Good news: Hasegawa ordered the replacement to be sent
Bad News: 6 to 9 week delivery.
Terry, I toyed with that but the break line will still be quite visible. I may do it for a temporary fix if the part takes too long but I'd hate to have this part marred with a defect. The glazing is some of the clearest (and brittleset!) I've ever seen.
Too bad about the broken side light. If your worried about the other parts breaking when you remove them you might try removing them with a hot knife, leaving a little nub of the attachment point that you can then sand off. But first try an experimental cut on a piece of the sprue to see how it cuts!
Just a short update. After a couple of coats of clear enamel and a light sand, I have begun the decal application using the kit-supplied roundels and flashes. The blue in these decals is a bit darker than I like and I hope to be able to tone it down for that sun-faded look when the flat coat goes on. The red already has that lighter shade. The challenge now is reproducing Edwards' airctaft code HS-B and the s/n FR350 as I have been unable to locate any on the market. The latter will be home made decals using photoshop as I need to replicate the very square-looking numerals. I have not found a font that has the equivalent "3". The HS-B codes will be made of existing decals in my stash, carefully cut to match the look on Eddie's plane.
Coming along very nicely CR. I'd be tempted to try a Vac form canopy and inserts if you can't wait the distance, especially if you intend to display canopy open. Just a thought. Good luck with the serials too. Might have been easier to do the green background to the serial as a decal also, but you've sprayed them now.
Thanks guys. Peter, I got your PM and replied, thanks. Re your idea to make the green background a decal, it would hve been dificult to match the angle of the demarcation with the brown and have the decal perfectly horizontal so I opted for the mask and paint. Good idea though.