Thanks Lewis. This next lot is rather long, as I've taken some shots to show you (Lewis, that is) what to look out for around the nose section, which I'll cover in the points below. So apologies to everyone else if it gets boring !
The cockpit is in place and the fuselage joined, and I fitted the tail wheel, as per the instructions, after all. Having done a bit of fiddling to see if it could be fitted at a later stage, which it can, I decided my hands would struggle and, rather than spoil things later, I thought it better to fit it, and mask it when ready to paint the model.
PIC 1 shows the cockpit and gun assembly glued into the port fuselage half.
PIC 2. Before joining the fuselage, a piece of scrap plastic was glued inside the starboard half, covering the grease point, to avoid an empty hole on the outside later.
PIC 3. The fuselage joined, with no major problems - it virtually 'clicked' together.
PIC 4. There are a couple of sink marks and a slightly uneven joint beneath the nose, but nothing serious. This will be attended to before fitting the engine and wings.
PIC 5. Even if the cowling sections are to be glued in place, they must be test-fitted to check clearance over the guns and the gun feed chutes. It's really best to wait until this stage before finally fitting and cementing the gun support arms (Parts 57 58), so that the guns themselves can be adjusted as required to line up with the troughs in the engine cowling.
PICS 6 and 7. The test-fitting showed that some filing was needed around the troughs, and inside the cowling, to allow the muzzle sleeves to align and fit into the trough openings. Here, the port sleeve can just be seen inside the trough. The horizontal edges of the saddle cowling were also lightly sanded, to allow a better rebate onto the 'shelf' in front of the cockpit. It's a case of file and sand, test fit, file and sand, until it all sits correctly in place and aligns. This is even more important if it's intended to make the cowlings removable to show the internal detail, otherwise there will be prominent and unsightly gaps all round.
PICS 8 and 9. The saddle cowling has been glued together, after initial sanding, and placed into position to set at the correct angle. Once it is fully set,it will be removed, and further sanding will be carried out as required, to allow the edges to sit square. There will be a slight gap at the bottom edges of the upper cowl, and the lower extension cowl. However, once everything is aligned properly, thin strips of plastic will be cemented along the relevant fuselage areas, sanded to fit, and then blended into the background. This should give a neat fit all round. But bear in mind that, on the real aircraft, the joint between the main engine cowling and the saddle cowling was not perfect, and had a visible 'step' and slight gap at its upper rear face.
PIC 10. At this stage, it's important to check the fit and alignment of the windscreen against the top of the instrument panel and saddle cowling joint. Here, the screen is just placed in position, with the rear glazed section also, and the spacing is being checked to ensure that the opening section of the canopy will fit between the two parts correctly. In this instance, the main canopy section from the Hasegawa kit is being used, as the Matchbox example is very poor - a replacement canopy from 'Squadron' or Radu Briznan is recommended. Note that the Hasegawa canopy will look acceptable in the open position, but will not match the other sections' frame work accurately in the closed position.
Once satisfied that all the above have been taken care of, the next step, contrary to the instructions, is to fit the engine assembly, again checking clearance around the cowlings, before moving on to constructing the main wings.
Thanks again for your interest and compliments, and I'll post another update soon.