Prior to applying the upper and lower surface paint, I painted the wing heater areas black. When taking the picture I noticed I forgot to paint the edge of the vertical stabilizer.

@lis, thanks, Bernard.

Your pre-shading looks great, John (@johnb). I suspect the maintenance crew took the de-icer off the tail and hasn't put it back yet. As far as your checkerboard goes, they are tough to mask and paint, especially in this scale. On the other hand, getting a decal to lay down correctly on the cowling will also be tough. Six of one, a half dozen of the other. Good luck.

@fiveten, thanks for the advice, Spiros.
@gblair, thanks, George. Exactly my thoughts, decalling such a large area and this shape will not be easy, but painting will also be a challenge.
Spiros' advice sounds good, if the decal does not succeed, painting can still be doen as a last resort.

Nice, steady progress, my friend @johnb! Surely you will sort out the tailwheel strut issue.

John,
The Achilles' heel to this kit is in the construction of the nose and those odd side panels. Just the perfect parts to create mischief for the Gentlemen Modeler who models in this scale. Looks like you've worked out the kinks and have gotten everything into ship shape. The engines really snap up the model and the pre-shading is a prelude to making a excellent build. I've been enjoying reading and watching your efforts in making this kit.

John (@johnb), impressive progress here. I suppose it makes sense to go tor the decal first and resort to paint if it fails for the cowling. No matter what, it is an interesting job!