Thanks, John (@johnb) and Brian (@brithebuilder). I am very impressed with this "new" Airfix kit. The engineering is very clever, and the fit is perfect so far. After I passed 70, steady hands have slowly gotten hard to find. Luckily there are ways to work around the problem.

That cockpit looks great but I know what you mean about not being able to see much. Same thing with its Tempest II cousin. I wouldn't add that good lookin' gun sight until you're ready to protect it with the windscreen.

I really like the new style Airfix instructions a lot. I've yet to find a mistake or confusion. Far as I know, Airfix hasn't corrected anything on this kit cowl wise unless they did it with the current "export" Fury boxing but I haven't read a word confirming that. This was also the beef about the Hobby Craft Sea Fury cowl. One thing I don't like about these new Airfix kits are the wheels/tires. They never look right to me. Too flat. I believe the wheels are smaller than those used on the Tempest II.

Onward to your next installment, George @gblair! Steady as she goes!

Thanks, Pedro (@holzhamer), Eric (@eb801), and Brian (@brithebuilder). I like everything about this kit, so far, except the really soft plastic. I have been really careful sanding and cutting, but luckily the kit doesn't need much of either. I haven't used any filler yet. I always worry about the tread pattern on tires that are cut in halves. I have never been able to get the tread pattern right after they are glued together. Hopefully the resin tires I got will be here soon. I need to go do some reading on the problems people have had with the cowling. I don't know enough about the Sea Fury to know if it was a shape problem, or just a fit problem. The cowling went together well, but it will be a different problem if it is a shape issue. Cheers everyone.

@gblair - if it looks good to you, then it is.

Great progress, my friend @gblair! Love too the kit engineering. No harm done deviating from the instructions 🙂

I assembled the rest of the wings and let them dry overnight. I was worried about the outboard sections of the wing coming together properly, despite the creative engineering involved in the various wing sections. I used masking tape to hold all of the edges together, as well a 3 clamps on each wing to hold the trailing and leading edges in place. It didn't work as well as I had hoped. There were a couple of areas that had a ridge where the inboard and outboard wings met. This was fixed with some acrylic putty and light sanding. One trailing edge came out perfect, and the other had a gap, even though it was clamped. It will need some filler and sanding to fix. I restored some of the panel line that I removed.

The winter "bomb cyclone" hit central Texas yesterday. At noon yesterday, the temps dropped from 69 to 30 degrees in one hour, and then continued down to 11 degrees last night. With winds 35+ mph, the wind chill is very cold. We have frozen pipes in one bathroom, even though we had prepped all of the pipes yesterday. The temp won't go above freezing until late tomorrow, so one more day to go. Hope everyone is safe and warm. Happy holidays.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks, John (@johnb). I still think it is a well-engineered kit. They did a really good job getting a solid joint between the inner and outer wing panels, and the wing is straight. I can't complain too much about a few swipes of a sand stick. Have a great holiday.

@gblair, fully agree, some grinding corrections needed on a, nearly perfect, kit should not be an issue for a modeller.
My experience is that the latest Airfix kits are nicely engineered and a pleasure to build. Have a great, and seemingly chilly, holiday season as well, Merry Christmas.