Nice sunny day today so I set up a photo session outside. Dullcoat was sprayed on this morning, wheels were attached, and some odd bits were installed.
First, 3 general shots. The armoured windscreen is glued on with clear parts cement which I chose to sandwich fully between the glazing pieces. It's drying very slowly due to little air getting at it so still has a milky look. The exhaust deflector pieces have been installedand painted but still need to be dirtied up a bit.
Having applied the dull coat, a fair amount of silvering has now been revealed on some of the small stencils and also on the wing walk lines and stencils as can be seen below. I'll need to try to rectify this by poking holes in the decals, applying some setting solution, and then reapplying the dull coat.
Two shots of the nav lights. As described earlier, the solid plastic in this area was filed away, then a clear stretched sprue bulb was painted and glued on an this was then covered with several doses of CA glued then sanded flush. Turned out alright I think.
Here's the underside showing some initial panel work and weathering. Tires have been flattened which, for 109's, I find to be a bit tricky to get the angle right.
The punch list now stands as:
- Add a few more fastener details and install cowl
- Exhaust stains
- Touch up exhaust colours (the front one black as pointed out by Terry)
- A bit of oil staining and streaks
- Antenna mast and wire
- Pitot tube. The kit one looks like crap and will be replaced
- Install armour plate and mid canopy
Getting there. Thanks for looking in and for your kind words.