OK then - warts and all. Got caught with works and etc, last night (only got home about 3am) so I only took shots tonight for all... Seems I also bought a Super Hornet on eBay in the wee-hours of Wednesday morning - but more on that later!
We'll start with an overview:
... as you can see, the area's that the primer went onto THIN and NOT over any Alclad (eg, wings and spine) finished BEAUTIFULLY. Alignment was 'fun' (Jigging the whole thing up in 3-axes) but I think everything sits pretty much spot on now; including overall length. But enough of that; we want warts, thus with the majority of the work being on the FWD-LEFT, this is the list of tasks.
As previous, the primer on the Upper Left Engine Cowl is coming off tonight or more likely tomorrow as I just dont trust the iffy primer and how well I can blend the surface back in. Getting the countours right AND keeping things smooth on the Deck Lid is also proving tough, due to the engine bearer fairing; you can go too hard in there, without damaging things you want left alone! Again, CHRIST Macro is cruel!
More...
More, overall...
Right side, which has honestly been pretty much a breeze, excluding a minor screw up with the vertical reinforcing plate (note the Grey Tamiya Suface Filler on the rear edge of the plate) and a small nick one the top/front of the nose, which I never noticed until highlighted by the Grey primer! And as promised, there would likely be a little Squadron Green peeping through again
I like to look at this side
The bottom; the Alclad shows the remains of the solvent affected surface, with a few high and low spots highlighted by the Black Primer/Filler - thats all taken care of though, upto 800 Grit. Also visible is the way the lower cowls were 're-extended' after a certain someone screwed up his overall length calculations, and the filling in of the Radial Exhaust fairing between the wheel wells.
And another - in hindsight, I SHOULD have just gone and used another Dragon D-9 kit (which Alclad PROMISED ME, but never came good on...), as the work I put into this after the 'Alclad Incident' to restore the surface, was just ridiculous! You dont see it so much on the fuselage, but on the area's with Black Primer/Filler over (and too a lesser extent, Tamiya Grey Surface Primer), it really shows how deformed parts of the surface was! Oh and while you cant see it, the centre pylon needs filling between it and the fuselage.
On the positive, more little snippets of how the lower rear cowl was built and etc...
I know I have said it before, but were ALMOST there (or maybe thats just positive thinking?) - a LITTLE more minor filling and some finish sanding (upto 1200 grit - Im lazy) and it'll take paint...
In other news, having pinched a nerve in my neck, I've been back on some HEAVY pain meds - so for some reason unbeknownst to me, I seem to have seen a picture of an Aggressor FA-18E. jumped on eBay and proceeded to buy the closest matching decals I can, and the Hasegawa FA-18E kit. Now, some have said 'Why buy the expensive one?' and can remember at the time debating this myself, but I shall explain (based upon vague recollections and scribbled notes). I looked at the Revell kit (about half the price) and looked at what I wanted to do and concluded, to do it right, It was going to cost me MORE than the Hasegawa kit or take 2-3 times longer over all. On the ground, USN Hornets have the flaps/slats/rudders/etc all 'hanging in the breeze' and also wings folded - all standard on the hasegawa kit; Revell on the other hand, requires cutting/reshaping/correcting/scratchbuilding, etc; and if you go with the aftermarket solutions (such as the Wolfpack Flaps/Slats and Wingfold sets), you're over and beyond the cost of the Hawegawa kit, with almost as much cutting and sanding left as before. That seems to be the logic anyway!
Regardless, the Fw 190D-15 and Ta 183 'Missiler' will be finished before any of these 'new fangled supersonic' types!
Dan