The good news is, this isn't a difficult kit. The bad news (which isn't very) is that you have to remember that it's a high-end/limited-run kit. Pay attention to the latter and you can achieve the former.

The radiator detail in the wings will not be seen once assembled, even if you open up the waste gates in the wings. The internal structure does give the wing some rigidity it wouldn't have otherwise.

Most of the cockpit can be seen, so that's good. The detail is all injection plastic and looks good when finished. You need to pay close attention to the instructions to figure out where everything goes.

All the seams needed filling. I got the fit as tight as possible, then used CA glue over the seams to make them disappear for certain. I used my pounce wheel to rescribe the very petite surface detail.

It's obvious there will be additional releases, since the markings - for aircraft in 1941-42 prior to May 1942 when the national insignia changed - are all "gunships". The "Whirlibomber" modification didn't happen till September 1942, after the Dieppe raid.

Overall a nice kit. I think the MSRP of $117 is a bit high, but I see it at online shops for around $85-$90.

If you like the Whirlwind, this is the best kit of the airplane in any scale. Size wise, it's about the size of a 1/48 B-26 Invader.

I'll keep the nose cap off till I have it painted and decaled, so I can then insert the cannons without having to mask around them to paint them.

8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Wow Tom , you are so fast ! Cockpit in , radiators in , wings closed , fuselage too ! And such a nice work , fine and clean .
I see right or Special Hobby finally decided to put assembly pins on parts or only on fuselage halves ?

Looks great, Tom (@tcinla). The Whirlwind is one of those planes that has a very streamlined and elegant look about it. Looking forward to the rest of the build. I think I see some alignment pins on the fuselage, too.

@gblair - there are alignment pins on the parts. Really tiny ones, the next thing to a "butt join." 🙂

Really looking forward getting mine. Thanks for your info.

Looking great, @tcinla!

Sure looks pretty decent in the Special Hobby accuracy department. You happy with the kit at this stage of your build? Judging by your above remarks you must be.

Here it is, masked and pre-shaded for final paint job.

And looky what I discovered: the bomb racks! One can be excused for thinking the bomb racks on the sprues are parts for the complex landing gear assembly, but a second look and...

So now it's going to be a Whirlibomber in the black and white "invasion markings" for Operation Starkey in September 1943, the first use of "invasion stripes."

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.