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It's a beautiful day here in NW Ohio. The temperature has climbed above 70f for the first time here this year, and I have the man cave windows open so there's no problems with stinky adhesive fumes - except the Aerial Flyer has progressed beyond that stage for now. After a good session working in the garden, at least I can enjoy the cool breeze as I put in some work on the Flyer.

The distinctive gun sponsons are now attached and the sides of the hull plated. Now it's on to a riveting performance...

There are some who prefer to cut individual rivets from plastic rod, applying them one at a time to their model. The effect can be spectacular - see Colonel O'Truth's page for an amazing model in progress.

Not having that kind of superhuman patience, I prefer a shorter, easier method...

I did the entire underside of the Flyer in less than ten minutes using a brand of acrylic paint called 'Scribbles 3D paint' (also known as 'Puffy' paint, I believe). It's available in most craft stores and gives a nice raised surface that sets as-is. The bottle has a fine nozzle for an applicator, giving precision in applying blobs of paint wherever a rivet should go. A bottle lasts for ages. I bought the iridescent Golden Brown (which looks bronze to my eyes) over three years ago and there's still plenty left.

The paint doesn't take long to dry so I've left it to do so before I rivet the sides of the hull - otherwise (being me) I'll inevitably put my fingers on the wet paint in a fit of absent-mindedness and smear it.

This next move will pretty much finish the construction of the underside. The next stage will see the beginning of the top deck. More plastic card; more stinky glue. I just hope the weather holds up...