I have replaced the leading edge plywood that comes with the kit with a plywood veneer which I obtained from the dollar store.It is very pliable and bends easily with the grain.I soaked it in hot water and bent it around a dowel then let it dry.
The kit supplied plywood is just too stiff to work with and does not finish very well, any sanding of the top layer exposes a darker layer underneath which results in dark blotches.
Major Blunder ...I screwed up ! the leading edge is in the wrong place ,but I won't be changing it anytime soon.Luckily for me it will not be that obvious, as the wings are in the inverted position when shown in the composition.I think what happened was that because of the lack of leading edge nose pieces in the kit,I became confused as to where to place the wing rib caps.Must be gettin' old !
This is the correct way as shown in the pic.
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Here is an idea that I have been fooling around with,making a 2D picture look like a boxed diorama.Usually boxed dioramas have a large frame,a matte border and an inner reveal to give you a 3D look.In this case the subject matter is too large and too close to the frame, so I will try a longer shot to see what it gives.The small white line around the perimeter should also be edited out.
Here is Shep Paine standing in front of a few of his boxed dioramas.Note the frame,matte and reveal,this is how you would see it in person.I find that something is lost when just concentrating on the image alone, which is what is done in 99% of the pics that I have seen over the years.I think that this is a mistake in presentation and the images should be seen as they were originally intended to be, frame and all.