Louis @lgardner: You're right about life things getting in the way. Every day it seems.

Regarding the fit of the Trimaster wings. Yeah, it's not great. I did attach the bottom wing several times to the fuselage using tape and then taped the top wing into place to make sure all fits. Removing the locator pins before gluing might be a smart move next time. The leading edge is the problem and once I got it to line up as close as possible, there were some areas that need a bit of putty. A lot of sanding was needed to smooth it all out and get rid of the seam. However when the wing assembly top and bottom was completed and sanded multiple times, it popped into place very nicely with no gaps and no additional filler needed. The only area that didn't line up perfectly is the trailing end of the wing where it joins the fuselage at the rear where the wing curve is. A little sanding quickly took care of that.

It also seems to me the kit props are not accurate but I'm going to use them anyway.

Model on, Louis.

You are right, Eric @eb801
Likely no one will flip the aircraft, but for myself I still would prefer to have the engine placed just like you did.
Looks really nice now.

@eb801, you are fully right, Eric. Spending lots of work on interiors which will be barely visible, still when building it feels right (at least to me) to have all the details in place. What pleasures me as well is to learn about those details while doing research.

Looking great with the engine attached, my friend @eb801! I believe Italeri should have included the engine: an unnecessary shortcut, dooming am otherwise very good kit. Fully agree with yours and our friend's @johnb thoughts.

Pedro@holzhamer: Pretending goes along way unless modeling guilt sets in and then what? You could always spend double and pick up a DML kit off you know where. Or stuff the void with Kleenex and spray it black?

Pretending is cheaper.

No doubt about it Erik 😉 @eb801

Nice trick to get it fixed, Eric @eb801
Thaks for sharing.
The heat deflector looks superb.

Sink Marks!

In between basting the holiday turkey every 30 minutes today, I discovered a bunch of sink marks on the trailing edge of both wings where it meets the fuselage on both sides. Or maybe it was short shot. No problem I just filled them with Mr. Surfacer 500 and sanded them away. Good as new!

Canopy

I discovered a highly visible and very nasty vertical gouge on the port inside of the canopy. I spent about an hour sanding and polishing away and then doing it all over again until I finally got rid of it without any cracking. Whew. It wasn't easy working on the inside! Then I dipped it in Future after washing the waxy polish off with 70% rubbing alcohol. Needs a little more buffing, but I think I pulled it off.