Great that all was fixed uneventfully, my friend @kahu!
Some ignition wires wii not hurt 😁

Well this is the first time trying the lead wire as ignition wires thing. Hope it works out. Got t decal and n engine cowling.

A word on tires. Both the flattened and diamond treads there is a slight overlap that means sanding and rescribing the tread.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Nice result on the wiring, David @kahu
Did you use CA glue to get them fixed?

I’m really late to this post, but there was discussion about losing small parts to the carpet monster. When I get desperate to find a lost part, I put a piece of my wife’s old pantyhose over the suction hose. Hold it VERY tightly with one hand before turning the vacuum on with the other hand and run it around over the carpet. The vacuum will draw the lost parts up to the pantyhose and I’ve been fairly successful stealing some of them back from the monster.

Been awhile since last update but here we are. Blue applied. Bare metal painted. A couple coats of Testors gloss and now applying decals.

Nice thing about Mr. Color and Vallejo is after they are laid down and given time to dry, none comes up with the Tamiya tape.

The under wing star is MiniArt. Thin but tough. Look at the detail showing through with just Micro Set. Used some MiniArt stencil decals on underside but have to remember to flood with Micro Set or decal will snug down and not move.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Great painting and decaling job so far, my friend @kahu!

Decals do look great, David @kahu
Nice save.