Aaron, I can get a couple of brands of enamel matt varnishes, but I stopped using them, as they tend to yellow with age, whereas acrylic varnish or, as I had been using, Future mixed with Tamiya Flat Base, doesn't yellow.
I changed from enamel varnish to Xtracrylic about 20 years ago, because of this, and now I remember I couldn't get a full matt finish then either!
Anyway, I thinned some Tamiya Flat Clear with Isopropyl alcohol, and re-sprayed the model - and it's still satin !
And again, I had to spend a lot of time clearing, and then cleaning, the airbrush, to the point of a complete strip-down, although, being alcohol thinned, the problem wasn't as bad as the water-thinned Xtracrylic.
I'm going to leave it as it is, as some of the decal carrier film is starting to show, and if any more clear coat is applied, the model will look even worse. For the next model, I'll experiment with Tamiya Flat Base mixed with either of the two acrylic varnishes I have, and see if it'll do what the Future/FB mix used to do, before it went t*ts up.
But, I've made a little progress in other areas, with the gun sight finished, the sight mount bracing bars made and fitted, and the armour glass screen in place.
The landing gear legs have also been enhanced, and the gear doors painted on the internal faces.
PIC 1. The gear legs were cleaned up and mould seam marks removed, the torque links and towing eyes drilled out, and the telescope actuating rods and brake lines made and fitted. Not a great pic I'm afraid, as I was tired after five more hours b*gg*ring about, and they are yet to be cleaned and then painted.
PICS 2 and 3. The completed scratch-built gun sight and the kit armoured glass screen in place, along with the gun sight mount steady brackets. Again, some touch-up and cleaning will be done once everything has fully set.
PIC 4. How the model looks to date, with the sheen of the so-called matt clear very evident.
Thanks again for all your kind comments and ongoing interest, and I hope to post some more progress pic soon - if I don't throw a wobbly, the way things are going!