David, the wings will join at rib 8, that is where the gun doors start, giving good internal access; they fold on the seafires (some of them) at rib 7, but even that is too wide to transport by road (about 11′ 6″) and the fold / join line is 3/4 the way through the wheel well, a very untidy, weak (no bottom boom) and awkward place to join.

I have all of the ribs outboard of 8 made and waiting patiently!

I have the formers for the tail unit (although presently out on loan) and a complete metal skinned elevator; the rear fuselage will have to be made from scratch, since the unnamed person run off with the rear fuselage frames that were sold to me…..to be truthful they weren’t that great frame 19 was quite badly damaged, and the others all suffered from stress cracks around the lightening holes; (to some degree) what comes round goes round, and as Gerry Adams was once reported to have said “we know where you live”

A couple more of wing rib 5 including the obligatory “Here’s one I made earlier”; this is the last wing rib to make, before assembly. A nice touch is the dural bar shaped like an I beam that is inserted down the center of the top rib, that wont be hard to make…..

Replaced the XX series blower with a two stage unit,( about three times heavier than the XX series) had to remove a couple of engine bearer tubes to get it in; gave it (and the wheel case) a coat of etch primer, then a squirt of black, even now there is condensation forming on the metal and the resulting oxidisation over winter would have to be removed. (again) the hydraulic tank has been refurbished for a while, but I have finally made the mounts, and found the drg that shows it’s exact location; time now to populate the firewall with a few trinkets, the oil pot (not strictly mkIX) is from “Gibraltar” presentation Spitfire, and even though the A/C was completely destroyed, it is virtually perfect.( and still smells of castor oil!) The repro crow bar is courtesy of forum member Bentwingbomber.