Creating A Realistic Looking F4U

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It's been a while since I showed any of my repaint/weathering projects so I thought I'd share pictures of my latest---a partial redo of Hobby Master's 1:48th scale diecast rendition of Ira Kepford's F4U, "White 29". In this case, I took HM's pristine model and, using a dry brushing method, I applied a slightly lighter shade of the topside colors over portions of the model to simulate the wear caused by flying low over the salty ocean. That done, I added stains and highlights for the panel lines, plus some smudges. Finally, I used a sharp pointed brush and aluminum paint to create the appearance of chipping, using pictures of the actual plane as a guide, but not down to the very last chip. I also painted the landing gear bays and doors Zinc Chromate rather than leaving them white, as HM had done. Here are some pictures. First, the factory fresh F4U in its original form:

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This is the famous picture of Kepford flying his F4U:

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Now, some pictures of my modified model:

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A different angle:

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A topside view:

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And the underside: