This round of effort focused on getting the remaining zim work done on the hull. First up was the left side. The kit includes pre-formed brass fenders with PE braces that need to be added to them to construct each fender portion. Dragon designed them to sit on the little mount tabs and the Atak zim set sits flush around them, so it's necessary to cut the Atak panels to allow the fenders to sit correctly. I decided to leave one of the fenders off on this side to show the detail and the zim extending down the full hull side for a little variety.
Because the hull side integrates with the front plate, I went ahead and installed it along with the glacis plate so I could get everything lined up. The three fenders were installed and some Squadron White putty used to fill back in the gaps on the zim panels where needed.
The front hull plates received their zim panels as well and the ball MG mount installed along with the driver's visor. Just a little bit of putty was needed to match things up with the zim and fill a couple of gaps.
Then the right hull side received its zim and fenders using the same approach as on the left side.
Next came the details for the engine compartment as called out in Step 7. The kit provided PE frames for the fans are a very tight fit into the space available and they also make it impossible to fit the radiator hoses (parts G13), which isn't a big deal for me since all of this disappears under the hatches and screens regardless.
I installed the roof plate for the hull next, working at the front using liquid glue and moving slowly toward the rear to get the hull to close up properly along the edges. The engine compartment hatches were assembled and installed. It's worth noting that the part numbers in Step 11 for the fan hatches are reversed in terms of which side they belong to but nothing that isn't easily figured out with a test fit. The kit supplied larger intake PE screens were bent so some careful straightening with pliers was required before they were installed.
Rounding things out for the day, I added most of the rear hull details outlined in Steps 5 and 6. The tools and other remaining gear will be installed later on after painting.
Still more work to do on the hull before heading over to the turret.