Ok, end of day one.
Here are the original pics meant to go with above post:
I realized that clock didn't show the date, but just said "Today,) which is totally useless, so I started using the lock screen.
In the above pic, I had just finished up portions of thecockpit detail painting and they were awaiting a wash.
Just before closing the fuselage. Not quite 7 p.m.
And here I have the fuselage closed.
It needed some help being held shut at the top, and then I started masking the canopy. Off and on, when I was waiting for things to dry, I painted the wheels and propeller blade tips and that sort of thing.
One last look at the cockpit before I closed it up for good (Tamiya doesn't really provide a way to have the Malcolm hood open with this kit, and I'm totally OK with that this time. You can saw off the front piece, as there is a spare one of those, but you'd have to be pretty careful with the Malcolm hood itself, and I just didn't feel like doing that.
Here there was still a seam along the spine that needed attention. Right after this shot, I layed down some Mr. Dissolved Putty and then took the dog on a long walk because she was giving me that look.
Once we were back, I sanded the seam, re-shot the primer, and since it looked good, I went ahead and sprayed the stripes on the wings and horizontal stabilizers. Tamiya doesn't show these in the color scheme, but the pics I have of this plane definitely show these stripes or invasion stripes, so I figured I should add them.
First order of business for tomorrow is masking the stripes, then spraying the Sky fuselage band. That can cure while I do a run, and then I can mask it and get to work on the main colors.
Tomorrow is my dad's birthday, I basically realized that if I don't get this thing ready for a clear coat before I head over to my parents' place in the late afternoon, it isn't going to make the deadline of 3 p.m. Sunday (I have to pick up my girlfriend between noon and 2 on Sunday.
But at the end of day one, I'm cautiously optimistic.
Thanks for letting me take a crack at this one this weekend, Lewbud. This is the most fun I've had modeling in a while.
-BD-