Coming along nicely, Walt!
Honestly, the decals final look is great, despite the issues they gave you.
Funny thing the inconsisting wrinkles, as well as the fact that there were no horizontal stabilizer markings...
Your B-17 looks Amazing! Looking forward to it!

That is some seriously big decals Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman). All in all you did well as far as can be seen from the pictures.

Well after taking a break to work on my Bf-110, I got back to the Swoose today. Spent a little time starting the weathering. I started with the exhaust staining. I will go back and add a little OD to some of the upper surfaces in the stained areas but this is a decent start. After some touch up I will clear it again and then begin the washes. I think I stained it more than the real aircraft but based on the black and white pictures, I am darker over all and with less contrast between the different OD used in various locations on the aircraft. Things like that sometimes happen when art tries to imitate life.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

I agree with Erik, Walt. Even if you leave the staining "as is", it looks great!

She will definitely look fantastic at the end, Walt.
Looking forward to that.

I have spent two sessions doing washes on the aircraft. I can't say that my photographs really show the improvement, but it does make a difference. The wash filters the base colors and flows into the panel lines. After about six hours of work, I am pretty happy with it. I still have work do to on the "stars and bars" they need to be weathered more and toned down to match the rest of the finish.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Yes they really do.

What you mean the photographs don’t show the difference? You bet they do! It’s a very realistic weathering in my humble opinion. And besides the Stars ‘n Bars weathering perhaps some fine (and I do mean extra-fine) chipping showing the primer or some aluminum beneath? I’m sure there are several images in the web showing that wear ‘n tear of the Fortress. Hope you don’t mind, but your paint and patina is so good that it would just be the icing on the cake