So, here's where we're at: All 8 R/Ps have now been modified to make the hangers look a bit more realistic. The brass parts have received a coat of Tamiya primer so that the top coat will stick.
The next step was to make the attachment points for the rails to the aircraft. For these, I started cut a strip of brass sheet. The strip was then etched with a file on both front and back to ensure that the CA glue will stick. After that, pieces were cut to length using a marked piece of tape stuck onto a spare granite tile that I use for cutting PE.
Next, I had to find a way to bend each piece into a U-shape. My first Idea was to bend the strips around a pre-marked tapered file but this didn't work as I could not pinch the brass strip down to the tile securely enough for the bend. I ended up using the edge of another file which measured to the right thickness and that allowed my to hold down the strip tightly.
With 8 identical U-bends made, these were CA-glued to the back of the rail as shown below. The rear mounts will all be the same length but the front ones will vary to adjust the pitch of the rail to represent the staggered firing line used by 404 Squadron.
It was at this point that my heart sank when I only now just noticed that the Revell R/Ps are not identical. In a classic case of target fixation, I failed to notice that the front hangers are not consistently spaced (see below). Instead, there are 4 different spacings used but I need to have them all the same. The one on the bottom is correct for my bird so now I need to redo 6 of the R/P's I already finished, or so I thought.
I've set this aside for a bit and will tackle these fixes a little at a time. I'm now thankful for the extension to the GB end date as this unforeseen problem would have put me over.
Thanks for checking in.