Now that we have the engines complete, let's move on to the fuselage. A word to the wise. Look at every picture and study every drawing. At first glance, it appears the drawings leave something to be desired. In some instances, this is true. In reality, the pictures are very revealing.

There are six very large heat sinks in the fuselage halves that have to be removed. The Dremel Mini Mite worked well here. All bulkheads were painted with Testor's Wood. The interior color is Floquil Depot Buff, hand painted, with the frame painted Wood. All bulkheads were glued in. Dry fit several times as the directions are weak in the location here.

Let's go to sub-assembly 4. This does not work. This part (4a) fits into the model beautifully. However, the instrument panel (22g) is too wide for this part. It is also notched on the wrong side. There is enough room on one side of 22g so that it can be trimmed and the fuselage side can be notched to that it will fit. The instrument panel goes in behind the hole cut out to allow light in. Logical enough. However, as the kit is made, the instrument panel fits perfectly in front of this hole. Wrong. Once this is corrected, assembly 4 fits right into the fuselage.

It is now time for putty and sanding until I get a nice smooth finish. Since the tail planes are the same color as the fuselage, these are attached prior to painting. The fuselage is then painted unbleached linen (CDL) and is complete. The decals are applied at this time as I personally find it easier to decal as I go instead of trying to decals a delicate completed model. The last thing I did to the completed fuselage is to add the windows. I pull a blob of white glue over the holes and it dries clear. A much easier method of adding windows as each window takes about 15 seconds to complete.

To back up a little, the CDL is again Floquil Depot Buff lighten about 50% with Floquil Reefer White. I use the TLR method of mixing paint (That Looks Right) and mixed the color until I was satisfied. After this was dry I used a method of decal application I've never used before. Floquil paints are as flat as any paint on the market. So several coats of a clear gloss have to be applied before decal application. Model MasterACRYL Clear Gloss was handpainted on, two coats, and the surface was ready of decals. I was very surprised that it was as easy as it was. No muss, no fuss, no streaks. I used a setting solution and no damage was done to the surface. I am very pleased with the results.

Go to Part 1

Go to Part 3