In between sessions of gap fixing, I started on the things under the wings. The kit comes with 4 gas bags but I decided to go with just the 2 outer ones. The wheels all come with the rim and tires being separate but while that makes them easy to paint, they needed trimming and a healthy dose of sanding to fit together.
I first inserted plastic plates to to fill a majority of the gap in the coaming, then the rest will be handled by filler.
I did the same for the gap on the main gear door.
The speed brakes are also usually closed when the plane is on the ground but these don’t fit well at all.
To make my life easier, I cut off the legs of the speed brakes, trimmed everything, then fit them that way. The cut marks will be tackled with more filler.
The gap fixing is taking a while…
The main issues being the intake lips to intake fit and the exhaust housings which have big steps all round the joint areas.
The canopy parts were given a dip of Future and left to dry for close to 72 hours and were test fitted onto the fuselage. The fit is decent but I think I’ll leave the canopies open, which means I’ll have to detail up the inside of the frames.
The instruction calls for a clear piece for the HUD projector (?) but I decided to replace this with G-Option’s Aurora Film. I punched out a small round piece and stuck it into the hole. Looks good!
The HUD itself is a piece of photoetch which I folded carefully. The kit parts for the glass were replaced with thinner acetate and given a brush of Future.
After masking the inside of the front canopy, I sprayed Panzer Dark Grey. Referring to photos I found online, I added ‘a round thing’ and 2 ‘side blocks’ (yes those are the technical terms) using plastic plate and stretched sprue.
The front canopy is molded with a part of the nose. But it sits just slightly proud so more elbow grease is required.
It’s been slow going, but I’m getting there!
Build Log
Pt. 1 – Cockpit | Pt. 2 – Main Construction | Pt. 3 – Main Construction | Pt. 4 – Main Construction
Pt. 5 – Main Construction | Pt. 6 – Painting | Pt. 7 – Finishing