Sand the surface smooth with 180 or 220-grit paper. Make a small sanding block by gluing sandpaper to a piece of balsa or plastic. Dechroming a model is easy: Warren sanded off the emblems.

After a long chat, I arranged to build a B-17 model for them,” Coulson explained. Coulson has been periodically posting photographs of the work in progress on the 381st Facebook page.

I’d long been Gunpla (a portmanteau of “Gundam plastic model”) curious: I was a fan of many of the anime and manga on which the models are based. I love building Lego sets.

The surprising part is how model customizing and detailing relates so directly to the building of real cars. You learn that you have to cut, file, and fiddle with parts to make them fit perfectly.