Thanks guys. Alrighty then.....with lessons learned from (1) I thought I would take a different tack ( Sailor talk...I went sailing once...hated it....drunk before we got out of the harbour....who the hell drinks beer at a 45° angle?). A test fit of the landing gear showed that they fit like a glove unlike Hasegawa's kit, very odd. I removed the gear and wedged the retraction strut into place and wedged a toothpick against it to hold it firm. I then glued in the landing gear and loosely attached the strut to it to make sure every thing lines up. Once the gear has set I'll glue the strut