Thanks, Matt (@matthewfdyer). Since I am using the Revell kit as the pathfinder through these kits, I can also use the pictures to remember what I did in the first plane. I know MPM made the nose section separate so that they could use the same molds for other versions of the Hudson, but it sure makes me nervous to be filling and sanding that close to windows. Airfix made their Hudson with a one-piece fuselage and nose compartment. I wish MPM had done that. Cheers.

Hi Carl (@clipper): I have had to gradually work clear plastic back to clarity before, but I have never had to do it on plastic this thin. The clear plastic was only about 1mm thick when I glued it to the much thicker plastic of the fuselage. The joint between the upper and lower part of the nose wasn't really good, so I knew I would be filling and sanding along the length of the nose. That's why I wanted to reinforce the clear plastic with some plastic strip. I could imagine how much flex would occur along the length of the nose as I sanded it. If it all works, then great, I will use it for the other two. If not, back to the drawing board. I really wish MPM made the nose in this kit like Airfix did in theirs.

Excellent progress and ditto results so far, my friend @gblair! Yes, sanding everything and polishing afterwards is the way to go. Awesome job on the challenging fit of the nacelles.

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten) and John (@johnb). I anticipated a lot of work bringing the glass back to clarity and shine, but it was easier than others I have done in the past. I have a sanding stick that has four grits on it, from a medium grit down to a very fine grit. This sanding stick, which is designed for women's nails, was purchased at a store for hair and nail products named Sally's. You can also get them on Amazon. The coarsest grit is probably around 200 grit, and the finest is probably around 1000 grit. I sanded the filler smooth using the coarse grit, then worked down through the other three grits. I was wet sanding everything. I was clear and shiny by the time I got to the last grit. I finished up by polishing the glass with my T-shirt. We will see soon if the other 2 models work the same.

Nice work George (@gblair). I see that you decided to go the sanding the entire window route. I think this was a good call. There are a couple of things you can do to get even more clarity. Purchase a set of ultra fine sanding sticks (2000 to 7000 grit). MicroMark sells a set and there are some off brand Chinese versions on Amazon. Polishing with a paste afterwards will also help. And finally, apply a coat of Future (Pledge) acrylic floor polish. Practice first, but these help even more.

As for the cowling, you could do a couple of things here. If you have any Milliput (or Green Stuff or another I think is called ASculpt) epoxy putty, mix a small amount and press it into the seam using a toothpick. Be sure to get it as level as possible. After it cures, do a light sanding and if any additional work is needed, use Mr Surfacer 500 and wipe away after its dry. The light sanding of the putty is relatively easy if the putty was pressed into the seam sufficiently. The Mr Surfacer trick will make up any remaining issues. This avoids having to do any heavy sanding in this difficult area.

Those are all good points about waiting until later in the construction, and these are what I do as well. I neglected to mention that in my post. The main recommendation for the epoxy putty versus Tamiya putty was that it can be pressed into place to minimize sanding in that difficult area. It is also more resilient than Tamiya putty.

It's pretty neat having two of these projects going at the same time.

Checking off a lot of small things as I lurch toward painting. I did some prefitting today to see how everything will go later. It looks like a mixed bag with some fitting well, and some not so well. MPM apparently released this kit in several different versions, but left all the alternate parts on the sprue. So I have plenty of alternate parts for my other builds.

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks, John (@j-healy). I hate working with glass, since it is so easy to do something tragic. I am working out what I want to do on this "lead" ship, then I use the procedures on the other two. Cheers.