I completed the forward weapons pods:
I also attached the skids to the struts. The rear skid/strut was modified heavily. Here you can see I used styrene tubing to create a more realistic piston look:
...and I added some thead to create some hydraulic lines:
The rear pod arms supplied with the kit come with wedges to be glued on the end of the arm where it attaches to the fuselage. When attached it would be at this angle:
...but I filed down the "wedges" so that the arms weren't so steep, like the movie version:
Well, I've given it a third coat of OD and I've removed the masking. I figure I can do minor touch-ups without screwing of the overall finish:
I also decided to paint the ramp in case I ever get the 1/72 APC:
This is where I'm at now. I just touched up some various little mistakes in the red and white lines and gave it a coat of Future in preparation for decals and to protect the finish. I still have to paint the skids and struts, mount the forward pods, attach the thrust nozzles, and weather and wash it. Hopefully it'll be done in the next week or two.