I think the error was caused by wrong generated links by the Photobucket site. Similar to these with links to Ki-100 shots posted by Vinnye in the Aircraft Pictures section. Now all is fine with them here.
Looks good, and I also assume what Andy assumes!
I'd guess that Tamiya will have spent a lot of time getting this right, or as 'right' as it can be and still be priced relatively reasonably, with ease and accuracy of fit being paramount.
im just happy that someone is seriously building an IL-2. it made a very significant contribution to the soviet war, yet routinely gets canned around here.