Hi, I've been getting back into the hobby making aircraft and I'm really excited about a new project making the Eduard Fokker D.VII in 1/48 scale. The problem I'm having is I don't like the patterns of the two options included and getting an aftermarket decal set or additional lozenge here would cost more than the kit so I'm not too keen on that for my first attempt.
Are there any taboos against taking some creative liberties with the livery? I'm not planning on entering any competitions or building it for anything other than fun and developing my skills.
I really like the dragon that Wilhelm Leusch had on his plane but I personally don't like the yellow/blue. Is there any harm in repaining it in the colors of another Jasta or even something fictional? I don't know if that would be considered disrespectful.
I also know Leusch was previously part of Jasta 13 and I expect his plane would have looked like the following but with his dragon. However I haven't found any photo evidence of what it looked like when he was part of that group.
Essentially I'm wondering if there are problems with taking creative liberties with the paint job on a personal model and if this is generally considered bad practise.
Thanks!