The Taigen chassis is VERY durable. Im not sure what it is actually made of, but its not simple folded alloy sheet like most others.
It 'pinned' the grinding disk, and seemed to work harden if allowed to be skimmed rather than ground by the abrasive disk.
I used a thin disk on the dremmel tool to remove the last of the material.
The characteristic nose shape of the front of the JS is now evident.
I can say that the Taigen have made this model in such a way that I can confidently say that it will retain its strength regardless of how much hacking I do to it.
With all of one side guards removed & a quarter of the other, the upper hull has not bowed in any way.
The nose section can be profiled right back to the chassis without opening any gaps where plastic has been removed.
Some minor filling will be required on the rear plate where I got a bit greedy with the guard removal, but it can be easily made to look like the side armour with suitable flame cut marks.
Once all the removing is done I can get on with lots of casting surface and new fuel tank mounts.
Perhaps the excised bits can be collected by the 'tank-fairy'! 
'Surfacer is fantastic stuff. Very expertly applied, HB 
