Thanks very much chaps.
The interior detailing is far from being 'first class', and the paintwork is a bit rough in parts, as can be seen in the following photos. But, as most of it will only be seen as shadows and a hint that there's something there, I think that, in this scale, it'll pass.
The interior is now complete, painted and installed, and the fuselage has been joined, as described below.
PIC 1. The instrument panel and radio painted, along with the Flight Engineer's panel. Slightly 'squiggly', but acceptable for what can be seen under the canopy, even if I eventually use a vac-form set. The instrument faces were scratched into the matt black paint, using the tip from a pair of dividers clamped in a pin vice, to reveal the gloss white paint beneath.
PIC 2. The fuselage interior has been painted. Unlike the Lancaster, which was painted matt black from the front of the main spar forward, the Halifax was finished in Cockpit Grey Green, but only in those areas occupied by the crew. The remainder of the interior was a mix of bare aluminium, and painted in an aluminium silver colour. The green areas were brush-painted using Humbrol No.78 Cockpit Grey Green, with a touch of white added to lighten it for 'scale effect'.
PIC 3. The 'wall' between the cockpit and Flight Engineer's station was added from plastic card, having first drilled the lightening holes. Also just visible here are the throttle and pitch levers, added from stretched sprue, and the engine levers on the bulkhead between cockpit and Engineer's station.
PIC 4. The interior assembly fitted in place. The pilot's seat had the base hollowed out, and sides added from plastic card, as the seat pan was dished to accept a seat-type parachute. Being an aircraft built by Fairey, the backrest cushion was painted a dark brownish green (as was the bomb-aimer's couch), and harness straps added from tape. Note that the upholstery in those aircraft built by the London Transport Group used the same material as found on London buses and 'Tube' trains of the period, which was a bluish green 'leatherette'.
PIC 5. The position of the tail wheel as provided in the kit, compared to how it should look, as shown on the scale plans.
PIC 6. This was simply remedied by extending the aperture to the rear, as seen in the fuselage half at the bottom of this shot.
PIC 7. Test-fitting shows that the angle is now correct.
PIC 8. The moulding seams were filed off the kit part, and the solid yoke drilled through and then filed to shape, to give a more realistic appearance. This shot shows the work in progress.
PIC 9. Final job before joining the fuselage halves was to fit the mid-upper turret 'basket', after painting it in Cockpit Grey Green.This will be masked later, before painting the model, and the guns and transparent 'dome' fitted later. Also just visible here is the modified forward escape hatch, which has had the locating lip for the transparent part removed, the aperture filed to shape, and the side frames drilled, as this will be posed open in the diorama.
PIC 10. Bye bye internal detail! The fuselage halves have been cemented together and taped and clamped until set. The kit parts for the circular 'port holes' have been deliberately omitted, as these will be glazed with Micro Kristal Klear after painting the model.
Next step is to sand all the joints, and fill the sink marks, before moving on to the bomb bays in the wings, which will have to be cut out and the bays scratch-built.
Thanks again for all your kind comments, and I hope to post another up-date sometime over the weekend.