SPA Modeler

Thanks guys. Ordered new National Insignia decals from my favorite eBay seller, rebelalpha. Good price too. Once they arrive at my mailbox, I will resume this girl before the year is out. I might have her finished by Christmas.

Now that my National Insignias decal set has arrived, I will be resuming this very soon.

Decal session had commenced.... but not without some of the stencils literally disintegrated on me as soon as I tried to slide them off to the kit. I was wondering if they were going to tear and break apart on me since this kit was dated 1976, The following decals is what toes apart on me....

Decals #4 and #5




Decals #6 - all four of them!!




Surprisingly, none tore up on me for the propellers!




The red stencils for the tail and nose managed to go on almost with zero issues. The stars & bars went on beautifully. Had a bit of a struggle trying to lay them down on the fuselage. Seem a tiny bit too large but those were the correct ones according to the decal instruction guide.










Stars and bars on the wings!!






Gonna let them dry out before I shoot a coat of flat clear to seal it in.

If anyone has any spare #6 decals as shown in the instruction guide, send them my way. The #5 ones, I probably could salvage them by using the red bars from the national insignia set. The #4 decal... I may skip it since they go on the gear door.

Those Lightnings sure do look good in black. Great progress and glad to see that the decals are cooperating.

Looks good now Tom! It’s amazing how something as simple as national insignia markings and serial numbers add to a build.

Thanks Joe and Carlos. I’ve heard stories of decals simply break apart - especially old ones when trying to slide them off the backing or even worse, in water. I’ve never had that happen before until last night. Oh well...

I feel like it’s not complete without those stencils but am disappointed. For now my plan is shoot a coat of clear flat, a bit of weathering and call it finished until I find extra stencils I lost. She looks almost naked without the proper stencils I need. It does bother me somewhat but I’ll deal with it later.

Very nice. I saw black, twin engine, twin boom... oh a P-61....duh.

I'm calling this one done! An enjoyable build considering its age - the smaller decals, not so much. I'll hold off with hopes of finding spares and apply them later. I used Tamiya weathering set just around the superchargers for subtle effects. It was my first time using it and love it. I also made a simple stand for this tail sitter (which I knew it was). Instruction guide made no mention to add weights anywhere. So here she is in her glory...

Looks real good Tom! Very nicely done!

Great job on this old kit!