Thanks guys - a little light relief from the interior - here’s the spinner taking shape.

The base paint is onto the interior cockpit walls. And some etch for the IP - which has been trimmed to represent a more accurate shape. The Eduard etch for this kit is very good. Time for a cup of tea and a little think about how to weather this lot.

Fitted the first part of the interior together. Fit is ‘interesting’. Some is very tight - the tub is not glued in and is not budging at all. Some is nowhere near. The fuel tank is on behind the seat but the engine housing doesn’t seem to work. Good that I’ll probably keep the engine out of the fuse for a number of reasons!

Can’t actually picture how all of this is going to go into the fuse without significant shaving!

Here are the snaps. Hope to be wrong!

Cockpit and internals Look great Paul. Interesting layout. Imagine seeing this plane fly back then.

What an incredibly complex structure this is... I am amazed at all the tiny details they have incorporated into the cockpit and other various internal items. After looking at what's in this kit, and comparing it to my 1/48 Hasegawa kit of the very same plane, there's a huge difference. All of your extra details are paying off Paul. @yellow10

This is really looking very good. I wish you well in your quest to close the fuselage. Please keep us posted and stay safe buddy.

Lost for words!

Thanks gents, yes John, it is very different - the next stages are to apply the skin. It is very thin soft plastic, which seems to be designed to fit with some pliability around the nose. I’ve taken some snaps at different angles to show one of the two front parts to illustrate this. Z-M certainly have a different way of doing things - which I am gradually coming to understand and enjoy. I think a lot of dry fitting and care will be needed to build around the core structures.

I’ll prime these and paint the appropriate internal colours and see how they go on.

Getting prepped for the weekend. Plan is to get primer on all internal parts, and start working out fit and any more mini-builds needed. I have metal under-carriage parts too - I will have a look at those and check the quality compared to the plastic.