The early in-progress photo shows that the kit barrel was discarded and a new one was turned from aluminum rod.
Hatch details are a mix of Aber and scratch built parts.
Wow, very nice!
I like the painting, at first I was fooled into believing that they were reference pics of some museum-held Tiger but then I remembered that museums keep their stuff clean(er than this one).
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There is no kill like overkill.