Decal time! after some fading and shading with some white added to the base colors and a few other grays and blacks panels were picked out and faded a bit more. I masked and painted the red intake stripe as the decal was not cooperating and found it easier.
Kitty Hawks decals were used. I found that a nice coat of Mr. color super clear gloss achieved a glossy enough surface. After the decals were applied, I went around and poked holes in the flat decal film as the decal is flat as well as the carrier film. As I did not want any silvering. I then went over the decals with more Mr. Color Super Gloss to seal them in. This worked as I got zero silvering with the kit decals, even on the red warning areas on the flaps.
12 attached images. Click to enlarge.