Back from Tassie, and on with the build! I decided to get back into it by fitting the wing transparencies. The navigation light and formation light pieces are very nicely formed, and fit very well. I drilled small holes on the inside and filled them with appropriate coloured clear Tamiya paints to depict globes. When this technique works, it works well.
When you use too much pressure on the drill bit, and create stress cracks in the clear plastic, it goes like this:
I pulled this one off the wing, cut out a bit of acrylic sheet, drilled and painted the hole (more carefully this time!), stuck it back on and sanded and polished to profile.
Much better, and I will add the framing when its masked off and primed.
The landing light cover is not so good. It fits as well as the other parts, but, strangely, is slightly bulged, akin to a tiny blown canopy hood. There are also two slightly curved recesses moulded on the interior surface. These correspond with the outer diameter of the landing light lens. Perhaps the designer thought that the light needed some clearance, and hedged bets by both reducing the thickness and including a bulge?
Anyway, the lens fitted easily, complete with an etched brace from Brengun, and there was enough thickness to allow the clear cover to be sanded and polished flush with the wing leading edge and upper and lower skins. Weird but.