1/144 scale Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack

[RangerNeil]

Having had to shelve plans for a BTR-80 and go with whats in the stash. I fancied a change from whirly things and went for the one winged thing that meets the criteria for the build. The Tupolev Tu-160. AKA the Blackjack to the West and the White Swan (Белый лебедь) to the East.

Type information
Tupolevs design master piece first flew on the 18th December 1981, actually entering front line service with the 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment in April 1987. Unusually for a military machine the Tu-160 combines function with aesthetics hence the Russian nickname of "White swan".
The Tu-160 is a swing wing (variable geometry) design capable of sustained (as opposed to sprint) supersonic speed. From design inception it was a "fly by wire" design whilst the latest M2 variant features the latest in glass cockpits. The crew is 4 - pilot, co-pilot, bombardier and defensive systems operator, all seated in ejection seats. Power is provided by 4 x Kuznetsov NK-32 turbofans with afterburners, currently the most powerful engine available to any combat aircraft. Endurance is some 15 hours at mach 0.77 and a "probe and drogue" refuelling system is fitted to allow this to be extended. The payload is carried in two internal bomb bays to a maximum of 40, 000 Kg. Payload can be conventional free-fall bombs or rotating carriers holding either 6 x Kh-55SM/101/102/555 cruise missiles or 12× AS-16 Kickback stand-off nuclear missiles. The two bays can "mix 'n match".
At this time its the largest and heaviest bomber and fastest bomber in the world capable of mach 2+ performance - only the XB-70 exceeded it in terms of length. How far above mach 2 the top speed actually is remains a closely guarded secret. They have been clocked at mach 2.02 by Western sources but unverified information from within the Russian Federation suggests the latest M2 version's performance might be nearer to mach 2.5 - or more. Its nearest operational equivalent in the West is the US Rockwell B1 Lancer - however the two types differ in their roles, the B1 being more of a conventional bomber whereas the Tu-160 is actually a stand-off platform designed to release cruise missiles rather than conventional bombs. As a result of which the Tu-160 does not need to reduce speed to drop its payload...
Initial production was 35 machines - Yeltsin stopped production in 1992 and the lines sat unused until Putin authorised construction of a further 10 machines in 2017. Of those 35 built -19 were stationed in the Ukraine at the time that state declared its independence and the new Gov't declared all hardware within its borders were now the property of the Ukraine. Having the hardware and having trained crews are two different things though so the machines merely formed a part of the Ukraines bargaining power until in 1997 Russia bought the remaining 8 airworthy aircraft and they were returned to Russian bases, the other 11 being scrapped. Current plans see the fleet being brought up to a total of 30 by 2025 with half on active duty and the other half undergoing refit and upgrades to the latest equipment level - akin to the US Abrams program.
First active service - other than nuclear detente - for the Tu-160 was in 2015 at Islamic State targets in Syria, Idlib and Aleppo, where 34 cruise missiles were launched from over the Mediterranean. Since then conventional bombing runs have also been made on Islamic State targets.
Unusually for the Soviet / Rus-Fed airforces each of the Tu-160's is officially named and referred to as such. The known ones to date are:
* 07 = Aleksandr Molodchiy (GPW Bomber Pilot)
* 05 = Aleksandr Golovanov (Long Range Aviation Commander)
* 12 = Aleksandr Novikov (GPW Air Marshall)
* 16 = Aleksey Plokhov (GPW Bomber Pilot)
* 18 = Andrey Tupolev
* xx = Boris Veremey
* xx = General Ermolov
* 14 = Igor Sikorsky
* 06 = Ilya Morumets (Russian Folk Hero)
* 04 = Ivan Yargin (Olympic Wreslter)
* 01 = Mikhail Gromov (Test pilot) - lost in a crash in 2003
* 10 = Nikolay Kuznetsov
* 03 = Pavel Taran (GPW Bomber Pilot)
* 00 =Petr Deinekin (first commander of the Russian airforce) - Prototype Tu-160M
* 19 = Valentin Bliznyuk (designer of the Tu-160)
* 17 = Valery Chkalov
* 02 = Vasily Reshetnikov (Long Range Aviation Commander)
* 11 = Vasily Senko (Long Range Navigator - awarded hero of the Soviet Union x 2)
* 08 = Vitaly Kopylov
* 15 = Vladimir Sudets


The Kit
This is Zvezda's 1/144 scale offering - still quite large despite the small scale which, once complete will leave me with a major head ache as to where to put it - but that is for the future. It came as a "Pro Pack" with paints and a brush included. Quite a useful thing given the oddities of Russian paint schemes.
Removing the box lid reveals the typical Zvezda side opening packaging. Inside this there are 6 grey plastic sprues labelled A x2, B, C and D x2 plus a clear sprue marked E, the instruction booklet and the decal sheet. The instruction booklet is well printed and very clear when it comes to the optional variations. One thing to note is that, unlike the Trumpeter 1/72 scale version on this one the wing position must be decided upon during the build - you have a choice of three positions -Fully swept, Fully extended or 50/50. For the sake of space I will probably go for the Fully swept option. Other options are - obviously - gear up or gear down, refuelling probe up or down, bomb bay doors open or closed and, if open, the AS-12 "kickback" missiles in each.
Fuselage joins are horizontal rather than vertical and, oddly, the tail plane stabiliser is in 4 pieces. Probably a good reason for it but it escapes me right now.
The decal sheet gives you three options - the Ivan Yargan, Pavel Taran or Ilya Morumets - the only differences being the numbers on the nose-wheel doors and the script on the side of the fuselage ahead of the wings.
Paint call-out is the following:
White - Zvezda 17 Tamiya XF2
Black - Zvezda 20 Tamiya XF1
Burnished Steel - Zvezda 08 Tamiya X10
Aluminium - Zvezda 06 Tamiya XF16
Green Aviation Interior - Zvezda 21 Tamiya XF4
(Zinc Chromate)
Blue Aviation Interior - Zvezda 23 Tamiya XF23
(Cockpit turquoise)

The unboxing photos

As the kit comes in the box


The paints provided


Sprue A1


Sprue A2


Sprue B


Sprue C


Sprue D x 2(note almost obligatory loose pieces - a Zvezda "trademark"


Sprue E


Decals


Instructions










First primer applied

[KalebB]

Oooooh yes, excited to see this bird come together!!

Ya know one of these days I need to buy you a beer and pick your brain on everything Soviet that I'm addicted to Neil you've probably forgotten more about them than I'll ever know

[Hawkmoon]

Nice start on the beasty and looks a nice kit.

My 80's build should arrive in the next couple of days

[Gary30]

That's pretty cool, you don't really see paints included in kits apart from the really basic beginner kits that Airfix sometimes do.

I'm in for this

[RangerNeil]

Cheers folks
Something I should have noted in the original post is that every sprue has absolutely ZERO flash on it and any ejection pin marks are on the inside faces where they cannot be seen. I am very impressed by this!!
Its going to be interesting to see how it all goes together!!! First step is the cockpit interior and I have to admit - looking at this one I am sorely tempted by Trumpeters 1/72 version.

Beers are always a welcome currency Kaleb - but feel free to ask any questions any time and I'll see how the memory is working

[KalebB]

I'll have to take you up on that offer sometime Neil

[digger303]

That is one different paint holder. Where did that come from ?
looking forward to the build as well.

[RangerNeil]

That is one different paint holder. Where did that come from ?
looking forward to the build as well.

Thats actually the shipping packaging Digger - fits nicely into the box behind the paints - which has a flap that goes under the narrow end of the kits box lid to make it all one for wrapping and shipping.

Made a start tonight whilst waiting for the final under-wing components on the Kamov to set.
The cockpit floor, components, walls, I/P and part of the control columns have a first coat of Soviet Cockpit Turquoise blue. The ejector seats and the tops and bottoms of the control columns have a coat of black.
Tomorrow I will assemble the cockpit sections and give the final assembly a finishing coat of the Blue, then once that is dry the seats and columns can be fitted.

[digger303]

That is one different paint holder. Where did that come from ?
looking forward to the build as well.

Thats actually the shipping packaging Digger - fits nicely into the box behind the paints - which has a flap that goes under the narrow end of the kits box lid to make it all one for wrapping and shipping.

Make a nice bridge.

[RangerNeil]

Update #1

Spent last night sorting through the build instructions to get the sequence in mind and resolve a couple of apparent issues and then broke out the Zvezda #23 "Blue Aviation Interior" for the bomb bays and wheel wells/ bay doors. Right now it has had 3 coats of the #23 and its a very, very thin paint indeed. I suspect it is intended for airbrush only, not normal brushes. As you see from the photo below it has very poor surface coverage colour-wise. Maybe a white primer would have been better rather than the grey??



I also started assembling the cockpit interior module - and to highlight the difference between the Zvezda and AKAN paints at this stage the cockpit module has just had the one coat!! Here the ejection seats remain to be fitted as I thought I would get the module assembled first and then apply a second coat of "cockpit turquoise". Time will tell whether that was smart or not. In the photo the module is just laid into place for test fitting:



And here is the completed module with the ejector seats and IP in place and cemented into place. Now I cannot take this step any firther until I resolve the simple question:
Is Russian Anti-Flash White a matt, silk or gloss finish.
I have it in mind it should be the same as the RAF which is a gloss white finish. Reason being the next step here is to join the upper and lower fuselage halves together which means fitting the swing wings - which will need painting first!! Nothing Russian is ever simple!! So I will be moving onto the various sub modules from here- tail planes, engines, gear etc.

[KalebB]

Looks like you're getting along with her

That cockpit green/blue is such a pleasant color

[RangerNeil]

Looks like you're getting along with her

That cockpit green/blue is such a pleasant color

Many thanks Kaleb.
The blue-green was chosen after some very careful studies by what today would be called ergonomics experts. It was found to be less stressful on the pilot generally and on his eyes in particular. It used to be common in the West to deride Soviet kit as crude - and in someways it was. BUT - where it mattered they paid a greater attention to detail then the West did. If it didn't need to be detailed it wasn't - waste of money in their eyes. And their way of thinking placed emphasis on different things. A friend of mine was a RN Submariner who served on Trident boats. He retired a while ago and on a visit to St Petersburg (I think) somehow got a chance to have a tour of the "Admiral Donbass" - the last Typhoon class Sub in service. Going through the boat he noted some control panels had louvres in them so he asked the guide why. He was told that, although a lot of the systems were solid state just as they are on Western boats the Typhoons mission critical systems were all valve - hence the heat louvres - because valves are not susceptible to EMP like solid state circuitry is. So a Typhoon could survive a nuclear blast that would leave a Western Sub deaf, and blind. Food for thought...

But back to the model. The next major step is assembling the fuselage halves. (sobering thought for the day - the blue area at the front is the crew compartment - the rest of that long fuselage is pretty much all bomb bay... )
Which requires fitting the wings.



Which requires the wings be painted.

And I have a problem!!

I used Humbrol #22 Gloss White to paint one side of the wings and the end result is fairly awful. I spent 2 minutes stirring the paint thoroughly to ensure the pigment was completely mixed in but you can see how it ended in the photo.



So I have bitten the bullet and ordered a tin of Tamiya Gloss white spray - it should be here, COVID-19 permitting - by the 23rd. Meantime I think I need to remove that awful finish but need a way to do so without harming the wing and the detail on it. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears!
Or if you think I can get away with spraying over the top of that finish, also say so...

For now I can carry on assembling some of the smaller modules like the engine pods, landing gear, bomb bay etc.

[Quax]

I think you'll be ok going over the top but you'll have to do a light coat and walk away rinse repeat until you're happy but maybe one of the car guys could give you better advice about gloss coats?

Paul

[KalebB]

That's such a gorgeous plane, I can't wait to see what she looks like fully assembled, also to strip that paint I believe some have recommended oven cleaner but I wouldn't use it until you confirm that with someone more knowledgeable

[digger303]

That's such a gorgeous plane, I can't wait to see what she looks like fully assembled, also to strip that paint I believe some have recommended oven cleaner but I wouldn't use it until you confirm that with someone more knowledgeable

It has such a unusual fuselage for a kit. It still interests me every time I see it.

Looks like you're getting along with her

That cockpit green/blue is such a pleasant color

Many thanks Kaleb.
The blue-green was chosen after some very careful studies by what today would be called ergonomics experts. It was found to be less stressful on the pilot generally and on his eyes in particular. It used to be common in the West to deride Soviet kit as crude - and in someways it was. BUT - where it mattered they paid a greater attention to detail then the West did. If it didn't need to be detailed it wasn't - waste of money in their eyes. And their way of thinking placed emphasis on different things. A friend of mine was a RN Submariner who served on Trident boats. He retired a while ago and on a visit to St Petersburg (I think) somehow got a chance to have a tour of the "Admiral Donbass" - the last Typhoon class Sub in service. Going through the boat he noted some control panels had louvres in them so he asked the guide why. He was told that, although a lot of the systems were solid state just as they are on Western boats the Typhoons mission critical systems were all valve - hence the heat louvres - because valves are not susceptible to EMP like solid state circuitry is. So a Typhoon could survive a nuclear blast that would leave a Western Sub deaf, and blind. Food for thought...

Such a interesting exchange and very sobering. I hope Washington took as much notice as your friend.

[RangerNeil]

I did some digging int the "Paints" section of this forum which led me to some video's on YouTube.
Apparently one way for removing enamel paint is a 50/50 solution of Dettol antiseptic! An amazing idea - and in the current climate one with a major problem.
The other was a model-unique product called " VSM Clear Scale" - the blurb says its for acrylics but will work if the primer is acrylic based. Otherwise its may/may not work.
Dettol is £3.00 for 500 ml, Clear Scale is £10.00 for 200 ml both can be re-used. I think I will try and get hold of a bottle of Dettol to clean the wings off.

[digger303]

I did some digging int the "Paints" section of this forum which led me to some video's on YouTube.
Apparently one way for removing enamel paint is a 50/50 solution of Dettol antiseptic! An amazing idea - and in the current climate one with a major problem.
The other was a model-unique product called " VSM Clear Scale" - the blurb says its for acrylics but will work if the primer is acrylic based. Otherwise its may/may not work.
Dettol is £3.00 for 500 ml, Clear Scale is £10.00 for 200 ml both can be re-used. I think I will try and get hold of a bottle of Dettol to clean the wings off.

Not heard of the VMS clear scale, but I have a bottle of the VMS Clean Slate and it removes acrylic paint easily. I have not used it on enamel.

[RangerNeil]

I did some digging int the "Paints" section of this forum which led me to some video's on YouTube.
Apparently one way for removing enamel paint is a 50/50 solution of Dettol antiseptic! An amazing idea - and in the current climate one with a major problem.
The other was a model-unique product called " VSM Clear Scale" - the blurb says its for acrylics but will work if the primer is acrylic based. Otherwise its may/may not work.
Dettol is £3.00 for 500 ml, Clear Scale is £10.00 for 200 ml both can be re-used. I think I will try and get hold of a bottle of Dettol to clean the wings off.

Not heard of the VMS clear scale, but I have a bottle of the VMS Clean Slate and it removes acrylic paint easily. I have not used it on enamel.

My goof Digger I mis-typed it.. I did, indeed, mean "Clean Slate". I am not sure it will work for me as I used Tamiya's "Surface Primer L" and I have no idea if that is acrylic or not. Can't find it on the tin so I suspect I will have to engage in online conflict to try and get a bottle of Dettol as neither I nor the wife are allowed out of the house. (Daughter Mk 1's orders - she's a Physio working in a Respiratory ICU unit.)

[RangerNeil]

OK. Back onto the Tu-160. As said in the last installment the Humbrol enamel looked a right dogs wotsite so I tried to get hold of some Dettol. At 23:59 last night it was on the on-line order and all was good. At 09:30 this morning the wife got an email from the store saying that it, and half of the total order had been wiped off as the items had gone nil stock. Feeling a bit pee'd about that but what the hey. The enamel was OK on the acrylic primer and the Tamiya gloss white is acrylic so I thought I'd try over spraying.
Bad move....
It reacted badly....



So now I definitely need to find a way of stripping the paint off and starting again. Which is doubly annoying as this is stopping me proceeding with the main build.
I am cracking on with the modules though. These are the main engines ready to have the outer casings joined.



Next step is the intakes and this is where it gets interesting.... The assembly diagram says to use parts B21/21 and B24/23 - BUT there are no such part on the B sprue that look like the diagram The actual parts required are on the C Sprue.... Bit of a naughty one there.



This is the main engine pack and the intakes on one side dry- fitted to make sure all is OK. Can't atually fit them until the fuselage halves are joined. Which requires the wings to be painted. Correctly.......



Once these are done it will be a case of losing any seams with sanding and filler and re-scribing any lost panel lines.
I also took a leaf out of one of the forum members books and tried lining any gaps to be filled with masking tape as close to the edge as possible. There is a slight gap between the top and the bottom section of the tail fin and one of the engine housings was slightly warped hence the need for filler.

[KalebB]

Unfortunate to see that the paint reacted to the Tamiya spray can. Hopefully you can get it all stripped off and looking good bud

[RangerNeil]

Really stuck now without the two main wings - one of the curses of building "swing wing" aircraft I suppose!

Still - did some digging on the web and another recommended product to use in lieu of Dettol is, believe it or not, "Fairey Power Spray". And we actually had a bottle in the wife's cabinet of of forbidden treasures under the kitchen sink...
So I tried it last night on a piece of sprue test painted when I originally tried the white out. Left it in a polythene bag overnight and today under a warm tap it scrubbed off using a tooth brush with seemingly no ill effect on the plastic. I now have both wings soaking in their own bag overnight. I fully expect to have to do this at least two times - if not more. But as long as it comes off....



In the mean time I moved on to one of the last things I want to do before I can join the fuselage halves together - the bomb bay and armaments. Knowing the immutable law of Sod if I start on the undercarriage something will get broken....
As you may - or indeed may not know - the Tu-160 utilizes a rotating bomb carousel allowing it to dump its payloads whilst still at Mach 2+ To do this meant minimizing the profile of the bomb bay doors so the actual doors are barely the width of one cruise or stand-off missile thus to drop multiple payloads meant having them index around - fast - to align the payload with the fuselage opening.
So - here we have the two carousels that the payloads are mounted on - note the latest repurposing of toolmakers clamps for things they weren't designed for!

[RangerNeil]

The good news is Fairy Power Spray works!!
The photos below are taken after an overnight soaking followed by a scrub with a tooth brush followed by an all day soaking and another scrub with a tooth brush. The enamel is 99% gone with just a little primer left. So I've put a third coat on and am leaving it overnight so I get to start from scratch with totally clean wings. I am really pleased with this result -there is no damage to the wings whatsoever that I can see!!

[KalebB]

Good to see you got that paint off so you can now lay down a good coat

[Hawkmoon]

Big sigh of reliefe me thinks and now the build can go on.

[Stokesy44]

Good save on the paintwork Sir.

She looks a mean beasty, not at all like the B1, honestly not at all!

[CygnusX1]

Looking really good, despite your paint problems.
For a 1/144, that's a big aircraft. And it looks like there's some nice detail on the kit. Great build.

[RangerNeil]

The wings are done!!
With the fuselage halves joined you get an idea of just how big this bird is given this is 1/144 scale and you can see the crew module (4 man) up the front....





Even more so with the nose sections in place....



However - unusually for Zvezda - the actual fit of the sections leaves a bit to be desired. There is a degree of filling work to be done here before I can progress any further.....

[Hawkmoon]

Starting to look very shexy and coming together nicely

[RangerNeil]

Using the masking tape along the seams to be filled technique we wind up with this - being allowed to set overnight before rubbing down.

[digger303]

I can see me picking it up by the wings or nose and snapping something off. I'm just ham fisted though. It's coming together with some resistance, but it is coming together.

[CygnusX1]

It's putting a little resistance by the look of it. Sure you'll whip it into shape though.

[RangerNeil]

Some intensive yet delicate application of sanding media results in this (doesn't look so delicate but it really is!!)







I was going to give it a dust of primer where its been rubbed back to make sure it looks good under paint but then I tried test-fitting the engine and intake packs. Hoo boy....is there some work to be done there....

[KalebB]

Looks like you've got plenty of work to still get done, but it looks like you're getting along well with this build Neil

[digger303]

Got those nasty seams on the run

[CygnusX1]

Looks like it's coming along. You can see the fine sanding work there, no problem. Sure it'll turn out great.

[Hawkmoon]

She's still fighting but slowly giving in looking god though and nice work

[RangerNeil]

Making progress slowly. I completed the tail plane module today and you can see it placed on the fuselage to check the overall fit in the photo below. Bomb bay and undercarriage doors have a coat of gloss white for the outside ready for fitting as soon as the fuselage is painted. The 6 x Kh-55 "Granit" cruise missiles have a coat of orange and just need a green nose cone (and perhaps a satin or gloss coat to finish them.

[digger303]

It's freaking huge at 1/144. It must have been one big fuel tank.
Can see your on top of it now...all under control.

[Kevthemodeller]

Looking good mate, a big bird for sure

[RangerNeil]

It's freaking huge at 1/144. It must have been one big fuel tank.
Can see your on top of it now...all under control.

Looking good mate, a big bird for sure

Thanks guys - I was amazed my self at how big it is for a 1/144 scale I expected it to be about 2/3 the size it is. I'm more determined than ever now to get hold of the Trumpeter 1/72 scale version once we move house and I have more display room... (haven't told the wife yet as she is still freaking over the 1/32 Hind!!)

As of tonight both engine and intake packs are fitted and the seams filled and being rubbed down. No photos yet but I'll get some before I touch the primer up prior to applying the gloss coat. Right now I am wondering how best to mask the canopy I think it will be best to mask it and fit it rather than try to paint seperately and fit.

[RangerNeil]

Bit of a mile stone tonight. more or less the entire air frame is now in one piece. Just got to assemble the landing gear and finish the bomb bay carousels. I spent quite a while tonight plugging the wheel wells and the bomb bays prior to touching up the primer over the filled areas before applying the top coat tomorrow. I did try using the masking tape to blank out the cockpit windows but in the end had to give up as they are so small the pieces supposed to be left just fell off. So I tried going back to the Maskol and painted out the the relevant windows with it. Tomorrow I will apply the gloss top coat and see how it goes.HEre are the latest photos:

[AirCadet424]

Looking good Neil and eagerly anticipating seeing her fully painted up. Hope your windscreen masking comes out the way that you want it, definitely a fiddly process on those smaller windows! I was watching an old documentary on Sky last night about the history of 'Russian Bombers'. one of the last they talked about was the 'Blackjack' and how much it looked like the American B-1 'Bone? Obviously a blatant Russian copy of the US design, except that the Blackjack could go almost twice as fast and the engines were apparently THE most powerful jet engines ever built … PERIOD!!

Wow!!

Kev

[RangerNeil]

Just when you think things are going well - Murphys law sets in... I used Maskol to do the cockpit windows prior to painting and it looks like on the smaller windows it must have rubbed off. Kicking myself like hell for mot triple checking before painting. I think now I will need to get the tooth polish out and start trying to clean the mess up!!



And then it seems gloss white is a pig of a colour for revealing flaws that the primer and the rubbish eye sight hid. Spent quite a while tonight going over the body finding glaringly obvious flaws and dealing with them. These are but a few...





I will let the filler dry overnight and then start rubbing it down tomorrow. I thought today I could move onto completing the bomb bays and assembling the undercarriage. That'll teach me!!

[digger303]

Bummer and I thought it was going along relatively smoothly. Murphy's law I guess.

[Hawkmoon]

Set backs yes but the step forward is getting bigger every time and your close to the finish line now so everything is possible.

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh that's a blow, I had something similar happen to me I did manage to polish most of the paint off, may not be an option in 1/144 scale

[RangerNeil]

I think I want to scream - very, VERY, loudly!!!

Been carrying out running repairs to the areas that needed it as regards filler the last couple of days and on top of the cockpit was a small fin antenna. I checked, rechecked and triple checked every few minutes to make sure it was still there. When I finished yesterday it was still there as I put the kit down for the night. I picked it up today and started to rub down the dried filler from yesterday and happened to glance at the cockpit. ITS GONE!!! I can only assume lost to the carpet monster and its nowhere to be seen on the working area or my clothing. I've looked and looked but no joy!! Hence the imminent need to start screaming........

[Kevthemodeller]

This kit is really fighting you Neil, it would seem a good few of your choice of kits do

The antenna is a blow, but you should be able to make another out of either plastic card or flattened sprue.

[RangerNeil]

This kit is really fighting you Neil, it would seem a good few of your choice of kits do

The antenna is a blow, but you should be able to make another out of either plastic card or flattened sprue.

Yeah - I did have some plastic card here from long ago. I think I will leave replacing
it until its time to repaint - then use superglue.
In fairness to the kit a lot of the issues around the rear are partly my fault. When I joined the fuselage halves together I didn't get the wing roots to close properly which meant the engine packs were out of alignment hence the massive filler job getting them to blend properly. If I were to build another one of these its something I would ensure closed properly.

[RangerNeil]

After much sanding and a day spent with a cotton bud and some toothpaste on the cockpit windows I finally got the fuselage back to where I think its ready for a coat of paint. Again!







It's now up on the improvised spray table having had a couple of coats on the upper surfaces. It will dry overnight then tomorrow I will do the underside. If I am very lucky there is just enough paint left in the can!!