gray, so I will wait for my red number decals to get here from Omaha to finish that up.

I did print some Widows and 422nd NFIS badges on white decal paper. Precise, intricate trimming will be needed to make them believable.
Is that more to your liking, Saul?

 

[moon puppy]

Two mouths, no waiting.

 

[Sharkmouth]

View attachment 176786
Is that more to your liking, Saul?

Indeed!

 

[Rhino]

The red decals arrived on time today, making today "Decal Day"!
I love to decal, which is good, because the 422nd Test and Eval Squadron P-67B Moonbat will have lots of decal markings. Let's start with the most prominent, shall we?

My too-translucent-for-black-paint 422nd squadron badges turned out to be almost exactly the same size as a notebook paper punch hole. Punching out a few white decal circles allowed placement of the clear paper printed badges over the top of them. Pure Luck, that!

Keflavik "KV" codes, serials and aircraft numbers proceeded from there. Have a look!



Gear doors and navigation/electronics pod were installed along the way. I put the props in the nacelles for this picture. The portside widow artwork will be replaced by this Moonbat's mission scoreboard, including this pilot's victories from the PTO.

Lots of little decals make a mess!
Pitot tube, Canopy, TAC radio whip antenna, and external fuel tanks will go on after the "Widow II" decals are complete. Cool scoreboard decals are on the way.
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[Impisi]

Looks good

 

[moon puppy]

Nicely done!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Coming along nicely Chris! Not bad for a ship guy at all.

 

[Rhino]

Waiting for victory markings decals, other small details will be attended to.

 

[Rhino]

The decals finally got here from Indiana. This eBay seller's shipping time is truly glacial. So I started building Captain Smith's scoreboard. The Kitsworld victort decal sheet is truly a tiny work of art.
I'll use Carl's white YTB decals to apply the pilot's name under the canopy.
The Moonbat kit is almost finished.

 

[moon puppy]

That's a serious bearing for the spinner.

 

[Rhino]

Carl Musselman's Back Aft 1/700 decals helped put R.E. Smith's name on his Moonbat.

Decals done and Flatcoat sprayed. The windscreen will get a coat of Tamiya X-23 for added shiny.

External fuel tanks join the navigation pod on the underside of the P-67B. Antennas, nav lights and pitot tube to go.
I'm getting close to finishing the longest-winded 1/72 scale airplane model I ever attempted.
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[moon puppy]

Man that looks great, you should be bat proud!

 

[Rhino]

Man that looks great, you should be bat proud!

Thanks Bob! The Bat-tle is nearly won. I brass-shafted the kit spinners and painted them, just for the heck of it. You guys will be able to see what the Pratt powered P-67A looked like before the 1945 transition to the Rolls-Royce Griffon and Rotol props for the B-model.

 

[jeaton01]

Too bad the Griffon wasn't available to McDonnell!

 

[Rhino]

Too bad the Griffon wasn't available to McDonnell!

True. It wasn't until Packard built the Rolls Royce Griffon under (imaginary) license in late 1945 that they became available in quantity in the US.

 

[Rhino]

I tried the kit Hamilton Standard cuffed props on for size. Mine hit the ground. That being said, I didn't use the kit landing gear legs.

The Aries 1/72 resin Rotol 5-bladed props fit just like I hoped they would.
I hoped to finish this airplane model tonight, but the more I examine the Moonbat, the more obvious flaws I find.
It's a little like wiping your bumbie on a hoop. There's no end to it.

I won't bore the dogsnot out of everyone by listing the mod's and plethora of parts used to get to this point.

I only have one more 1/72 resin airplane model to build. The Isra-Cast 1/72 Texan II. NO modifications.
NO MORE RESIN AIRPLANES after that.

Thanks again for looking in again and again!

PS. Nate Stevens has an Anigrand 1/72 scale resin XP-67 Moonbat model to build as well.

I have prepared a Moonbat Doggie-bag for our club president.
I need a vacation.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

It just keeps coming along Chris! You are getting there bit by itty bit.

Nate needs to build something, take some photos and post them. He hasn't graced the site in a while.