Thanks, John. I had a couple of issues with the red I used. It's a pretty old jar of Tamiya Flat Red. It's just the right color but the old paint was slightly lumpy. I had to do some careful sanding/polishing on the port hino after painting to get rid of the uneven surface. The second issue was that it clogged my Iwata Eclipse. When I switched to the Iwata Custom Micro with thinner paint, both these problems vanished. Lesson learned. I will use the Custom Micro for all the rest of the stencil work.

Upper wing hinos done, stencils off and results good. The pics show how much more glossy the XF-70 was then the XF-11 I used for the main color (even though it is clear-coated already). It also contrasts with the chalky shade of the Flat Red. All this is fine. There was a tiny bit of paint build up at the edge from the green surround. I will polish this out later when it is fully cured.

Next up will be fuselage hinos and tail number stencils. Oil wash weathering will follow and attaching the gear, exhaust stacks and torpedo. BTW, I stuck on the prop (but not all the way), on which I have already painted on the tip warning stripes in yellow. I find it motivating to give myself hints along the way to see better how a build will turn out. The torpedoes for the Grace and the Kate are all ready for a metal coat. It was a lot trickier to sand and polish them after assembly than I thought it would be. So easy to distort the shape of the tip when sanding away a seam. All good now though.

Thanks, Spiros. It has been fun building this one. On with the stencils!

Thanks, John. Here is the stencil process, now finished.

Results are good so on to the fuselage hinos.

Looking superb, my friend @coling!

Thanks, Tom. First time doing the code stencils. I am surprised how well they turned out. Montex has great masking material for markings (less so for clear parts).

Thanks, John. Not actually that much more work and time than decals. Just the care needed to avoid overspray but no worries about silvering!