Salamander.....

Nice thin wheel well covers. 

The front wheel was cast a a solid block with it's forked frame. A hole was drilled through, then scraped to a better shape with a sharp blade. 

The legs fit into square holes, so the undercarriage is positioned correctly 

The covers have dove-tailed tangs that slide laterally into recesses, so they are held firmly in the right locations. These could be hidden, but I'm going to leave them 'as is'. 

Yes, it's a tail sitter and there are no voids that could hide some lead. Perhaps a space could have been drilled out, below the cockpit. Next time.... 

Taking shape, though some parts are just dry-fitted.  

Waiting for primer..... 

Primer has arrived, so some progress can begin ... 

 

Okay, here we go....The primer is grey-green, so I am going to make use of it on the upper surfaces. 

Some parts of the jet intake and exhaust will be metallic, so I can experiment with different grey and silver mixes. 

Slate grey will be the second colour, which is a darker green shade. 

Yes, it's a tail-sitter.... 

The canopy clips in, with large flanges to each side, which project into the cockpit. I painted them black, and added some white dots, as pretence control panels to each side of the seat. 

I need to touch in the paint on the canopy frame  

The HUD is visible through the canopy. The gap over the wheel had to be carved from the solid block of the supporting forks! 

I'll let everything cure for a day or two, before seeing how I feel about it, and before a gloss coat prior to decals  

So far so good! 

Trying to soften the blotchy camouflage, but may re-visit further.... 

Trying to create some variation in the steel panels. 

Clear coat has been applied, and it seems to have toned down the contrast of the silver-grey panels. 

Looks better? All comments welcome 😉 

Clear coat then Decals. 

The clear coat has toned down the contrast of the metallic paint. 

Clear coat over the decals. 

Okay, let's see where touch ups are required 😉 

 

 

 

Scratched an instrument panel from a piece of sprue. Gauges drilled and painted, so they catch the light better. 

Some thin tape to suggest the harness straps.