Thanks Lucas!
So, spent another six hour or so doing a bit more, but after the next painting stage, I think I'll give it a rest for a few days, as I need to concentrate on the GB judging, and get some other bits of work done.
Having donned my sunglasses to counter the new, bright format on the forum pages, here's where I'm up to so far.
The second camouflage colour has now been applied. This is the 'equivalent colur' for FAA Extra Dark Sea Grey, where Eastern Aircraft used Olive Drab. I mixed this by using a 25 year old tin of Humbrol 'Authentic Colour' Extra Dark Sea Grey, with some Humbrol Olive Green 150 added, and sprayed it freehand, keeping the pattern tight to allow a fine soft edge.
The paint was applied in a similar manner to the grey, in order to obtain a patchy look, to create the beginings of weathered and faded paint.
PIC 1 shows the model during painting.
The model was then set aside to dry, whilst work continued on the gun turret. I added some extra details from stretched sprue and plastic card, including the gun buffer tube, some wiring and the electrical junction box, a pistol grip to the gunsight/armoured glass screen, and some of the internal braces and controls.
PIC 2 shows the turret before painting , with the items in grey (apart from the .50 cal gun) being the scratch-built additions.
PICS 3 and 4 show the turret after painting, with the side trunnions and transparent dome yet to be fitted. The latter consumed nearly an hour of my time in applying the first coat of paint to the framework! Unlike the original Accurate Miniatures kit, the Italeri issue does not have masks provided for the turret, and the thought of cutting my own to fit the relatively complex shape didn't really appeal! Consequently, the turret frame was painted freehand, and will receive a second coat, in oreder to tidy up any ragged edges or missed areas, always a common occurence with transparent parts.
The turret will be completed and set aside for fitting in the last stages of completing the model.
Once the paint on the model had fully dried, the masking was removed from the window openings, and around those areas where it had acted as a guide, or as a guard against overspray, and I was pleased to see there were no runs or 'spikes', and that the slightly soft edged demarcation between upper and lower colours looked OK. The overall patchy effect was now more apparent, and this will be enhanced a touch later.
PICS 5 and 6 give some idea of the overall effect, with streaking and 'fading' evident, particularly on the tops of the wings and upper fuselage.
PIC 7 is a close up of one area, where the 'faded' effect is more noticeable, and the final pic shows the model overall.
Once again, thanks for your interest and kind comments to date.