Yes, they are badly over-engineered but that's hardly an excuse for you since you're well past that part of the project 🙂 !
Come on David, we can do this together!
Yes, sparrows from the weapons set (one of Hasegawa's earlier ones, the later ones are more refined) tend to look a bit "meh". But take a deep breath, add some coloured bands, the tan nose cap and some shadows and I think you'll be a lot happier!
I couldn't find a better close-up than this of an old Tomcat-project of mine but these are exactly the same "meh" weapons just painted up with some TLC and I think they look quite the part!
Regards
Magnus