Airframes--Thanks again. Yes, the gear will be .... interesting, to say the least. I'm not too sure how far I'll go on getting them 100% right. But I will shorten the struts so she doesn't sit on tippy toes. Thanks for the heads up. I was going to go for a OOB build but too many little things bugged me to leave well enough alone. On examining the kit further I have found that the main gear bays are just blank spaces. Quite a challenge and just a touch intimidating to put all the details that go in there.
Wurger--Hmmm, interesting idea about the makeup sponges. I gotta try that! I hadn't even considered using make up as a modeling material. Pastels yes, but not make up. Thanks, you've put my little grey cells to work. Best kind of feedback!
Crimea_River--Thank you, glad you like it.
seiseki--Happy you like my progress. I'm not sure if I was going impressionist but I do tend towards the hyper-saturated look. I have more success with the high contrast color modulated painting style. I really wish I could get my head around the dead scale color technique because it looks awesome when it's done well. I just can't manage to get it to look anything other than drab, dull and boring. Gotta keep trying though. I'm going to muck about with those sponges Wurger was mentioning. Working on being a bit more subtle.
A little progress on the build.
Radio rack out of the paint shop;
Drop tanks assembled and working on the pylons. Trying to get the fuselage to fit together and scatching up a new radiator. Basically having fun!
Thanks again for looking in.
Dan