Gloss varnish
Alclad2 Gloss Kote is a good varnish and that covers the whole model (having left the model to dry overnight before spraying the varnish.).
Time now to leave well alone for at least 24hrs, ideally 48 before applying your decals. The Airfix decals went down really well using just Micro Set and Sol decal softening solutions.
Leave overnight to dry thoroughly and apply a liberal coat of more gloss varnish to seal your decals in – leave well alone for another 24hrs.
VIDEO DEMO
Panel line wash
I used AMMO’s Blue Black PLW and it stands out just enough for me, no darker. I just thinned the PLW with oil thinners cleaning up any small excess with a lightly dampened cotton bud.
Now add a coat of Alclad2 Flat Kote.
Add the undercarriage units
These fit well but I do hate the fact that the tyres can only attach to the leg/hub in one position. I guess Airfix does this to ‘help’ you line everything up so that the moulded tyre flats sit flat on the base. BUT, the gear legs aren’t so well engineered that they can only fit precisely in their locating holes and both legs needed fiddling and fettling to get everything to look right.
A little more weathering
I used some Alclad2 Pale Burnt Metal sprayed sparingly around some of the underside, especially around the rear and it creates a nice used metallic look.
Small amounts of dark grey pastel dust is applied around the rear-centre fuselage as this area often looks notably darker than the area aft of the twin panel lines you can see just aft of the rear main wing roots. Some ordinary pencil graphite is also very sparingly added along some of the panel lines to just make them pop out and I think, although subtle, this make the finished look for me.