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As a kid I just enjoyed building them, usually didn't paint them but loved putting together big complicated kits. These days I'm the other way around, building often seems a chore as it's mostly taken up filling gaps, but painting is fun.Welcome and glad to have ya! I made a similar return to the hobby a few years back and have found that I'm much more patient than I used to be and that really helps with modeling. You're off to a great start and the interior of the Zero looks great, including the belts. This is the newer release A6M5 from Tamiya I assume?
I haven't tried photoetch seatbelts yet, my next 2 kits on my bench are a 1/32 MkIX Spitfire and a 1/32 Hawker Tempest. The Tempest came with fabric belts included, the Spitfire comes with photoetch but I have a set of fabric belts as well which I'll probably use.I still remember the kits that I built as a kid back in the 70's. I also did not bother to paint them but just glued them together and displayed them around my room. I would hang some of the airplanes from my ceiling using fishing line. There were lots of hobby shops around back then... heck, even the department stores and drug stores had good selections of kits and paints.
I really like the way the fabric harnesses drape naturally on the seats but have only used them on one occasion for a 1/32 Bf109G-10 build. At that scale, I didn't run into any issues with fragility (they were from Radu's RB Productions and not HGW). For 1/48 scale, I prefer resin seats with harnesses molded in but will usually settle for photoetched belts that Eduard makes.
Looking forward to more of your work.
I will admit I'm not entirely sure what a group build isNice work and welcome. You might consider joining a group build.