More progress, etch, antenna and some bits and bobs. Today's major task was getting the antenna off the sprue and in place. It went better than expected. Clean up the mold seams as best you can while it is still attached to the sprue, a very gentle scrape was plenty to remove the seam. If your blade is digging, replace it. There are quite a few attachment points so extreme care is needed. Do not attempt to remove it from the sprue with cutters, I can guarantee you will at best warp, or at worst, snap a frame. Support your cuts and slice with a single edged razor blade or very sharp chisel blade, don't worry about getting a clean cut, trim after. Gluing in place was a breeze, even without locating pins. I'll let this set and then go back and do some final sanding/scraping.
Turning to the etch, the fender brackets and supports went on easily enough, with the front brackets being a little tricky to get bent nice and tight over the contours of the drive covers. I find it best to tack the part in place with regular liquid cement, then seal with super glue when dealing with small parts. Sometimes I only use liquid cement, press the part into softened plastic and it grabs quite well. Vallejo primer also makes sure that stuff stays put. One minor headache with the screens, as you can see, one got damaged. These screens are way too fine for trimming and filing, even removing them induces a kink. They should have been made a bit thicker, and with a wider frame. They will bend no matter how careful you are, be forewarned. If I hadn't been fouling the air with my curses, I should have realized I could have put the damaged one on the other side where it would be partially hidden by the jack. I may have put it in upside down to boot.
The suspension got half glued, I'll paint the units separately and then glue everything up. The exhaust was done up after thinning the pipe and the horn at the front needed thinning as well. The tabs on the exhaust bracket don't really want to fit with the holes in the hull so I trimmed them off. I think I'll get one more session tomorrow, still no replacement part.
Kimmo