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Thanks Nigel! I haven't seen the conversion set you're referring to but I've also heard it's quite the mess. And that was if you were lucky enough to actually get your order. Revell is reboxing this version of the kit so I don't know if they'll end up doing a night fighter release later.

Looking at the instructions for the D night fighter I found online, it looks like they fixed a couple of the errors but have made new ones! https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/m/image/10132823

For a moment, I thought you already had the cockpit done and the fuselage together. You know, building at the speed of John. I've got the same kit somewhere so it's great to see your take on it. For curiosity's sake, here's a comparison of a couple AM cockpit sets with the stock one. The PE one on the left is from Part, the middle is the CMK and the stock panel is on the right. Which leave me the question of what did I end up using in my kit? Carl

Back to the fuselage, I glued on the wing spar. At this point I did a test fitting of the nose cone and noticed a slight step between it and the fuselage. I was going to leave it and then sand it down after but when I fitted the lower wing centre section and noticed the same step u decided to widen the fuselage slightly. There's a small insert panel on the bottom so I added a plastic shim on either side. This gave me the width needed to eliminate the step. As no one else has run into this issue, it may be operator error. I did find another mistake in the instructions though. In step 10 you're supposed to assemble the tailplanes and tailwheel as a subassembly before attaching it to the fuselage. If you install the tailwheel, you won't be able to attach the tailplanes. The tailwheel mount is on the rear of the fuselage and since the tailplane is designed to slide on, the tailwheel has to go on after. So I'll be assembling everything but the tailwheel.

With the fuselage closed up, I went back to the MLG bays and gear legs. At this point I noticed that I'd painted them the wrong colour. So out came the RLM02. Much better. Then I installed the gear bays into the lower wings. After scrapping off paint on the gluing surfaces the fit was fine. Test fitting the upper wing, I had a slight fit issue with one side. I solved by scraping away some plastic from inside the nacelle. Then the wing halves were glued together.

It did indeed. I was pleasantly surprised. I think it'll be worth it. Thanks Gaz! Yea, I would not want that job. Plus manning the radio at the same time.

Thanks gents! I managed to get the fuselage closed up. The cockpit was a nice fit without any issues. The kit is really going to together well. Carl

Ok, I finally got the cockpit all finished. It's now ready to go into the fuselage and then I'll be able to close it up. Carl

Fantastic looking interior James. You know us Canucks Ernie, always sneaking in changes when no ones looking!

I believe it should be XF-71. Carl

I haven't tried them as I use Aurora Model Shop on eBay. One reason is that they include the shipping in their cost so whenever eBay has one of their discount coupons it applies to the total cost and not just the price of the kit. Glad to hear they're another option for getting kits. Carl

It's not actually CA superglue. Here's what I used: They use it primarily for giving the eyes on dolls and figures that glossy look. But it works well for replicating glass. You use a toothpick to apply it where you want and then shine the included UV light on it to harden. Something very similar is Bondic UV which I've used for the same purpose. This is also probably easier to find outside of Japan. It's a little thicker but otherwise it works the same way. I've even used it to make those small formation lights on wing tops and tailplanes.

Sprue Brothers has the E on sale today as part of the Deal of the Day Special for 64.99. Should be good until tomorrow. Carl

Here's the IP all finished now. I added a couple drops of UV clear gel to the IP faces to replicate glass. It works much better than a drop of Future or clear gloss. Carl

Thanks Peter! The bigger shame /disappointment is that the follow on releases still have the same errors. Dragon never bothered to fix them. They could've even just done an insert sheet showing the corrections. Tamiya has done that in the past so it can't be that hard.

Thanks Gerhard! Definitely one of my better efforts at painting an IP. Rob, Wako are from Japan. They're cheaper than the comparable products from HGW or Eduard as they come 2 to a set. The best part is theyre designed so you can thread the belts through the buckles while they're still attached to the fret. This makes for much less feeding of the carpet monster. They do require a bit more care as the buckles are laser cut plastic so can fragile.

I thought that was only in the kid's book 'How to Eat Fried Worms"

Hadn't really thought of them as resolutions but I do want to finish the following kits this year: - both HK B-25s that are cluttering up not just my workbench but the space around it. - my 1/12 McLaren MP4/6 that I started in 1993. I actually got it back out last year and started work on it again. Carl

I've only made one order from him and that was for the HK Lanc. He had the cheapest shipping rate to Canada for it outside of Lucky Model's $2 surface shipping special. And I didn't have to wait 2 months for it. Carl

I hear you on that one Ernie. I kept checking to make sure I'd painted it the right colour. But like you said, I got it correct. I went out to the movies so didn't do too much. I did get a start on the IP though. The original Eduard PE set had separate instruments for the IP instead of their current single panel approach. With the nice raised detail on the stock panel, I thought this was a great approach. I carefully ground out the instrument faces and then started gluing in the PE instruments. This has a much more 3D effect I think. There's some touch-ups to do and it'll almost be done.

Ingot all the belts finished up. They took a bit longer than expected but I'm happy with the way they turned out. Now to finish the IP and I'll be almost ready to close up the fuselage. Carl

Every time I try the worm technique, they wriggle away and leave a slimy residue trail behind them. Or worse, I get the urge to go fishing. Otherwise, I think the camo looks fine if a bit light. Carl

Thanks Ernie, I've got the errata sheet bookmarked and as well, have made the necessary notes on my instructions. It's definitely required reading for the build. Here's the link in case anyone needs it. Just scroll down past the review. http://www.hyperscale.com/2008/reviews/kits/dragon3203reviewbg_1.htm What's interesting is there's several mistakes that he doesn't mention. One of them is the one I mentioned above about the radio seat mount and the belly gun mount. There's another about attaching cowl intake walls to the oil coolers. I'll have to look those part numbers up in the morning. Carl

This arrived today. It's a great film with lots of nicely filmed Spitfires in flight. Well worth it. Carl

I started work on the seat belts. These are belts made by Wako. One of the things I like about them is that they designed the fret holding the buckles in such a way that you can easily thread the belts onto them without removing the buckle from the fret. You can see this in the way the spacing is around the buckles. With the first pair put together.