But let's start from the beginning. An inspection of the sprues reveals that MPM:s version of Whimpy is indeed a pretty basic affair. As already said, number of parts is limited and interior detail is very sparse indeed - think Airfix and not Tamiya. However, the casting is top notch, there is pretty much no flash to be removed. On the other hand a number of sink marks needs dealing with, some of them in very inconvenient places (for example inbetween the aluminum ribbing on the inner side of the fuselage). However, the major challenge in the preparatory phase of the project consists of the fact that MPM didn't bother with making holes for the romboid windows in fuselage sides. I'm pretty sure there is a good reason for it, but I didn't appreciate having to this task on my own, mainly due to the fact that certain precision is required so that the window frames fit properly. Needless to say, I messed up with this task, the jury is still out on how badly. In any case, this job in itself moves this kit to 'intermidiate skill level' in my opinion.
'Must be done before moving on'-challenges don't end there. Wellington's fuselage has several transparent windows, two of which stretch pretty much through enitire middle section. Those windows need to be fitted in place before you can close the fuselage. The fit is 'so so', but with a bit of dry fitting and delicate work with sanding sticks, it can be done without much fuss. Masking of transparent parts is perhaps a bit more challenging task. Here I believe I found the optimal solution - I masked both sides of window frames before installing them in the fuselage.
Interior of MPM:s Wimpy is rudimentary. Pretty basic cockpit and instrument panel with decent detail but no decals, The geodetic aluminium ribbing that is the characteristic feature of Wellington is sculpted directly on fuselage flanks.
MPM:s preferred paint manufacturer is apparently Gunze Sangyo and all color references refer to paint codes of that company. Since I don't use Gunze Sangyo, I had to shoot from the hip and used approximations based on what I already had home. And so MPM:s recommendation for cockpit interior ("Grey Green") became Vallejo Model Color 979 (German Cammo Dark Green). I know, probably completely wrong shade of green, but to be honest, since cockpit interior will look black' anyway, I am not very concerned by that fact. Canvas walls of the fuselage in Wellingtons were painted with special primer paint which apparently was of the color of red brick. Here, I went with Tamiya's Flat Brown lightened up with couple of drops of White. It came out probably a bit to dark, but yet again, the interior will be very dark, so I'm not very concerned. And yes, for the same reasons, I've decided not to bother with painting the aluminium ribbings on the sides of the fuselage - it would take hours to do it properly and the effort would in the end be pretty much invisible. So why bother?
Another construction step that needs to be completed before fuselage can be closed is putting together of the forward and aft turrets. This is perhaps the most patience-testing task when it comes to this kit. Instruction manual is extremly unhelpful regarding construction of gun decks themselves. Make sure you place guns in correct position on the mounts! Also, turret cannopies must be some of the most frustrating assembles I've ever encountered - four, small, fiddly transparent sections need to be put together pretty much perfectly. As can be seen in the picture below, one of my 'finished' cannopies was less than perfectly alligned even after all of my efforts (now corrected).
And here we are - the interior is pretty much done. I still have to paint the gun turrets and once this is done, I can close the fuselage and move on to the assembly of the airplane itself.
Fuselage interior. The romb-shaped openings for rear windows
have to be cut out manually.
Cockpit interior painted with Vallejo Color 979. To give a bit of depth I painted Vallejo Black wash, followed by a highlight of a mix of base color and white. The wash left a very unattractive shiny spots, I hope I'll be able to fix it with a coat of flat acrylic varnish.
Front office.
Turret cannopies. The one to the right isn't alligned properly, it has now been corrected.
