In for a quick update. This thing has been a breeze. One of the best fitting Hasegawa kits yet. Even the wing fuselage joint was perfect. The following is one night of work over a 5 hour span (I'll take the bench time when I can get it). A few nights ago, I managed to glue the pit into the fuselage and sealed it up. No issues...like a glove.
In the same session, I glued the wings together. I did have to shave the top of the main gear bay corners from the inside so the upper wing(s) would fit better...no biggie. I simulated the ouboard cannon muzzles with Albion Alloy brass tubing. I think it makes for a big improvement.
I assembled the airframe. No filler required and this kit was absent the Hasegawa wing root gaps. I've heard this kit has wing root issues but I did not experience them. I did have a small gap where the cowl piece attaches to the frame (see photo below), so I used a technique I read about recently. The line is supposed to be there, but obviously not quite that wide. 1. I held the pieces together then brushed Tenax on the gap (don't Squeeze...just hold steady). I put my Tenax in an old Tamiya extra thin cement bottle because I love their applicator. The Tenax will melt the plastic and close the gap. The line should will still be there, . 2. Once it dry, go back and use the back side of a #11 Exacto and gently scribe the line back in. The plastic will be slightly soft here and this will be easy. I tried it and it works great.
The cowl gap is gone and a nice panel line is there now..
I preshaded the panel lines and sprayed the antiglare panel with my own mix of Mitsubishi cowl color. I mixed Flat Black XF-1 with a smidgen XF-8 Flat Blue. I then mixed up Flat Yellow XF-3 with a touch of Flat Red XF-7 and sprayed the wing ID strips and the tail ID band. These were then taped off with Tamiya tape.
Once done, I sprayed the lower surface XF-12 Japanese Navy Grey. It seems bit greenish to me, like British Duck Egg, but I wont sweat it. Once weathered and such it will be fine. I lightened it with XF-2 Flat White and added condensation streaks. I then post shaded the areas around the gear bay, engine cowl and control surfaces. I think this is about right.
I stopped here for the night. I bought an old Aeromaster sheet with 302 markings off E-bay (thanks again Johnny), so I'll continue work when they arrive.
Joe
Joe