Thanks, Eric @eb801. I like the way the Tamiya clear deepens the flat red and OD, which can get a bit chalky when sprayed. Apart from that, I know I made the correct choices. Luckily I found quite a few pics of period FAA A-4Bs on the Internet to compare. It's good to be able to use colors right out of the bottle in this case, especially when having to do touch-ups along the way. The clear coat is on now, so I hope to get to the oil wash tomorrow, when that coat is cured. Can't rush such things.

Fantastic weathering, my friend @coling! Thanks for the how-to details and the buffing "tip" with the rubber end.
Looking forward to your next steps of this utterly interesting an enjoyable build thread!

The weathering looks excellent, Colin @coling
Your tips are well appreciated and definitely something that I'm going to try.

Great progress Colin! @coling

Thanks, David. Great to have you following this build. I should get a lot more done on the weekend.

Thanks, Tom. I have actually brightened the images about 30% in most cases. I also use very bright "daylight" tone diva light designed for webcasts. Some ambient sun light helps, but it has been a cloudy and snowy (!) April in Ontario. The main issue at this high gloss stage is the way little is visible until the matt coat goes down, then the detail leaps out. I will keep experimenting with lighting and brightening as it is actually very useful to me to detect flaws in the finish, so hang in there. I think you will get to see fuller detail soon as this "comes to light." 🙂

Fantastic progress, my friend @Coling! A lot of quality jobs done! The Skyhawk looks superb! Love the final finish.

She gets together real nice, Colin @coling
Just a few steps away from a great finish.

Thanks, Spiros@fiveten, Tom@tcinla and John@johnb.

I have this almost done now but have run into a bit of hesitation about the load out. I have an excellent close up wartime pic of how the 1000 lb bomb was slung under the A-4B/Q (at least in some cases).

It is the main reason why I bought a good resin version of the TER (Triple Ejector Rack), as well as a resin 1000 pounder. I figured that the quality and detail of these elements would help me in getting things lined up properly. That worked out pretty well, I think. It was easy to see how the connections on top of the Reskit bomb lined up with the attachments on the Eduard TER. The doubts crept in with the bomb slung under the model. The TER extends down pretty far below the main rack and the bomb is huge. There is still a fair bit of ground clearance but it is pretty low down. Some other pics of a-4 loadouts seem to show the bomb mounted without the TER on some aircraft, higher up. Even so, the previous photo seems to back up the TER mount idea with minimal ground clearance. What do you guys think? Should I go for it or snap it all off and try to mount it without the TER? I have to make this decision before I add the last delicate bits, like canopy, speed brakes cannon and tail antenna. I also want to leave the starboard slat off until the end. It has broken off some many times already that it should go on last. Comments welcome!