The good news is that my airbrush is playing ball. I really thinned the paint with cheap car washer fluid (a trick from the military modellers) far more than normal and it flowed perfectly. The Clear was used neat and again, worked well. The finish isn't gloss by any means, but a nice eggshell.
Then it was transfer time. A fresh packet of lining from Fox and the first line went on OK.
The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th broke, twisted and generally behaved hopelessly.
At this point, I nearly smashed the thing against a wall. It took all my willpower to put it back in the box, tape the lid down, and put it back on the shelf.
I hate this model. I hate it with a passion. What was going to be a fun project that wouldn't take too long has become a bind. It can go away for another 4 years as far as I'm concerned. Maybe then I'll be in the mood to finish the stupid thing.