For those of you who are, or plan to be, building this beauty and haven't gotten this far, here is some advice.

I've been trying to put the landing gear on for 90 minutes. Let me suggest you eschew the instructions and put the gear on before attaching the engines. The fit is very snug.

This is exacerbated by the gear doors. They attach via relatively small, shallow tabs into relatively small, shallow slots. You must have a light touch not to knock them off (over and over) while wedging the strut tab into the mounting slot in the gear well.

Also, I strongly suggest fitting the gear actuators into the gear well before mounting the gear.

Now, all this said, I am using the metal gear. I surmise that if you use the plastic gear, that will simplify the gluing and maybe there will be a stronger bond between the teeny tabs and the doors. Or not.

See photos and read more about this build: Trumpeter ME-262 Decaled & Gear