There's a problem accessing the forum at the moment, at least via Google and Firefox, so I wasted a lot of time trying to get here, instead of getting on with some modeling !
Anyway, a bit more has been done, with the first wing and engine nacelle assembled, along with the undercarriage.
The kit instructions call for the undercarriage to be assembled and then the nacelles joined around this, which is awkward for the painting stage, so I experimented with trying to find a way of fitting the gear after painting the model.
It
can be done, but it would be extremely fiddly, with the wings and fuselage in the way, and I think beyond the capabilities of my arthritic hands. So, the undercarriage has been fitted, minus the mudguards, which can be fitted later, and the whole lot will be wrapped in either 'cling film' or kitchen foil, when the time comes to spray the model.
The kit parts are a little basic, in that they lack the retraction struts, but I don't see this as a problem as, once the bay doors are in place, they wouldn't be seen anyway, and the existing detail is accurate and quite well done, although the door guards needed a bit of thinning-down.
For the same reason, other than adding a basic rear bulkhead, the gear bays have not been detailed. Once fixed to the display base, absolutely nothing, except part of the rear bulkhead, will be seen of the bays. Brake lines have been added to the main legs, and the tyres painted to represent mud stains on the tread shoulders, and concrete 'dust' on the main tread area - the aircraft had flown-in from Rossieres en Santerre, in France, to Foulsham, Norfolk, especially for the operation, so a mix of grass field and paved runways and taxiways would show the mixed staining.
Some attempt was made to reduce the profile of the raised detail on the wings and nacelles, but engraving new detail was abandoned, as the plastic is very hard, with a glazed, almost ceramic surface, extremely difficult to etch accurately - I think it should be patented as 'Panzerplas' or something !
PICS 1 and 2. The clear parts for the landing lamps were fitted using liquid cement, and then chrome foil, from painkiller packaging, was superglued over the top, to create the reflectors. It looks better to the naked eye that in the pics.
PIC 3. One of the nacelles assembled, complete with undercarriage. The cowling fasteners are acceptable, being fairly accurate reproductions of the earlier screw and tension strap, and the other raised detail, already partly shaved down, should be OK once primed, painted and clear coated.
The lower seams needed some heavy sanding, and may yet need more - primer will tell.
The props are supposed to be fitted during assembly of the nacelles, but of course this would make painting the model a real PITA, so they have been left off for now. Just as well, as alignment with the front of the cowling is not very good, and they'll require some adjusting, and probably need to be cemented in place.
PIC 4. The radiators were painted, and the position of the drop tank marked by drilling a small hole from the inner wing surface, before assembling the wings. Apart from a small gap on the rear underside of the inner nacelle side, where the part refused to 'bed down' properly, fit is good.
The drop tanks, from the Paragon resin set I picked up cheap, are the 100 gallon type, and far more accurate than those supplied in the PR.XVI being used for the PR.IX build, but as they need to be painted 'Aluminium', they'll be sprayed and fitted after painting the model, to save on a tricky masking job.
Navigation lights and the PE carb intake ice guards, along with other small details, will be added later, as will the gear doors.
If I can get the other nacelle and wing done within the next day or so, I might be able to get the model painted over the weekend, as the only other parts to be fitted at this stage are the tailplanes.
Back soon, if the bl**dy forum is working properly !.