Due to the design of the kit the side skirts need to be added before painting as the front fenders need to look like one piece. You have two options here, the first option is to leave the drive sprockets and front idlers on the hull as with the side skirts fixed you won't be able to remove them for painting. The second option is to just cut 1.5mm off the front axles and you'll be able to add the idlers afterward although the sprockets will still need leaving in place unless the example you are modelling has sections of the side skirts missing at the rear (which is the case for my model luckily).
The other problem is that the drive sprockets stick out just enough (which may be due to the fact I used replacement exhausts) to stop the skirts fitting properly at the rear.To counter this I removed some material from inside the sprocket and the mount for it on the hull;
The side skirts were fixed into place and left to set but the day after I noticed from the reference pictures on Prime Portal that there are a set of four catches either side and these were in a variety of positions rather than just horizontally as moulded on the kit parts;
If I had spotted this earlier it would have been easier to replace them before I glued the skirts on, anyway I removed them and cleaned up the areas. New ones were made from styrene strip with the ends rounded off and a small piece of rod glued near to one end then fixed to the skirts;
Looking much better! I separated the front right fender to add some damage but had to glue it again as the joint between that and the side skirt failed so at the time of writing it is taped up and being left to set.
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