Tim, Thanks for your kind remarks and update. It would be great if you could post some photos. And thanks to everyone else who has posted and helps contribute to keeping this thread interesting.
I had completely missed that the exhausts are solid. Again, it won't be a problem on at least two of the engines, as they will be covered with the cowling flame dampers. On the others, I'll have a look at drilling the ends with a mini-drill bit if it's not too time consuming. Otherwise I'll check to see if there's a solution in resin exhausts for the Merlin engine. I'll also have a good look at the rocker covers to see if I can at least disguise some of the imperfections. I feel that I have a good number of references, both modern and historical, on the Merlin XX series for detail and I think that I could print up decals to simulate the Rolls-Royce badges on the sides.
To come back to progress on the build, I've been working on a solution to displaying the outer engine mount to make it look more accurate. Here you can see the work in progress. The heavy wooden brackets supplied are totally inaccurate and need to be removed as has already happened on the left side of the frame.
In the actual aircraft, the front and rear sections of the frame are one continuous piece and the rear engine bulkhead is suspended from them. In the kit the bulkhead is mounted to the wooden supports and the front section of the cradle is pinned to the bulkhead through drilled holes.
My preferred solution is to leave two narrow strips about 1.5mm deep, from the wood mounts, as supports to butt against the rear section of the metal frame. The metal frame should then hide the thin brackets. The original bracket was used to position the bulkhead accurately, then cut away. I had to start the detailing of the bulkhead rear before I attached it. The control panel and some cables are attached to the back and a number of holes are drilled to allow for pipes etc, when the engine is eventually mounted. You can see the two reduced brackets clearly on this photo.
Before the two sections were joined the oil tank was positioned and the two halves of the frame joined. I used the capillary action of very thin cyanoacrylate (super glue) to attach the metal frame to the outsides of the wooden brackets on the bulkhead and the rear section is pinned, through the wings, for added strength. These next two shots are of the completed unit attached to the wing underside.
Finally, the assembly as it stands. I did as much detail work as I could to the front of the bulkhead, as it was easier to reach before I attached it. Pipes and cables will be added when the engine is installed, depending on available room. Also fire extinguishers will be added to the frame, beside the oil tank.
Visually, this seems a reasonable solution to the original problem. A test fit has shown that it will take the weight of the cast iron engine, propeller and spinner if handled gently. How robust it will be to rough treatment, only time will tell, but I'm hopeful it'll withstand all normal movement. If it doesn't, extra pins through the bulkhead will be tried.
That's it for now. I think that I now move on to a period of skinning which, if I follow the instructions, will be in patches on different sections of the fuselage. I'm aiming to skin the entire fuselage as a unit and also allow for the starboard side cutaways, all in one go. I'll post again when I feel that I have made sufficient progress to make it interesting.
Gerry