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Chromed up P-61

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Chromed up P-61
Posted by philo426 on Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:21 PM

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Posted by pennytrains on Sunday, March 19, 2023 7:27 PM

Looks great!  I've always had trouble getting decals to stick to a chrome finish.

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by philo426 on Sunday, March 19, 2023 7:29 PM

I used Alclad bright chrome over a gloss black primer coat.

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Posted by philo426 on Sunday, March 19, 2023 7:32 PM

Here is my Boeing Stratocrusier..

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Posted by stuartmit on Monday, March 20, 2023 6:10 AM

I thought it was a P51

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Posted by stuartmit on Monday, March 20, 2023 6:12 AM

Nope.  I'm wrong 

P51 different 

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Posted by philo426 on Monday, March 20, 2023 6:14 AM

Mustang was totally different!

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Posted by stuartmit on Monday, March 20, 2023 6:17 AM

Was thinking of P38 lightning 

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, March 20, 2023 9:45 AM

stuartmit

Was thinking of P38 lightning 

 

Kind of easy the confuse the two, the P-38's pretty famous, the P-61's a bit more obscure unless you're a real WW2 aviation fan.

Here's a good P-61 story.  During WW2 comic artist Milton Caniff drew a P-61 in one of his "Terry And The Pirates" comic strip.  A few days after publication he had two FBI agents knocking on his door and telling him "That airplane's classified, no-one's supposed to know about it and how did YOU find out about it?"

Caniff said "Look, how am I supposed to know?  The things are flying over my house every day!"  At just that moment one did!  "OK," said the G-Men, "Just don't do it again until it's made public, all right?"  

Caniff later went on to do the "Steve Canyon" strip. 

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Posted by philo426 on Monday, March 20, 2023 11:27 AM
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Posted by 8ntruck on Monday, March 20, 2023 10:35 PM

The P 61 was developed as a night fighter.

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Posted by stuartmit on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 11:31 AM

the Caniff story is a good one; no one can plan for everything! luckily another unplanned event was the flight at the right time to prove the point!

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Posted by philo426 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 8:13 AM

Interesting stuff!

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Posted by rlbarnard on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 10:28 AM

The P-61, also known as the "Black Widow," was a night fighter and was painted black. There is a story that one of these planes had taken off one night and when clearing their guns to make sure they worked properly, an explosion in the black sky occurred in front of them. Unbeknownst  to the plane they had shot an undetected Jap plane.

 

 

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Posted by philo426 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 11:27 AM

Lucky shot!

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 5:17 PM

philo426

Lucky shot!

 

Indeed!  Ruined that Japanese pilot's day but made theirs!  

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Posted by philo426 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 5:30 PM

I guess they used to call the Betty Bomber "roman candles"because they were so easy to set ablaze.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 6:43 PM

philo426

I guess they used to call the Betty Bomber "roman candles"because they were so easy to set ablaze.

 

Right. Bettys had great range but that came at the expense of light construction and no armor plate around vulnerable areas.  Japanese pilots disliked them intensely.  

In areas where there was little to no air opposition they could be devastating but where there WAS opposition they were death traps. 

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Posted by philo426 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 7:13 PM

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, March 23, 2023 8:25 AM

Interesting, a green cross Betty! 

Just so everyone else knows after the Japanese surrender in August 1945 (the official ceremony on the battleship Missouri wouldn't be until September) any Japanese aircraft needed for administrative or transportation purposes were supposed to be painted white and with green cross markings marking them as non-combatants, any still flying with wartime markings would be shot down immediately.

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Posted by philo426 on Thursday, March 23, 2023 8:36 AM

Yes the surrender scheme!

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