Hey, guys:
Well, despite this kit's and life's best intentions, I finished.
Thanks for hosting a great group, Bish, you are a gentleman and a scholar. :-) I haven't built a Star Wars model since I was about eight or nine (a loooooong time ago) when my dad "helped" me put together the MPC X-Wing, so it was awesome to bring this full circle.
I didn't really have a plan going in, but ended up with well-worn ship (much like the Y-Wing build). In my mind, this T-65 saw tons of combat against the Empire, both space and planetary, and this is how she ended up after Death Star II was blown up (before the T-70s made her obsolete)--lots of hasty field repairs, patch jobs, paint touch-ups, etc to keep her operational.
Anyway, sorry to prolong this GB, and appreciate everyone indulging my sloooow building pace and letting me continue well past the deadline. I hope to join the next SW GB at the end of the year. I have a FM TIE in the stash, or maybe there will be some new kits from Bandai et al. that I'll want.
Cheers and thanks for looking!
PB