Q-ball’s painted. I mixed some gray (primer, as it happened) and flat black, painted on with a brush. Doesn’t look great under the OptiVISOR #7 lens, but looks okay, and looks fine with the unaided eye.

When I masked the fin fairings, I left a small crescent masked that should have been unmasked, and it ended up getting no silver paint when it should have. I touched that up, using the same paint, same masking technique, and a brush instead of spraying (sprayed some paint into a small cup). I’m mighty glad for that fin fairing painting template: cutting masking tape to that pattern makes painting the silver much, much easier!

There were lots of little tiny places needing touch-up paint, some black, some white. The SM radiators were very ragged around the edges, and the silver line on the fin fairings wasn’t always as even as I would like. Those are fixed up now. I also added some detail on the SM, S-IVB, and IU: though decals are provided for the S-IC’s fly-away umbilical connections, they’re not supplier for the similar connections on the SM, S-IVB, and IU, despite a) them being just as visible, just about as large as those on the S-IC, and b) them being much larger than the eight tiny little Drain decals for the S-IC. A little yellow paint, a little masking tape, a little patience, and those connections are now depicted on the model.

So, all the color painting is done (prime, base white, black roll pattern, silver highlight on the fin fairings, silver fins and SM, dull gray Q-ball, golden-black SM RCS nozzles, yellow fly-away umbilical connections), all the decals are on, all the touch-up is done. The minor structural repair to one of the S-II fairings in the wrap are done (it cracked slightly while masking: a little epoxy did the trick). Next up: the SM EVA hand rails, a clear coat, making the top portion’s parachute harness (so it descends slightly nose-up, to protect the launch escape tower and the CM), attaching the parachutes, and adding a pair of rail buttons (idea and buttons courtesy of Dave Raimondi). The only really touchy part will be the EVA hand rails: they need to be bent out of thin wire and somehow glued to the SM in the right spots.