I finally started bringing some of the sub-assemblies together today. I then gave everything a shot of black primer to get ready for painting. I then loaded the airbrush with a thin mix of AK Real Color US Cockpit Green and sprayed a blotchy layer over everything. At first I was planning to use British Cockpit Green, but these planes were manufactured in the US and sent to Britain, so all of the paints used on these planes at the start of the war were American colors that were an approximation of British colors. When the green was dry I started picking out the black boxes and other detail painting on the interior. I don't think much will be visible through the windows, but just in case I wanted to add a little detail and do a decent job of painting. When everything was dry I sprayed some clear flat over everything to seal it in preparation for some washes. Tomorrow I plan to do some washes and weathering, plus some dry brushing. After that, I just need to assemble and seal up the fuselage. Cheers everyone.

13 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Beautiful work on the interior, George @gblair
I think those Revell tips might be handy for the other kits as well.

Great! Interior looks pritty good!

I spent today getting everything ready to close up in the fuselage. The interior sub-assemblies were completed and given a wash of dark artist oils. I had initially thought that I could assemble all three models and then decide which plane would receive which paint scheme, but I realized I needed to choose paint schemes before I assembled the fuselage. I discovered that there are several small differences between the three planes which will need to be completed before closing the fuselage. One of the planes does not have a turret, one of them has an astrodome, and there are some differences in antenna configurations. I need to do some more research about which camouflage scheme had which configuration before I start gluing stuff together. This kit also has all of the small passenger windows added from the inside. I am a little nervous about this. Should one of the windows come adrift after closing the fuselage, there would be no way to retrieve the window. Hopefully I will get the fuselage glued together on the Revell kit tomorrow. Cheers.

7 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Pilot compartment looks really good.

I was ready to start adding the various interior bits and closing the fuselage, but I had one last distasteful task to complete: adding the small airliner windows to the fuselage cabin. The windows are small individual panes that are fitted from the inside-out. I worry about this arrangement because if the window come adrift after closing the fuselage there is not way to recover them. I think about the masking, painting, and unmasking to come. I initially glued the panes into the fuselage using AK PVA glue, which I use to attach canopies. The windows are a very tight fit, so I don't really think there is a lot of glue holding things together. The first thing I want to try is to brush Future over the windows from the back, hopefully acting as an additional adhesive. I also have some clear styrene that I may cut into a long strip to fit over all the windows to act as a backstop.

I am starting to see the differences between the 3 kits/manufacturers. These three kits all came from the MPM molds, so you would think they would be identical. The first thing I have noticed is that the clear plastic in the Revell kit is poorly molded and has ripples in all of the glass. It isn't horrible, and I plan to deal with it using Future. The clear plastic in the other kits appears much clearer. The second thing is that the molding in the Revell kit features much softer details than the other two. Both the MPM and Italeri kits have detail that is more crisp. Not a deal-breaker. Just interesting.

I have also had to take time to decide which planes to model, since they all have different features. I had already decided which I wanted to build for the first two planes, but I am just now finalizing the 3rd plane. I think I have decided on a Hudson used by a classified reconnaissance group under the leadership of a man named Sydney Cotton. They used very unusual camouflage and their planes had a variety of configurations. Most of their early planes did not have a turret installed.

Taking a modeling break to watch college football. Should have more tomorrow. Cheers everyone.

7 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Hi Spiros (@fiveten): Those tiny windows are one of the reasons I don't like to build airliners.

Thanks, Erik (@airbum). I am still worried about the windows pushing out, but I think they have a fighting chance now to stay in.