I am about 50% back from my doctor's visit, so I decided to tackle the glass. I started with the cockpit enclosure, much of which is part of the fuselage structure. No real problems here, just the usual careful fill and sand of the clear and gray plastic juncture. The first problem popped up when I added the landing lights in the leading edges of the wings. The problem is that the hole in the wing is considerably larger than the clear piece that fills it. Some thin sheet plastic, some shaping, sanding, and polishing resulted in something that should be OK when covered with some paint.

Each wingtip had a very small wedge of clear plastic to represent the wingtip navigation lights. The first one went on without any drama. The second one launched itself into the room somewhere, never to be seen again. I built a replacement using clear plastic cut from the clear plastic sprue.

The next step was to add the 7 (8 counting the door) clear windows in the fuselage. The basic problem here was that they weren't even close to fitting. I spent about 20 minutes trying to shape the first window to fit, and still didn't get it done. I took a vote and decided that I will try using Microscale Kristal Klear to create the windows. More on this later.

Everyone stay safe. Cheers

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). I have high hopes for the Krystal Klear. Once I paint the model, it would be even more difficult to add the plastic windows, if I should have to.

Wow, stunning progress and equally stunning so far result, my friend @gblair!
Yep, 1/72 limited run kits' tiny pieces do test the builder's patience...
Looking forward to your gloss coat and decals!

I approached the decals with a little caution. I wanted to use the kit decals, but they appeared rather thick. In addition, there was a great deal of clear carrier film around each of the decals. I trimmed as much of the excess clear film as I could before I applied the decal. I used MicroSet and MicroSol, as usual, and had no problems. I noticed that the decals released from its backing paper very quickly, so I was careful not to leave the decals in the water for more than a few seconds. I managed to lose 2 of 4 registration numbers during this process. The first set went on the vertical stabilizer without problem, but the second set drifted away from the paper backing after only a few seconds in the water. My attempts to rescue the decals resulted in a confused ball of decal, so one set of the registration numbers will be missing from the model.

The decals seem to conform well to the panel lines, and the effort to cut away the clear film also seems to have paid off. I always let the decals dry for 24 hours, especially with the 90% humidity we are having in central Texas right now. Next step will be some clear flat, followed by some limited weathering. I have an idea that involves Mission Models Paint, but more on that later.

I added the engine cowlings after some fettling to get them to fit. The engine has a depression that fits onto a keyed, raised circle on the engine pod. Well, it didn't fit. I kept reducing the circumference of the raised area, but never got the engine to sit in place. I finally removed all of the raised area and glued the back of the engines to the newly flattened area of the pod. It fit perfectly, so another problem solved.

Everyone stay safe. Cheers.

Looking very good from here George!
I had similar experiences with SH kits where the parts have poor fit in areas less visible. Thankfully those are easily corrected, like you did there

How did I miss this? Really nice build so far., especially the exterior colour. The camo looks like it would be very difficult to do in 1/48 scale, let alone 1/72, you probably chose wisely to do the 1 colour scheme (although it would be a great excuse for me to buy the PS-771 airbrush). I see you're using AK paints, how are you liking them? I really like how the spray when thinned down 60-70%, and the colour matches look just right.

I wanted to use a Flory wash to do the panel lines, which seems to work best over a glossy surface. If you aren't familiar with Flory, it is a clay product mixed in a water based solution. You simply brush it over the lines, let it dry a little, and then wipe it off with a paper towel. I used a dark brown color which seemed to work well. Flory is a little difficult to find here in the states, and there was only one source when I got mine a couple of years ago.

I then sprayed a coat of Tamiya Clear Flat over everything, hopefully to provide a seal against the weathering to come. Tamiya Flat always seems to be more of a semi-flat or semi-gloss, so I may use some ultra-flat from AK when I am done with the weathering. I also added all of the small parts that I leave off until the end. There is a tall antenna that is on the top of the cabin which I will leave off till the end. No use tempting fate. I am not sure what this antenna does. It doesn't appear to have any radio wires attached to it, and there is a small tear-drop shape at the top.

I did have some semi-good news today. I get most of my magazines digitally, and several of them arrived in the last couple of days. I opened the most recent Scale Aircraft Modelling magazine and found the Ki-54 on the cover. So I dive into the magazine to find someone had completed this kit. After reading the article, I discovered they had more problems building this kit than I did. I guess I can count myself lucky that I didn't encounter some of the problems they did. The amazing thing about their build is they built the version with the squiggly camouflage. Pretty amazing.

I always let the clear dry at least 24 hours so that it will stand up to the oil washes that I use. Everyone stay safe. Cheers.

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). I was cool to see the Ki-54 in the magazine, and I was surprised that they had the same issues I had.