Sometimes you just have to cut your losses...

Getting very close to done now.

There are some clean ups in the finish yet to do, then need to dull down the gloss a bit, and the window posts need white lines.

I think the Greyhound makes a very credible civilian job.

Congratulations!

Looks surprisingly natural in civies.

That'll do her.

more images can be seen in the What If campaign gallery.

here are some discussion points:

The kit was originally designed by Yuuichi Kurakami of Japan, who also wrote the instructions.
He still produces decals, but by agreement, AirAlex is the only source of the molded parts currently.

This was unlike any kit Ive ever done before. the skill especially called out was surface finishing - the casting had many imperfections - and I really didnt do nearly enough, up close many pinholes can still be seen. I used Liquid Paper for this work, and squadron green putty to fair the big joints. I also attempted to re-scribe the panel lines, and scribe in the front entry door. Results are not great, that's another skill I will need to practice.

The wing mount was designed for the Revell kit. Evidently the wing to body join is a bit different than what Heller designed, as I had to rework the top of the fuselage substantially to get a reasonable fit.

The Heller canopy includes a wide flange that must trimmed away. Even trimmed back to its minimum, the glass is slightly wider than the front of the Greyhound fuselage, I had to build up the cheeks of that chubby face to get a flush fit. Perhaps the Revell one is a closer match.

There is a lot of lead in the nose, and the rear half is completely hollowed out, to get the model to sit on its nose wheel. The resin is soft and easy to sculpt. I glued the cargo door closed, but I think it would look good in the down position- that would save a bit of filling and fairing, and eliminate the need for the lead nose weight.

I used the roof walkway, prop danger line and prop tip decals from the AirAlex US Navy decal sheet, all the other decals I designed myself using only MS Paint and Word and printed on Microscale clear Trim-film on a HP color laserjet.

Now that Ive done one, I feel I'd like to do another, in US Navy markings this time, and it
will come out much better, with my advancing experience.
Also, I have more of the Heller Hawkeye kits, I found them for $6 each so I bought three!
I have alot of other projects in the works however, so that's a long way out.

Overall Im very pleased with the finished model, and absolutely everything Kurakami-san said in the instruction sheet came true!

another available option
http://www.shapeways.com/model/306455/013a-c-2.html

Well, as expected, now there is a top shelf kit available

http://radjapan.ocnk.net/product/984

5,000円 before shipping, OUCH!