Thanks fellas! The compass cutter is a great addition to the tool box and is really cheap to boot. I got mine for about $9 off of Ebay so I'm sure you could get it cheaper if you could source it locally and not have to pay shipping.
I assembled the props and painted them in a base metallic finish to do some hairspray chipping.
After painting and prior to chipping, I'm not sure I like the results. The colored spinner tips weren't masked very straight and I'd like bluer finish so I'm going to set that aside for now and try to do a better masking job a little later.
The detail on the kit parts is very good. Even the tiny fuel coolers that go on the bottom of the wings inboard of the engine nacelles have molded grill details that you can bring out with careful painting.
It's time for a major assembly step now... attachment of the wings. I've sanded and shaved the joints to try and get the best fit possible... it's always wise to spend some time doing this since it will save on filling and sanding later on. Starboard wing first...
And then the port wing before the starboard wing dries completely just to ensure dihedral and symmetry. Things have been popping off during the sanding process so I've held off on the gluing in of the windscreen and canopy. I knocked off the gunsight reflector glass and then the reflector. The parachute came undone and the pilot seat fell out. I'll attend to those details before painting begins.
The join is fairly good... some small gaps that can be filled using White Milliput. Since the joint is on a panel line, I can use a dampened paper towel to clean the puttied joint before it dries, and reducing the amount of sanding to a minimum. This is a good method to use when you have lots of molded detail close to the joint.
There is one part of the bottom seam that I have to eradicate... the line that runs through the rear flaps.
I first use White Milliput to fill in the majority of the gap. You can see the White Milliput that I've applied in the other gaps... most of the work there is hopefully done, which I'll confirm with a primer coat.
Mr Surfacer 1000 is used as a final surface filler. You can see that I've given the joint a coat of grey primer to check the White Milliput work.
After sanding with different sandpaper grits and finishing it off by buffing with Micromesh and a soft t-shirt, the area is sprayed with a grey primer to check results. In most cases, I use Mr Surfacer 1000 thinned with lacquer thinner.
The rest of the bottom seam is given a less rigorous and more detailed sanding and polishing. Don't have to be perfect here since I'm preserving the seam but I make sure to restore panel lines with a scriber and rivets with the tip of a needle.
Same deal with the top seam.
The tail planes are added next.
I'm approaching the painting stage. I'm not sure how much of the clear parts are going to go on before painting so I'll have to give that some thought.