The upper fuselage half can now be attached to the lower section. Again, the fit is quite good but a little filling and sanding is required. Fortunately, the plastic is very amenable to sanding and the reinstatement of any missing panel lining.
The engine intake fit isn’t great and quite a bit of work was required to eliminate the internal seams and get a flush fit to the central fuselage.
The Buccaneer had a central bomb bay as well as wing weapon pylons. For the bay to open the whole central bomb bay rotated through 180 degrees so it didn’t have conventional bomb bay doors. The kit has the option to have the bay rotated in the open or closed position. There is a cover that goes over the open bay option to represent the bay in the closed position.
The final section of the fuselage is the ‘T’ tail and tail airbrake assembly. The kit has the option for the airbrake to be open or closed. I went for the closed option to keep the clean lines of the fuselage but if you have it open there is some nice detail in it.
The fit of the front and rear bullet fairings on the tail isn’t great and again filling and sanding is required.
Next, it’s time to fit the three fuselage sections together. The tail to central section fit is Ok but again sanding and filling is required to get a gapless and step-free fit. The fit of the engine exhaust shrouds is particularly poor and work is required to get a good fit. This is an awkward job given the shape of these sections.
Fortunately, the fit of the front section is a lot better and the pilot’s coaming/HUD unit and navigator’s glazing can be fitted along with the font canopy section.
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