Thanks Hugh.
I was hoping to get the blemished area on the starboard cowling re-sprayed today, but it's -5C here, and the area where I spray is unheated.
I have enough aches, pains and stiffness already, and don't fancy getting frozen too !
Apart from that, the cold could possibly cause "bloom" on the paint, so I'll leave this job until the temperatures become more manageable, hopefully on the weekend.
Meanwhile, the wheel bays have had another, brushed, coat of yellow zinc chromate, mixed from matt yellow with a very small drop of Dark Green, and the "plumbing" has been painted. There's a very small area that needs re-touching, and then a dirty wash will be applied.
There are still a couple of areas that need details picked out, on both fuselage and wings, but this can wait for now.
I've started on the main landing gear, as some work was needed before painting, and then fitting the wheels.
The kit gear legs are a bit basic, although adequate if extra detail is added, but I was concerned that the axles are
very short, and not only would they not provide much support, it would also mean the the wheels would be touching the gear leg yoke, instead of having clearance between the wheel, tyre and the yoke. This would be even more of a problem, as I'll be using a spare set of Hasegawa "capped" wheels (the kit wheels are reasonable, but the hubs are spoked, and rather basic too, The subject aircraft had "capped" wheels). These wheels are not only slightly dished on the axle side, but the axle holes are also larger than the kit axles, which really would cause support and clearance problems.
This "mismatch" was taken care of fairly simply, by drilling out some plastic tube, in order to increase the bore to fit over the kit axles, and then slightly enlarging the holes on the Hasegawa wheels to accept the "new" axles, using a needle file.
After cutting to length, the tube was then fitted over the axle, and firmly attached using CA. Test-fitting of the wheels showed that they will be a firm "push fit", but able to rotate to align correctly to allow the model to sit on the "flats" filed onto the tyres.
Brake lines have been added, using two gauges of lead wire, and the up-lock lugs have been simulated by cementing small, shaped rectangles of plastic card to the oleo sleeves. I
may attempt to drill these, although I doubt they'd remain in place, so I might just simulate the hole in the lug with a spot of black paint.
The telescope retracting rods have been added, made from stretched sprue. Once all of these have fully set, the legs, oleos and torque links will be painted, along with the brake lines and retracting rods. The tiny rectangles of masking tape seen in the pics are covering a silver-painted area, which I hope to transform into the data plates, once the legs are painted and the masks removed, but that's tomorrow's job !
Pics below show the progress to date, and I hope to have another up-date soon.