First, thanks Wojtek and Andy.
Second - Ah! That bit!
Now that it's been mentioned, I'll need to check, although I doubt those photos showing the underside will be conclusive. I would have thought there would be at least some heat discolouration, so I'd guess any form of 'burnt metal' or similar colour would suffice.
I'm very surprised that, on my kit, this area has joined without a prominent seam, gap, lump or ridge, as every P-47 kit I've built, in all scales, has had a gap of some sort, which is a b*gg*r to correct easily!
Now on to those corrugations. I vaguely recall, many years ago when building this kit, that the joint was so good, the 'ribs' appeared to continue, and the wings virtually locked into position, hardly needing glue. But, with all the use the moulds have had, it's not surprising there's a visible gap these days. Bearing in mind that when this kit was first produced, and economics versus available (and affordable) moulding technology of the day, plus 'real' modellers expectations back then, the method of moulding and joining would have been acceptable. More so as kits were mainly aimed at 'average, mass market' audiences, with more than a passing nod to keen modellers, in the form of what was then exceptional detail. Nowadays, techniques such as spark erosion are used in mould tool production, but that is still very expensive even today, as reflected in the prices (or at least part of the price) of some modern kits, and, had it been widely available back then, the cost would have been extremely prohibitive for the production of items which, in manufacturing and marketing terms, are mainly classed as part of the toys industry.
Anyway, on to the corrections, and again, the photos are mainly for the benefit of George, for his GB entry.
PIC 1. Stretched sprue, slightly thicker than required to fill the gap, was laid into the gap running across the wheel bay corrugations. Thinner sprue was glued into the vertical gaps, virtually flush with the surrounding surfaces, and is here shown before trimming, which was done once set.
PIC 2. When fully set, the vertical pieces were trimmed, and then gently sanded and scraped with the edge of a scalpel blade.
PIC 3. This is the starboard wheel well, which had a much bigger gap to fill and, although it's difficult to see in the photo, the stretched sprue has been shaved down, level with the top of the corrugated 'ribs', and then notches cut, using first the scalpel, and then a small modelling chisel. This was followed by light filing, using a 'knife blade' jewellers file, in a light 'sawing' action, between the ribs. The gaps between the wing underside and the root were also filled with stretched sprue and sanded smooth, leaving the area at the end of the flaps open.
PIC 4. The port wheel well only required a very thin 'thread' of stretched sprue, and a similar technique was used to create the ribbed effect. The excess glue seen here, barely visible to the naked eye, has since been filed away, during the 'notching' process, again using the 'knife blade' file.
PIC 5. This is the small, extremely sharp, modelling chisel used, shown alongside a standard Swann Morton No.3 scalpel handle with 10A blade, for comparison. This is a very useful tool, and allows for some precision shaving and cutting - well worth adding to the tool box.
PIC 6. Again somewhat difficult to see here, but the short gaps in the upper wing roots have been filled with a bead of PVA, once again leaving the gap at the end of the flap open. As the PVA dries clear, it's not always possible to see if the gap is completely filled, but, once the model is primed, any additional filling required can easily be accomplished with a further bead of PVA, applied off the end of a sharpened cocktail stick.
Next step, which I'd much rather do after painting, is to complete the gun sight, paint and fit the armoured glass, and then mask, paint and fit the windscreen. Had the pilot figure not been in place, the cockpit could have been masked without fitting the windscreen etc, but this is needed to support the masking tape, keeping it away from the pilot and gun sight as much as possible. I might also fit the canopy, temporarily, in the closed position, although there's a risk that a fine mist of over-spray could get between the gaps, so I'll have to think about it - maybe after a glass or three of wine .....
Thanks again for the compliments and general interest, and it's good to be back at the bench, even though it's hard going at the moment. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the model primed, and show some more progress pics soon.