Ink, if I may make a constructive observation which pertains to the underside of the aircraft. In the fourth picture of Reply #131 I very much get the impression that the belly is not coated in mud but rather is rusty (as others have observed), which in the colloquial understanding of term, implies the presence of ferrous materials which were not present in the surface panelling of the Hayate. To me it looks like a very astute observation of a rusty car, say, has been depicted (rather well I have to say) as a texture.
However, the skin of the aircraft was made from Duralumin, oxidization of which would announce as a light metallic grey colour rather than the red-brown appearance currently depicted. Furthermore, Duralamin is and was typically coated to prevent oxidization, therefore the surface-wide effect would likely not be present.
I hate to throw a spanner in the works at this stage but to me honesty the belly looks rusty and this detracts from the realism. Would it be possible to alter the colour or in some other way to be more representative of mud, environmental dirt etc? Perhaps you could find some modern colour photos which would show some of the colours of the earth on the Japanese airbases? Where was this squadron based?
Regarding the screenshots of the bare metal texture, perhaps it's useful to know what some of those features are. The two oval shaped black areas you have adjacent to the anti-glare strip are the cowl gun gas ejection ports and these would have a sharp edge as indicated in Busa's skin and the line up photograph you posted. The rear one of these would likely be a good candidtate for some weathering as propellent residue and hot gas would emerge from here.
Also the access panel on the left side of the fusalage had straight edges and radiused corners rather than the Space Invader you have at the moment. There is a very good picture of this on page 26 of the 'Aero Detail 24 Nakajima Ki-84 Frank' book you have.
I think you're doing great and original work which is a refreshing change from what we have now, my suggestions are merely not to overlook some technical issues which would detract from your artistic efforts.
Keep up the good work
