Once again, thanks up front to Eduard for sending us this set; It’s been a great upgrade, (as you will be able to see) and a worthy investment. Thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for entrusting such a massive endeavor to my feeble skills…

Here’s what’s was next in the envelope after I worked the interior sets…

• EX410 A3D-2 1/48 (pre-cut Canopy Mask from Kabuki Tape)
• 48764 A3D-2 bomb bay 1/48
• 48791 A3D-2 undercarriage 1/48

The bomb bay was next; this was the most complex part of the build, but surprisingly only required a couple of days of effort. The sidewalls and end plates all fit perfectly (be careful while doing this or the parts will require a bit of emory board to meet edge clearance). The upper rib plate went in well, and the next step, manufacturing the weapon beams, (all 9 of them) required one to cut out, clean up, and glue together delicate metal strips. They also have to face the correct way… After two attempts, I quit. Superglue, my fingers, and the metal being really flexible created an unsightly mess. Pulling out the evergreen sheet, I made the I-beams with tenax cement work, and then sanded down the beveled edges when dry. I then attached the visible metal plates to the lower (out-facing) section, which not only looked better, but had much improved strength. White primer spray, then light coat of gloss white, and the bay looked a lot better than my work.

The bomb bay doors were next; they had replacement metal plates to step-up the detail level of the kit supplied items. Trumpeter is to be commended on their having a lot of PE plates like this in the kit, which the Eduard plates improved on.

This was also the case with the undercarriage; Eduard supply metal sheet plates to cover the kit detail and improve the “busy” look inherent in aviation landing gear bays. Brackets, hydraulic and electrical lines are all incorporated and when installed look great. I had purchased and at this point installed a SAC metal gear set, as the kit plastic items would probably splay out over time. Insurance…

When the gear wells were finished, it was time to work on the three gear doors. Again, metal plates are provided to add to the appearance. The delicate gear door stiffener and actuator attachment arm did not survive time in the box; I reverted to the kit-supplied plastic bracket and a bit of fiddling to get the door installed after the paint job. External detail bits are included for the main gear wheel brakes/antiskid system, to upgrade the plain detail items. The kit provides a metal support “spider web” for this, but it is inaccurate. Steel Beach makes replacements if you don’t like vinyl or rubber tires.

Also upgraded is the tail bumper strut door and tailhook well interior. More sheet metal work… Simple to do. End of part 2