My final update:
I used Alclad aqua gloss on the entire surface to prep for decals and on they went, after a quick brush for each with Micro Set. I've been very happy with Airfix's decals with their new releases and these were no exception. They're solid without being too thick and snuggled down nicely.
As well as they went down, I still wanted them form-fitting to the surface and panel lines, so I generously brushed on the Micro Sol. This turned out to be my undoing as for some reason, the Micro Sol reacted to the Alclad Aqua Gloss and left stains.
The stains were even more noticeable on the underside where the paint was lighter. I did some reading online and turns out this has happened to others. It also occurs with Future gloss. Apparently, there's a chemical reaction, though I've used Micro Sol over Aqua Gloss before without any ill effects. It wasn't noticeable on the dark green areas, so perhaps I had previously used it on darker colours. It may have also been the combination of the gloss with the Mr. Color Aqueous, but it had dried thoroughly before the gloss went on. The solution was simple, if not a little tedious. I airbrushed the colours over the stains and for the rest of the decals, I dabbed away any excess beyond the decal. So long as the excess beyond the decal was minimal and not fairly large droplets, there were no further adverse reactions.
I moved on to some of the smaller details. I mixed Alclad Exhaust Manifold with Pale Burnt Metal for the exhausts.
Masking complex curves on windscreens is always fun. In the past, I have simply over-masked, rubbed down the edges with a toothpick and then used a new Exacto blade to trim. What I found, though, was that the slightest miss - which would invariably occur - would stick out like a sore thumb to me on the glass. So this time I used very thin strips or cut small patches to do the edges and then filled in. It worked rather well with just a couple of touch-ups with a brush.
I added another gloss coat to seal the decals and added Flory Washes for weathering. I love Flory Washes because they're so easy to work with and so forgiving. Clean up is simple with a damp Q-Tip. I was selective about where I put the washes: I wanted to show a fairly clean plane and I don't go for stark, dark panel lines on my models unless there is a reason. The gun access hatches, maintenance hatches and so forth received washes and dirt spatter and areas that pick up grime were also brushed with wash.
Once the weathering was on to my liking, I used Tamiya -Semi Gloss Clear out of the airbrush for its final coat and then added some aluminum "chipping" along the wing root with a small bit of sponge.
The windscreens went on next, after some dry-fitting and particularly a bit of sanding and scraping on the front screen around the armor area. The small rear view mirror was first painted silver on one side so the mirror part would remain as "glass" and then painted over that with dark green to attempt to create a more realistic reflector.
I painted on the red gun patches, then hit them, the ejector holes on the bottom and the exhausts with Tamiya Smoke. Some touches over that again with the semi gloss took away the glossy sheen the smoke had.
And that pretty much wrapped it up.
This was a great group build. I wasn't rushed but at the same time it moved my progress along to meet the deadline.
Thanks Bish for hosting this great group build! I hope I haven't been too verbose, but I always see posting on FSM to not just show off, but to hopefully pass on some useful information. Thanks again for this opportunity.