Slow progress has been made on my build. Most of the chassis is either covered in Carbon Fiber Decal or Bare Metal Foil. I have used 4 sheets so far. I should be able to use the scraps to cover any remaining areas, hopefully. As I guessed, I have had to make masks using Tamiya Tape to create the correct fitting decal segments for the splitters- front and back. That makes keeping the “grain” of the Carbon Fiber oriented in the same direction easy. I also had to create new ones for the cockpit. Many of the ones provided didn’t fit correctly or very poorly. Made me regret selling my spare kit (I could have used it to make templates without risk to the work already completed).
Aluminum Bare Metal Foil was used to replicate the areas covered by Thermal Blankets to protect the chassis and cockpit from the heat of the engine. Nothing looks like metal like actual metal, so I try to use it whenever possible. Model Factory Hiro produces 1/24 Thermal Blanket material, but it is perpetually out of stock.

In the cockpit I used Eduard pre-painted 6 point seat belt kit instead of the “cheap” looking Kit Decal or the over-engineered and complicated set provided in the Hobbytyme PE set. I was amazed on how it looks and the easy of assembly of it. Wish I got more of them before they were removed from their line. I can’t find decent photos of the interior, so I had to rely on the Instructions and the “TLAR” method for painting the knobs and switches. There is a ton of wiring in the cockpit, but again, my poor references fail to show where things go. So when in doubt, leave it out.

I provided a pictures of the chassis with the cockpit and engine placed on the chassis. The Chassis needs to be sealed with Semi-gloss clear to protect the decals from handling. I will be using post-it notes to keep the clear off of the metal. Next update will have these items installed along with the front end Radiators, Steering Rack, and suspension.

My biggest disappointment has been the number of injection pins in the kit. They are everywhere and no matter how much I sanded and filled, it looks like I did nothing. Some will not be seen as they will be covered by other sub-assemblies, some will be hidden under the bodywork. Oh well, need to work on this for my next build. 50/50 chance it will be finished for IPMS/USA Nationals.

-Mark