Okay here's where we are at after a busy weekends work (many hours of which were spent searching and then attempting to fit teeny brass bits onto the gun)
First up a test wing since I wanted to make sure everything was compatable paint-wise. Tamiya fine grey U/c followed by Vallejo acrylics brushed on. Then a coat of Klear and a test decal and finally a coat of Rowney matt acrylic varnish. Everything applied with a brush. Results can be seen on the left hand wing panel (Incidentally this was from an old kit that I'd got stashed at the back of the loft. Revell DVII I think. Tried selling it a couple of times at shows in the bargain bin, but no luck - now proving very useful)
Only thing I wasn't happy with initially was the silver which was a bit 'sparkly' for my taste so I bought some Vallejo air silver paint which was much finer. A happy time mixing up a suitable 'silver dope' shade (You know how it goes first it's too silver, then too grey then too dark)
Eventually settled on one's on the right wing tip and mixed a batch up ready for the model.
Mounted the major components onto cocktail sticks after filling and sanding and sprayed them with undercoat from a rattle can and then some extra sanding on the bits I'd missed and another coat saw them ready to be painted. before that I need to drill some holes for the rigging though and when I recieved the micro drills I nearly wet myself so I'm going with the smallest drill bit I can happily manage (.3mm?)
I also wedged the engine into the modified cowl (very tight fit) and finished this off with a bit of scubbing and a few washes.
That's all for the moment. Waiting for the fishing line to appear, but in the meantime it's on with the painting
Cheers
Paul