Way too late for a build thread, this was actually part of a Hornet group build on (shhhh) another forum.
I don’t do a lot of jets, and this is my first Navy subject since returning to the hobby a bit over 2 years ago. Stock out of the box except for detail stickers for the interior. Looking for any criticism for stuff I can still fix, I’m old and have thick skin 
Here’s some shots I just took…
Very impressive.
Great job Ed Bert !
1/48th ?
Very nice, good job!
Playing with the photo to make it clearer, not sure if this represents better your model:
Looks very nice .
Realy nice result!
And I think that lightened picture does look better 
Great job!
I’ve also cleaned off my sensor, the DSLR was in storage for many years. Will try to get better shots soon.
Yessir, from Meng.
I looked at a lot of pictures, and bought the “Detail In Scale” book too.
It seems to me that the ones with low-vis markings were generally dirtier than the colorful ones. I’m guessing they got washed periodically when stateside or doing airshow duty.
My thoughts are that this is a two tone paint scheme.
My evidence is the area between the flaps and elevators. The area where it says NAVY has a bluer tint and what looka like a pattern. The flaps and ailerons match this color. I will call this the topside color. Notice the twin rudders. the right one tilts away and the upper side is the topside color. the left side tilts toward you and the downside is the grayer color.
On the picture that is of the cockpit, the area on the fuselage above the external fuel tank is gray but the area on the vertical surfaces are bluer. Now add weathering to that and you have a painting headache.
I have one in the stash and haven’t come to terms yet with painting it.
It is two tone. We have one like that where I volunteer. Even so, there is a lot of variation in the color, but then, they don’t stay pristine long in the sun. I would make several small rectangular masks and randomly apply lighter and darker “touch ups” over most of the airframe.I usually have a little standoff so the touch ups have a soft feathered look. But NO overspray.
What are the two colors?
You might try FS 36320 Dark Ghost Gray upper and FS 36375 Light Ghost Gray, but I texted our painter to see what he says. We keep all of our paint for the 1:1 aircraft in a large two story shed.
You will find that those FS#s vary a great deal among paint companies. I used Tamiya LP on mine, and frankly thought it was “too blue” but I’ve seen others that were “too gray”. Lookin at RL aircraft the color seems to shift depending on the lighting, which is probably part of the plan.
