cool thanks again guys, especially for the advice about practising on duplicates. I hear ya. Hursticon I didn't seal this one as it was really just a trial but that's a very good idea, was thinking maybe a clear coat or pearl coat?

The other thing I noticed when doing this one is that the paint job makes the original plastic look pretty average so will probably have to repaint the whole thing next time, perhaps even with different colours.

So any tips for next time? I've looked at what some others have done and can only aspire to get mine looking that good. Although I think some of them were done by professionals but geez they looked amazing!

If anyone can post pics of what they've done with perhaps a brief description of how they achieved their effects this could become a good thread for others who are interested in repaints. I would certainly be interested in seeing what others have done and am always open for suggestions on how I could improve.