Thanks guys. A wee update:
The first 5 pics show the completed canopy details, including the home made armour plate which has been painted and the warning placard decal added. This was fiddly work but Dragon did a nice job of providing the right amount of detail, including the canopy ejection rail which fits under the PE sill and allows the canopy to slide open and closed. Though that's kind of neat, I will have to glue the canopy down as it sits a bit proud of the sill and leaves a small gap that is easily pressed down with light finger pressure. I gave the slot at the back of the canopy a floor made of plastic card as on the real aircraft. This served as the opening for the ejection rail which can be seen peeking out with the canopy closed. Also just seen is the antenna wire on the inside of the canopy. The A-5 still had the spring loaded reel which kept the antenna taut so I made this a straight piece using sprue.
Next, I bit the bullet and got on with the missing inner landing gear doors. These will be somewhat complex as the doors not only covered the inner well but incorporated the trough for the lower exhaust pipes as well. To start, I first taped one of the strut covers into place. Note that I had to put back some material here as I inadvertently cut too much off earlier.
I then taped over the remaining opening and cut out a template using a scalpel.
The tape was then used to cut the door skins out of plastic card. Two were made from the same template.
A quick check shows that the shape is about right. Since I will be posing the doors open, it's not critical that they fit the holes exactly.
Now for the tricky part. The inner section from the front of the door to the ejector chute opening is cut off and a vertical wall is CA-glued at the cut line. A quick check for fit shows I'm still on the right track.
Next, the slice that I cut off earlier is glued back on, this time in the recess for the exhaust trough. The trough gets shallower gradually toward the back of the door. Another check for fits shows that I got this close but I may do some adjustment here after looking at my reference pics closer to see confirm if I should be out of the trough by the time I reach the ejector chute, which I suspect is the case.
I'm also now suspecting that the shape of the front edge of the door should be straighter, rather than the sharp bend i now have in it. This would mean modifying the well opening too so I will check all this tomorrow and report back. Apart form that, the fun will really begin when I tackle the inner faces of the doors which have several stiffening ribs that would need to be replicated.
See you later.