Thanks John, coming along nicely. That is the Monogram B-26B in the background.

With the pair of fuselages assembled. Time to work on the wing panels. Starting with the lower wing which is 1 piece.

The lower wing have the ZCY already pre painted around the main gear bay openings.

Next is to open up some holes for the drop tank pylons and landing lamp.

Next for this variant is the electronics pod mounting filler panel that is locates in the lower center section of the wing, unique to the F/G variant of the F-82.

Next is to assemble main gear bays.

The center upper wing panel also serves as the ceiling of the main gear bays. Which the interior is painted YZC.
There is a bit of flash to clean up around the flap area.

Modelsvit has me build each interior panel that is contained with in the bay. Each part is well detailed, as if the parts are resin, they are that well defined.

They also fit very well following the well laid out grooves to place each interior wall panel.

The forward wall is a bit complex with a curve that follows the contour of the leading edge of the wheel opening. Great fit no gaps, nice!

Make sure to clean the sprue nubs off the edges of the parts before installing.

The inner wall with part of the actuator is in the center of the bay. With a separate actuator that is installed facing forward within the bay. Making it kind of busy.

Then this dividing wall is the inserted into the bay.

Finally a set of braces that go along the back of the wall. These are the only pieces that did not fit very well. They were a bit short.

Now reading reviews of those who have already built this kit. And all mentioned to sand the edges on the main gear walls to allow the center upper panel to fit properly that would allow the fuselage to slip into place.

So checking fit they were correct after a quick test. So out came the coarse sanding sticks to knock down the top edges a bit, not too much now as it would cause a gap which can be seen if you take too much off. Finally after a few swipes got the desired result I hope as I attached the upper wind panel and clamped them for 24 hours.

This image show a gap before clamping down with a clamp.

Next to release the clamps and start to install the fuselages.
more to follow.

Very nice result indeed, Chuck @uscusn.

Thanks Spiros, slowly coming along. Fit is good so far, the hardest part is coming up.
Thanks John, so far no unexpected challenges, just the normal issues to work with and overcome, which are minor or I would consider normal on any kit.
Yes Erik, patience and calm is required. Delicate parts, new product (very first attempt building a Modelsvit kit), I like the challenge.

Now at that critical point of the build. Mating the fuselages to the wing. Do not approach this part of the build as if it's a P-38. Not the same.

Before going forth, some preliminary seam work on that top seam.

Despite the clamps, still had a small gap on that leading edge of the center section. Need to address that carefully. Especially around the gun ports.

Now slipping the LH fuselage into place. I left off the outer wing top panel at this time. Adjustment will need to be made as I leave the fuselage loose at the moment and not permanently glued into place just yet.

LH upper wing panel, cleaned up and ready to place but not to glue yet. Test fit and adjust.

Careful not to push down to hard on the center section of the wing to fuselage contact point, quite flimsy and will get caught at the edge of the fuselage leaving a much larger and uneven gap.

The LH top wing panel fits well up against the fuselage again don't push hard at the contact point or you will get a step.

The center section top panel to fuselage join still has a bit of a step and gap, still not glued as yet.

Underneath the wing to fuselage contact point, there is a step that will need to be cleaned, the contact point at the rear is good.

With the LH side still loose on the wing, next is to slip the RH side fuselage assembly in place.

Another reason to leave both fuselages loose and will help the alignment is the installation of the horizontal stabilizer.

The main stab are 2 parts, upper and lower halves, I will leave the elevator off for now.

The stab installs easily though the locating tabs are shallow and inserts easily into slots on the inner section of the vertical tails.

With the horizontal stab installed, alignment of the fuselage, tails, stabs and wings look squared away. Getting the best results of the wings to fuselage contact points, despite the best efforts on the top surfaces. Work will need some major cleanup underneath. Concentrating on the top points for minimal work.

Next up the avionics sensor pod.

more to follow

Well done, Chuck. Looks like you are making great progress. @uscusn

Chuck, @uscusn
I have had very little time at the work bench lately, and it seems even less time to log in and comment on all of the wonderful build journals we have here. It's been almost a month before I last checked in. Last night was the first time in what seemed like a year.

I have caught up on your build and you sure have been busy ! Keep it up, and before you know it we will be looking at a completed F-82. Yours is coming along very well. Too bad about the various fit problems and how you have needed filler. I'm sure it will look amazing when completed. By the looks of things you are taking care of all the fit problems and it's looking good from here. Keep it going my friend. I will try to visit here more often. 🙂

@uscusn - smart move on the outer wing panels. Getting the fuselages aligned to the center section and each other is the Big Secret, along with sanding the tops of the gear well walls. This is looking really excellent.