Krusty,
Thanks very much! I'm playing with the transparency on the effects and I have not quite got it right. I need to go way overboard and then vary it at save. It seems that the effects show much fainter in AHII than in PS6.
I also have not added scuffing.
I've looked at every picture I have for wear and it is rare on Russian aircraft. A very few show many chips or wear. The wooden wings wore easily and they had a mat they put on the wing before climbing up to prevent it. Maybe they just got shot down very quickly, before they showed wear.
The paint shows some variations, but not like American or British. One of the books had a note that the Russian groundcrews took great pride in having a clean airplane and did not let them get very worn or dirty, and kept the paint up, which seems difficult in the field. You almost never see patchy paint, for instance, like on American birds, where the new OD is a much different color. Complete field repainting was also common.
I'm expecting some problem from HiTech with the lack of panel lines on the wings. In fact, there aren't any, and there are none on the aft fuselage, either. The airplane is covered in a wood laminate, filled and sanded smooth. No joints show. At least I've got the correct fuel gauges...
I need to "wear-it-up" somehow... I've also got a bunch more screws to add to the wings and underside...
I'll have another draft in a week or so.
Thanks for the feedback!