Hutch if it isn't too much trouble I'd love to hear how you did the metallic paint details.
Not much I can do with the Italeri kit now since I've already decaled her but I'd like to write down your technique if I pick up the Academy or Hasegawa kit sometime in the future.
My advice on the Italeri kit is unless someone gives you one or you can get a really good deal on it either go Academy or wait for the Hasegawa one. Most of the fit is good, and most of the detail is ok but there are some annoying issues with the kit. Italeri molded the upper wings and the rear upper fusilage in one piece to get the blended look right. The forward fusilage/cockpit area is a separate piece that mates in the middle of the aircraft. I suppose they did it this way to fit it into a smaller box. I had a devil of a time getting rid of the seam line since the parts want to flex and crack the putty out of the line. Finally I placed a small bottle inside the plane just to get some firmness. It still was a bear to smooth everything out. The front parts for the intakes seem to be made for an entirely different kit. Either that or I completely screwed up somewhere since I used a pile of putty and sanding to make them fit. There is almost no detail inside the gear and weapon bay and I suspect that maybe the whole thing was still classified and Italeri couldn't get a good look. Or else in the rush to have the first kit out Italeri cut corners here. Still from your review of the Academy offering I'd save myself a lot of sweat and go with it.
PS- sorry I have no idea how to spell 'fusilage', no dictonary handy, and the spell check doesn't seem to want to work....