I had to wait for the white paint I sprayed on several days ago to dry. Once I felt it had dried enough, I masked off the areas ahead and behind the cockpit in preparation to paint the Blue Black color. I used a low tack tape, in hopes it would not remove the foil once I was trying to pull the tape off.
This was very tricky, but thankfully it was done with minimal damage. Here you can see how the area looks once it was sprayed. Believe it or not, this is a WW2 US Navy color... Dark Sea Blue is a perfect match.
The exhaust and engine were installed next. I had these parts previously completed, so in a few minutes, the engine was on the plane. I think the added detail to install the spark plug wires really improved the look of the engine considerably.
Then I simply pressed the cowling on. It has not been permanently glued in position. This will allow me to display the engine exposed if I want to. So far it fits so well that gluing it in place will not be necessary.
Here you can see how the exhaust looks, and how the Ultra Bright Chrome foil was used to replicate the stainless steel sheet metal that was near the exhaust system.
Now that all of the masking tape has been removed, and the engine and cowling are installed, this is how the Ki-44 Shoki looks now.
I am very pleased with how it is turning out. I'm going to go finish applying the foil on top of the wings next. It's possible there will be a new update later tonight. Time will tell.
As always, comments are encouraged. Stay safe everyone.
1 additional image. Click to enlarge.
