One problem with bunkers is precious few images show the detail. I spent ages looking for photos that would show me how far back the bunker sat on the running plate compared to the sides. Rather than being the same depth, the rear plate is quite narrow, a midge's minim larger that the riveted strip.
Please don’t send me pictures now. It’s too late!
The upshot is I needn’t really have trimmed anything from the bunker extension plates. Oh well, it’s done now. It’ll have to be wrong.
With all that said, I succeeded in fitting overlays, albeit without the aid of invisible solder. In this shot, I have resoldered the side overlays. While everything was in bits, I managed to get some 2mm copper wire formed and soldered into the corners. I took the precaution of gently annealing the edges of the overlays, so what happened next might be easier.
Essentially, I set about rolling the sides over the ends with a small ball pein hammer. I then flooded the area with 145° solder. Messy, don’t you think? You know what comes next. Rivet sacrifice.
A rough blast of grey primer allowed me to see how things were progressing. Initially, I tried to preserve rivets where I could, but in the end it became obvious it was all but impossible. Various files were employed to remove the overlaps and attempt to round the corners. There are bits that will need more attention, the right side radius doesn’t quite match the left yet, and that top panel join needs filler. All in all, though I’m quite pleased so far.