Again some little progress on the Big Cat. The main wing is glued in place, and a lot of filling has been done on the top and bottom side, there where the wings join the fuselage. Next step sanding and painting preperations.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thank you Greg, and makes all the fun of building together. Some updates again. I did a test fit with the external fuel tanks, that will work out fine.The cat received it's basic color. I used dark camouflage grey BS381C:629 form the Hataka paint range. The top side will be fully covered by the spotty decals, so there is no reason to paint the top side in the darker shade of grey. I only painted the vertical tail in basic black to have a better basis for the black decal. The grey color is part of the modern royal air force paint set vol.1 from Hataka. It's the first time I've worked with these colors and they worked fine for me. Next step will be a thin coat of clear gloss and start with the decals.

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Coming along nicely Ferry, looking good.

Thank you Louis, slowly getting there and a pleasure to post the updates.
Thank you Allan, Ian. The cat is starting to get his claws..

Fantastic work, Ferry. Those decals must take a lot of precision and even more patience! I'm really enjoying your build.

Thanks guys! Yes the decals are quite something to get it right, but I like a good challenge LOL. I'll take it step by step to make sure they dry in a correct way. And I'm happy that I started in the correct order, although not mentioned by Italeri in the instructions. Working from back to front makes sure that the allignment is correct. So this afternoon I did a third session, with the wingtops and vertical stabilizer now covered in decals. And their appetite for decalsoftener is amazingly big. Not finished yet. The cat can dry now.

So tomorrow I'm out and about on a groupbuild with some local modellers, organized by one of my modelshops. See if I can make some photos of the WIP on the spot.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thank you Allan. The work with the decals is quite a challenge to say the least. Some fitting issues around the air intakes. Also the decals on the nose needed some extra work. Takes a lot of patience to get it right, but it's getting really spotty. On with the landing gear, external fuel tanks and a layer of matt lacquer to protect it all.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Thanks Louis. I can assure you that you have to be brave on this one with the decals. Finished with the decals now. The canopy frames are painted orange and now the spots have to be painted on the exact places. There are decals for the canopy frames but I was not sure if they would fit well enough. Some small antennea need to be placed and the pitot tubes will be some of the last things to put on. Furthermore I will make a small plinth to show the big cat on. So allmost ready.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.