At last ! I've finally made some real progress with the Buc - thought I'd never get there !
Those troublesome canyons that were the joints around the jet pipes have been conquered, and are now as smooth and even as they're going to get. The main wings have been assembled - and have stayed stuck, and the empennage has been assembled and fitted. The split 'umbrella' speed brake has also been assembled, in the open position, although it was a bit fiddly in parts, probably due mainly to my stupid stiff hands. This will be fitted to the tail after the model has been painted.
PIC 1 shows the port side intakes and the horizontal fuselage joint. A rough coat of primer has been brushed on, in order to check the joints. This will be lightly rubbed down before painting.
PIC 2. The starboard jet pipe area, again with a coat of primer to check the joints. This was the worst of all of the bad joints, and I'm pretty confident that it will look fine once rubbed down, painted and clear -coated.
PICS 3 and 4. The fin and stabilators in place. The joints were sealed with PVA, and again a rough primer coat applied. There is a tiny bit of further filling and sanding needed around the vertical joint with the fuselage spine.
PICS 5 and 6. The speed brake, assembled in the open position, normal when the aircraft is parked. One piece of the small, central 'hinge' area broke away, and this will be replaced with some plastic strip, and a little more detail added. The joints around the edges of the perforated innner panels were again sealed with PVA, and a primer coat applied to check for gaps.
PIC 7. How the model looks so far, with the wings laying alongside. These will be fitted in the folded position, after the model is painted, and some extra detailing added to the wing-fold mechanism.
There's just a few small tidying-up jobs to do, and she'll be ready for the first stage of painting. It seems to have happened suddenly, after what has been a slight trial getting this far.
Thanks again for your compliments, encouragement and interest, and I'll post some more up-date pics soon.