I’ve got a quick update this morning showing off the reactor detailing progress. Not the best picture, but I think it conveys the gist of it. I ended up going for a pair or fans with cylindrical cowlings and am pretty pleased with how they’ve turned out. The fans themselves a Kotobukiya Modelling Support Goods option parts (ordered from Japan – I don’t know any local retailers that stock them). I also added some lifting attachment points on brackets on the rear corners of the reactor. I’ve added similar points on the front of the shoulder discs on the torso (that I didn’t realise I hadn’t taken a picture of yet).
The lifting points have a hole in them that goes all the way through, but I have a thin disc of styrene edged in the middle so that they cast easily (this then has to be drilled out during assembly of the kit, although it’s thin enough that it could just be broken out using a sharp point).
So with the reactor detailing almost done the torso is extremely close to finished. I just need to do the hinge for the hatch and finish off the neck. The interior still requires a lot of work, but that won’t stop me from hitting the exterior with some primer and even putting some of the exterior parts into silicone. Hopefully I’ll make a start on the cannons next week…