It's done - and only just in time !
I managed to do a 'fix' to get the drop tanks to attach, as shown below, and the VHF and IFF antennae have been added, although I didn't bother to make and add the radio altimeter 'T' antennae, two of which should be fitted to the lower rear fuselage, as these would certainly get broken in transit or through handling. There was supposed to be resin antennae with the kit, but the sealed bag of resin parts included the casting block for these, but no sign of the tiny aerials.
All areas needing re-touching hve been attended to, and the wing tip nav lamps were just painted in the relevant colour and glazed with clear gloss. I just noticed that the port lamp has been smudged, where I caught it whilst still wet, so this will be corrected in the morning.
Although it's acceptable, especially for its intended purpose, the model is not up to the standards I normally aim for, mainly as a result of having to work to a tight deadline, and with a 'limited run' kit and all that entails. Overall, the kit is rather good, with some nice detail and, in different circumstances, and with plenty of time to check and correct fit issues, a very nice model could be produced using this kit, and I might well try to obtain another example and tr to do it justice.
A lot of time and effort is needed in some areas, in order to align major assemblies, the resin cockpits and engine fronts in particular demand perfect alignment in order to avoid problems further into the build, and this is to be expected from a kit of this nature.
However, there were a couple of areas where I feel that major, and simple improvements in the tooling would have made life a lot easier, with the outer wing jointing surfaces being an example, and definitely those incorrectly positioned locating tabs and slots on the main undercarriage legs - someone certainly had a brain fart with that area !
If I was to build this kit again, one area I would very definitely alter is the nose wheel attachment brackets. These are resin parts, to scale, and forming part of the wheel well bulkhead. However, they are not attached to anything at the front end and, once the nose wheel is fitted, there is very noticeable vertical movement in the assembly.
As these parts are hidden from view, deep in the nose wheel bay, it would be better to reinforce the area above the brackets, probably creating a box section, to prevent movement, and very possibly breakage, of the fairly fragile resin parts.
So, putting aside the results of my rather rushed work, for a limited run kit, this goes together quite well, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were relatively few, and only minor, fit issues with the major parts assembly.
PICS 1 and 2. Strips of plastic card were cemented across the tops of the open tank pylons, and reinforced with CA adhesive, after first sanding the top faces of the pylons. When set, the card was trimmed to shape, and then sanded flush around the edges. The tanks were then cemented on to the bare plastic areas previously masked, with the joint again being reinforced with CA, and the joint was then painted in MSG.
The finger marks have since been removed from the tanks and wing surfaces !
PIC 3. The VHF 'whip' antenna was added from stretched sprue, cemented into a drilled hole, using Tamiya Extra Thin cement, and the IFF dipole was made from brass rod, painted yellow, and 'superglued' into the drilled hole.
PIC 4. The lower IFF dipole, made the same way.
PICS 5 to 9. The finished model, representing a Meteor NF12 of 46 Sqn, RAF, in the early 1950s.
With a seven month marathon building programme now finally over, I'm off to bed in the knowledge that I don't have to get up at 'O daft hundred hours' to get to the bench again, and I can relax for a few hours, before setting off on the drive to Oxfordshire later today, to deliver the models to Gp.Cpt Dougie Barr, in time for the 100th Anniversary Re-Union Dinner on Saturday.
I'll post a thread in the 'Completed Models' threads, showing all the models donated to 46 Squadron, when I get back on Thursday - if I have time before packing again, and setting off for Holland !
My thanks again to all who have followed these builds, and for the encouragement along the way, and I hope you've enjoyed the ups and downs, as I have (not !).
Now if anyone asks me to build four models, one after the other, to a tight deadline, my second word will be 'Off' !!!