Thanks Michael. My stiff hands and wrists are causing some tasks to be rather awkward, and I nearly dropped the model, twice, tonight. But it's almost finished.
Andy, I'm happy to report that the Microsol worked. The finished result is not perfect, but
much better than before. Once the decals had re-settled as much as they were going to, they were given a gloss clear coat, followed by a semi-matt clear coat, and they look a heck of a lot better.
I didn't get quite as much done tonight as I'd anticipated - got a couple of interruptions with 'phone calls - but it's not far off being finished.
The undercart and wheels have been painted and detailed, and fitted to the model, the gun sight has been painted, the sun screen tinted, and a new reflector glass fitted, and the unit fitted into the cockpit.
The windscreen had the grab handles fitted, and has been attached to the fuselage, along with the rear glazing and radio mast, and some dirt and dust added to the wing roots, along with a general 'tidy up' here and there.
Apologies for the poor quality pics - I have difficulty holding the rather small compact digital, and the shutter button, for me, at least, is quite hard to press.
The new USB leads for my Nikons should arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday, so I can then use a DSLR for the remaining build pics, and the 'Finished' shots.
PIC 1. Brake lines were added to the gear legs, using lead wire. The leather 'gaitors' over the oleos were simulated by first applying streaks of CA to the oleos, to simulate creases and folds, and then painting the area in a leather colour. The wheels were painted matt black, followed by a gloss clear coat. The tyres had a mould seams down the center of the tread area, which had to be removed, and the treads themselves didn't match, front to rear of each tyre. A few light passes with a razor saw sorted that minor problem, and then the tyres were given a coat of 'rubber', mixed using matt black, white and a touch of Dark Earth. Once dry, the tread areas and shoulders were very lightly dry-brushed in a sandy earth colour, and each tread painted in the same colour.
The wheels were also treatd to a light wash of the same 'dust'.
PIC 2. The reflector screen had a mould seam down the center, and was also very thick. This was cut off, and the sight body painted, along with the padded 'crash pad'. The sun screen was given a coat of Tamiya clear blue and green mix, and a new reflector screen added from clear sheet. It's a touch thick, as I couldn't locate my thinner sheet, and doesn't quite sit in the right place, but it looks better than the kit part, and not too bad under the windscreen. Agai, sory for the poor pic.
PIC 3. Grab handles were added to the top corners of the windscreen, using stretched sprue, and the screen attached to the fuselage, first with PVA, and then reinforced with a spot or two of Tamiya extra thin cement. The rear glazing was attached in a similar manner, and the radio antenna mast cemented in place, but not yet painted.
PICS 4 and 5. The undercart and tail wheel fitted. The main wheels are just push-fitted at the moment, and will be cemented once aligning the 'flats' filed onto the lower surfaces.The tail wheel tyre has yet to be 'dirtied', which will disguise the rough painting of the whitewall conductor indicator !
PIC 6. A hole has been drilled to accept the antenna lead-in 'wire', and is deliberately over-size. Once the 'wire' has been attached, PVA will be built up around the hole, and then painted to represent the insulator.
PICS 7 and 8. How the model looks to date, with the above additions, plus the tail-planes and struts, and the flaps partly lowered.
All that remains now, after some slight retouching here and there, is to modify the canopy head armour and fit it to the canopy, which can then be attached in the open position, then drill-out, paint and fit the exhausts, followed by the aileron mass balances, pitot tube, cannons and prop and, finally, paint the radio mast and add the antenna wires.
I've got a bit of running around to do tomorrow .... er, later today (!) ....... but I hope to get this finished by tomorrow night.
Thanks again for looking and for the nice comments.