The end must truly be nigh.
Chinese kitmaker Great Wall Hobby (who is affiliated with Dragon in some way) is releasing a new-mold 1/48 P-61 Black Widow.
You read that right. New mold. P-61. 1/48 scale.
You could probably count more-requested kits on one hand. A new 1/48 B-17, certainly, along with the other big bombers. Personally, I’d love to see a new take on the P-38, as I’m not a fan of any of the 1/48 offerings currently available.
But the Widow is a big one.
Up until now, the only option has been the old and, um, challenging Monogram kit, which is known for both strong detail and some very nasty fit issues.
For a relatively unknown manufacturer like Great Wall (I only know them from their recent Fw 189 releases), taking on such a requested subject is a great way to attract all kinds of attention. Here’s hoping the kit makes that attention worthwhile!
Check out Hyperscale for some CAD renderings
Doogs Models 
Hi Doogs.Pardon my ignorance on aircraft,but what were the years of service of the P-61 ? Did it serve during WW-II like the P-38 ? I’ve always been a fan of the “fork-tailed devil” ,the P-61 appears to be a multi-crewed version, no ? Thanks, keith r.
No worries Keith – the P-61 served from ’44-54. In World War II, it saw action in the four major US theaters – ETO, PTO, Mediterranean and CBI. Mostly as a night-fighter, but during the Battle of the Bulge it performed very well as a daylight strike aircraft.
Sadly, the P-61 bears pretty much no relation to the P-38, aside from being a rare twin-engine US fighter. The P-38 was smaller, powered by Allison engines (as in P-40s). The P-61 was, I believe, the largest prop-driven fighter the US ever built. Instead of Allisons, it got its go from two Pratt & Whitney R-2800s, the same engine that drove the P-47/Corsair/Hellcat. It says a ton about its size and weight that, despite this stunning powerplant setup, many complained that the Widow was slow.