Above all test fit each stage !!!!
With those words ringing in your ears I cut the blocks off the fuselage halves. The result is a 4-5 mm gap where the block was that is not riveted or lined which will have to be done later. As the riveting and lining is so detailed on the kit – this will involve quite a lot of work.
Apart from anything the join looks as though it needs a lot of levelling before riveting
After the removal of the blocks I cut the holes in the fuselage which are in part 48 of the construction sequence by which time there are a lot of cockpit parts that are attached making handling tricky
Having done that we start to follow the sequence again
Parts 111 &112 need to be cut off their blocks and cleaned up – I kept as close as possible to the obvious moulding line but the shape left didn’t fit true into the marks shown in sequence 3. There were big gaps in the splitter in the air intake which will require some filling.
These are assembled as shown but when testing the closure of the fuselage with these in place it just would not shut. I painted any protrusions with red oil paint and trimmed off the parts obviously obstructing the join. This involved trimming some of the detail that won’t be visible when the cockpit is assembled.
Not a Tamiya kit !!!
Eventually the cockpit will be painted grey/ blue
This photo shows the gaps that will have to be dealt with in the air intake.
The holes in the fuselage bottom are filled with parts shown in sequence 72 (below). I would advise test-fitting them whilst making the holes so that they sit comfortably in the holes you have drilled.
