I had started this about a year ago, but then injured my right hand doing carpentry work and subsequently had to stop. I still don't have full use of my middle finger but can now hold things reasonably well and steady so decided to return to the kit.
This is also the first kit I have ever built using all the weathering and detailing tricks I have learned since I joined this forum and watch with envy all you customizers/modders. It is also the first using lots of airbrush work and also my FIRST ATTEMPT AT A CAMO PATTERN! Previously, most of my planes had been American bombers so it was all Olive Drab and natural metal so camouflage was not any big deal. My German planes had mostly been done in splinter pattern by hand brushing, so I managed to avoid touching an airbrush all those early years of model building.
Flaws are evident; it is basically a first attempt at many new things, plus my hand is still a bit stiff so smooth brush movements sometimes weren't. I was a bit heavy-handed on the exhaust stains - obviously my pilot had a crap mechanic. Runs here and there. The mask stayed on the canopy much too long and messed up my clarity. But it was good practice (so I don't ruin my German bombers or my Sturmovik) and many steps beyond what I've accomplished before. Plus, it's a 21C kit so its not as nice a foundation as a Hasegawa or Hobby Boss kit obviously. You can't tell from the photos, but I had to hold my airbrush hand steady with my other hand as it started shaking trying to make small movements - need to keep up the hand therapy!
So, without further ado, warts and all, I present Sgt. Ennio Tarantola's Folgore of the 153rd Squadriglia, 51st Stormo:
Do the kits have those annoying screw holes and plugs like the early prebuilts? Would have made even more of a challenge for the great results 
