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Above: One of my earliest works, circa 1978. The P-61 is a Monogram kit, whereas the truck and tanker
trailer are among my first scratchbuilt items. The tree trunks are bent sprue - the leaves are cut out notebook paper painted
green, and I wrapped them around bent up sections of metal guitar strings. The Northrop P-61 was the first purpose built American
night fighter and entered service late in WWII - too late to significantly accelerate the already determined outcome of Allied
victory. Nevertheless, the aircraft did have a successful, albeit short, career. It was one of the most technologically advanced
aircraft to see combat in WWII.
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Above: A close up of the P-61 Black Widow. A ground crewman, painting the red stripe on the aircraft, has
dumped his red paint and exclaims his frustration, attracting the attention of his fellow servicemen. The P-61's punch is
concentrated in the remotely controlled rotating turret atop the fuselage (.50 cal) and the 20mm cannons in the ventral fuselage.
P-61's were painted gloss black in the Pacific, whereas European Black Widows were often painted the standard USAAF olive
drab.
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