Wow! That's looking great! The author of the original print lives in the U.K.
From what I gather he's quite advanced in age and doesn't use a computer- so all correspondence is done by handwritten mail- which creates a time delay in trying to get questions answered and whatnot. In his last letter he assures me the aircraft skin is actual and since he is a recognized authority on the subject of axis aircraft I have no reason to doubt him. He said stated the Japanese, knowing the aircraft was valuable, would not sacrifice it for kamikaze missions. As such, the 58th Shimbu-Tai were assigned kamikaze escort mission and painted their planes with the skull and crossbones you see in the print. He also said that the leading edge on the wings were an orange color (one the Japanese used as a standard color I guess on many aircraft), and that the bottom was a gray and crept up a bit on the fuselage. I'm hoping to get more info soon.
Thanks so much for doing this RogerDee. I'm super stoked. Once it's completed, how long does it take for HTC to approve it AND get it introduced into the game?