Well, with everything else that's been going on in this thread, I guess I'd better post a new update! In no particular order, here's what has happened over the past few days:
a. external firewall sprayed with Krylon Gloss Black, then sprayed with Alclad 2 Duralumin.
b. forward cowling sprayed with Xtracolor Medium Sea Grey, a dead ringer for Battleship Grey.
c. filled and sanded a shallow step on the fuselage underside between the "floor" of the cockpit assembly and the lower fuselage surface.
c. I've been tweaking Xtracolor RFC Green with some light tan and sand to give it a bit more of a brownish tinge. I'll probably spray this new mix on the underside of the fuselage tomorrow to see what it looks like. If it's in the ballpark, I'll apply it to the rest of the fuselage in a couple of days (once the underside dries out).
e. And I've made my first small goof in the build:

See the problem? If not, neither did I. With the lower fin extension in place, I figured I'd fit the upper fin: get 'em both done at the same time, don'tcha see? Three days later I belatedly realized that the horizontal stabilizer had to be fitted
before the upper fin. See the little vertical tab
blocking the slot for the horizontal stab??
That's the problem!!
The solution? Surgically remove the offending tab, eventually fit the horizontal stab, and replace the tab with short length of appropriately-sized styrene strip. Hey, presto! No one but you and I will ever know I goofed!