Thanks everyone. I really like this kit, but hit a slow patch today. The vertical stabilizer/rudder, and the horizontal stabilizers are all separate. You usually have the vertical stabilizer as part of the fuselage casting, so it is a lot easier to get the horizontal surfaces correct. Getting the vertical and horizontals lined up has been interesting. The fuselage is on the workbench allowing the glue to set completely. Sadly the vertical surface required some putty to smooth it into the fuselage, making for an awkward filling and sanding location.

Chuck @uscusn: AK Real Colors (RC306) IJN Mitsubishi Interior Green. This is the color called for in the kit instructions. Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green is a close match. I love using AK Real Colors, which are very similar to Tamiya paints. I have used Tamiya Lacquer Thinner with the Real Colors, and it works fine. Real Colors has several interior colors specifically for Japanese aircraft, in addition to a bunch of exterior colors for Japanese aircraft. Sometimes their color names aren't very descriptive, such as Dark Green 1 and Dark Green 2, or they use the actual name, such as Midori Iro. My resources have gotten a workout figuring out which colors I need.

I tell ya I'm not seeing a lot of chipping/peeling on this. Unless the pic shows it better in person. I am seeing a lot of sun fading/bleaching. And oil stains. I don't know if this machine has been sitting in a boneyard, postwar, or an operational plane. If I was reproducing this one I would build in some uppersurface fading, and vary the colors.
With a twin tail, this would look like a Junior Dornier 17.

Thanks Bill @billkoppos and Paul @yellow10. You are right about the photo, looks like just fading on this plane. Poor choice of photos to illustrate the weathering on my part. The photo I chose is of the particular version that I am modeling. The painted symbol on the rear of the fuselage that looks like a backward "C" identifies this as a radar equipped plane. Other planes contained only magnetic detection equipment.

Here are a couple more photos that more clearly show the chipping I am trying to replicate.

Something interesting to notice in both photos is that the flaps are hanging almost straight down. I suspect they could hang at this extreme angle because they would also be used as dive brakes.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

You could well have a point about the primer George - there seem to be two colours there - the darker of the colours seem to be fringed With a lighter shade. In some ways it probably depends on which part of the war or at least when (and where) the plane was produced? Earlier built aircraft were painted more effectively and would have used (by memory) red oxide primer. I have read elsewhere that the accurate way to depict those planes was airframe aluminium, under red oxide, under camo colour. That said this is a can of worms.

However you do it, two things spring to mind:

1. We sometimes choose not build things as they looked because it would make a really messy model - but this one looks great definitely one to go for the big weathering on!

2. This research part is always as much fun as the build itself!

Can’t wait to see the approach you choose, George. Brilliant choice of subject!

Thanks, Paul @yellow10. Today is research day to see if I can come up with a plan for the weathering. Appreciate the suggestions.

Hi George! What a great piece of information.
I loved your research and the concluding remarks for application to your Lorna. For me, this is one of the magic aspects of our hobby.
Thanks for sharing.
Your Lorna will look terrific!

Well, we had no plans for Saturday, and I managed to get in 5 painting sessions, or was it 6? Who knows? Time's fun when you are having flies. Isn't it cool that acrylics dry so quickly that 5 or 6 sessions are even possible in a day? Anyway, the paint is basically done on the Lorna. I'm not completely sure my painting path makes any sense, mainly because there are some techniques that I was itching to try and I'm hoping it doesn't make the Lorna look like a hodge podge. I wanted to try some AK Chipping Fluid and I also wanted to try some sun fading on the upper surfaces. After researching the markings, I also decided I would need to paint some of the markings rather than use the kit decals. So, here goes the play by play:

I started by cleaning the model with some alcohol. My last model had some problems with paint peeling under some masking tape, so I hoped to prevent another problem. For the bottom of the plane, I decided I would use the chipping fluid to simulate a plane that occasionally flew from some unimproved airstrips. My research found that these planes flew from Japan, Taiwan, and China, so I can't imagine all of the Chinese strips being concrete. My research had shown the likelihood that the primer under the surface color was possibly black, which seemed to match with some of the WW2 photos I had. I sprayed black primer from a can over the bottom surfaces. After the black dried, I brush painted the chipping fluid straight from the bottle onto some selected surfaces.

After everything dried, I pre-shaded the bottom using some Tamiya light gray. Following the pre-shade, I began adding light, well-diluated coats of AK IJN Gray. I built the gray up slowly until I had a subtle pre-shaded surface.

After the gray dried, I cut some wavy masks to mark the edge between the gray and the green on the upper surfaces. I let the gray dry for about 30 minutes and then started working with the chipping. I had never tried chipping fluid before, but it works great. The first step is to wet the areas to be chipped with water. I got the process started by gently delinating the areas to be chipped with a wooden toothpick. After that, I used a stiff paint brush and water to chip the paint. It was a lot of fun and I really like how it looks, even if there is a lot more chipping than might be appropriate in 1/72. With a little more planning I could have made much more scale chipping. A word of warning here. After you have finished this effect, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to use a layer of clear to seal this effect. If you don't and later use some masking tape over the same area, it will pull up more paint. Ask me how I know.

For the upper surfaces, I used Tamiya XF-11 IJN Green with a bunch of white added to create a faded appearance. After this first coat was on the plane, I started adding lighter and dark IJN Green in a hopefully subtle pattern. So far, so good.

After my research, I knew that I would need to add some markings that either weren't provided in the decals or were inaccurate in the decals. I needed to add some white wing walk areas on the left wing root, the center of the right wing, and just aft of the canopy. The tail would need a red diagonal stripe with yellow edges. And finally, I wanted to add the 60 degree stripes on the wings. These yellow lines were an aid for formation flying. They are included as decals, but I figured if I already had the yellow paint out anyway I might as well do the stripes, too. I am hoping that painting these markings will allow me add to the weathered look of the plane. I usually have pretty good luck with masking, but I figured these markings would really test my luck.

Well, so far, so good. I am also trying to make some changes to the decals. I wasn't looking forward to masking and painting the yellow leading edges of the wings. I thought the yellow edges up against the fuselage and engines would be hard to mask, so I wanted an alternative. I took the kit decals and faded portions of them using yellow paint. I think they will apply just like a regular decal when the time comes. In addition, there is a Japanese character on the tail that is depicted as a yellow decal. It should be red for this version of the plane. I plan to paint the yellow decal using red paint, and then apply it normally. I think it will work.

Well, it's time to go watch some Netflix and unwind. Clear coat tomorrow, followed by decals. Yeah!

it will pull up more paint. Ask me how I know[{quote]

• I think I better not. . .

But WOW @gblair - that is a very well performed weathering for a first time using chipping fluid.