I could have sworn I provided an update the other day but I must not have posted it. I remember everything I wrote down and the pictures I "posted" and they usually stay in the reply box until sent but now I see nothing. Very odd.
Anyway, here's some more. The cockpit has been assembled and some painting and a wash is done. Seatbelts, which appear to be very similar to the early British types, need to be added. The kit provides decals for this but I think that I'll scratch something up. I tried to find more info on the piping around the fuel tank but all I could find was a few reference pictures that give a limited view of the routing so I used my judgment. I need to spray a matte coat yet, hence the masking tape over the windows.
By the way, I was wrong about the rudder pedal straps being heel rests, They are indeed intended to go over the foot arch.
The instrument panel, a clear part, turned out OK. One has to paint the panel black with a brush, being careful not to get paint on the slightly recessed instrument faces. Then a decal is stuck on the back of the clear part to complete the look. I had a hard time lining everything up as you can see. When it was all done, I dry-brushed the raised details with silver. The black is actually Tamiya XF69 Nato Black.
I also worked on the wing center section. Fresh off the sprue, it looks like this:
The oil cooler fairing is moulded very thick so I thinned the walls quite a bit with a scalpel and file. The louvres (loosely mounted in the below pic to make my point) are also very thick and will be discarded and replaced with styrene card. Thinning the wall made the louvres too short anyway.
The back of the oil cooler housing also serves as the exit for the coolant radiator duct and the fit of the various parts that make up the ducting is quite good. All of the walls have been thinned here similar to the front.
And this time I'll be sure to hit the "Post Reply" button. Thanks for looking.