just a really quick update because its getting dark and I have to go and save my chickens from the foxes.
Have nearly finished the spraying of the the main part of the model. Its not great, and there are still bits and pieces to touch up, but its passable at the moment. I found it very challenging to get a decent finish, as you can see , as this aluminium shading is very sensitive to the surface beneath. I also found that under certain conditions the Alclad will lift and bubble. . I had to sand and smooth some of the bog I had applied which also removed the primer underneath. I initially didn't apply a primer coat for the patchng, thinking it would be okay, but when I did that the new alclad just bubbled and blistered at the seam. I had to sand again, re-apply grey primer and then respray.
Ive also almost pre-fabricating the under carriage. it was a little tricky, The guards for each strut come in two halves and are meant to align using a tiny lug They are supposed to fit snuggly together, but I found I had to do a lot of sanding and shaping to make them fit together.
Before painting I cut the canopy and plunder my scrap box for a dorsal antenna, since the kit does not have one. I only had a spare from a P-38 hopefully isn't too wrong.
NMF finishes are much harder than I had reckoned on, and build imperfections have made this a difficult painting exercise when I'm already got my hands full with learning how to paint silver properly.
.Anyway, a shot of the main progress thus far....