Thanks for watching this build... this one is almost a wrap! With the completion of the drop tank, all that remains is the addition of the assorted fiddly bits. Rocket launchers and bomb racks are friction fit into the wing. I may leave them this way.
Drop tank looks good! Thanks Javlin!
The machine gun barrels are very good looking for stock pieces. The wings have stops built into them to ensure the correct barrel length for each gun. Very uniform and clean!
It's daytime so I like to review the exterior in good ambient light.
Bottoms up! Funny how the bottom doesn't look as weathered as I had thought. All the gear REALLY does mask alot of the weathering.
Tailwheel closeup with a look at the turbocharger exhaust port. It alternated between a gunmetal-ish shade and neutral gray and finally settled on gray with lots of weathering.
Full view of the bottom...
Wheel well detail...
Instead of stretched sprue, I used fishing line (2# test monofilament) for the aerial. It was painted black and blobs of white glue were used to simulate attachment hardware.
Being quite sure that all clearcoating is finished, I can finally start removing the canopy masks. Uh oh... something you always hate to see during this step: fogged up canopy. Not sure what happened there... I made sure CA glue was kept far away.
The canopy is "locked" into place by the front windshield, which was only lightly attached using a few dots of white glue. So was able to put it off and clean the foggy windshield. I will take advantage of this opportunity and shoot some pics with an open canopy.