Of course @pikofix - thanks for pointing this out! It is going to take a massive masking in 1/144! Perhaps I should stick to props 🙂

I am still alive, but life happens, kids were sick, busy at work, being tired. No modelling at all, the current Po-2 project is also on hold, waiting patiently on the shelf next to me.
I found this photo today, I believe it was one of my last trips to China, back in 2011. It was made somewhere above Russia from one of the SAS A340s. You can see how beaten up the engine covers are.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

I did not forget the project, but life happens, and things are getting delayed. My plan was to get started before the end of this year, but it will not happen in 2021.
However, as a pre-build trial, I built the unused PW engine variant to get some experience with the kit. The unused parts are marked on the assembly diagram, but there is no guide on how to assembly them (not a surprise). It took a few trials to match the parts, but in 20 minutes I managed to get one engine done. The general fit is good, but it can be tricky to avoid glue marks with painted subassemblies. My plan is to make the other PW engine painted , and try out my ideas before building the LEAP engines.

2 additional images. Click to enlarge.

Nice looking engine, my friend @pikofix!

Csaba, I just saw that there are some very detailed AM resin engines available. Of course they are with covers open, so will depict a ramp-inspection or something, and no good if you want to make a clean airliner.

@airbum, that is some amazing detailing.
Modellers are really treated well these days.

It is time to really get started on this build. Amazingly, I managed to have enough self control to leave the main parts on the sprues until today. 🙂

I did a quick dry fit test of the main components, and I must admit, the overall fit is even better than expected. Don´t be fooled by the photos, the tape does not hold the parts together properly, but I can see that everything fits perfectly (almost snap-it-together tight). All parts are sharp, pointy, and very thin. It looks very promising, I guess this build will be a little bit faster than my previous Po-2 build was.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Indeed, the engineering of the kit looks great, my friend @pikofix!