Thank you all for your very kind comments, it really is good to get positive feedback from fellow modellers; as you are all aware, one gets so close to the work and you only get to stand back and take stock of it all on completion. Plus I have noticed that photos - at least at the range I can manage - do tend not to show all the mistakes that are such a concern during construction and seen at really close quarters by the OCD builder!
For further info on the prototype, I found these articles online highly interesting:-
404 - Not Found a set of detail record photos taken just after construction
http://www.fzt.haw-hamburg.de/pers/S...R_Princess.pdf which is a detailed history of the project.
Also, Flight Manuals Online have a scan of contemporary reports produced during the construction of the Princess which include detail photos and drawings; I found the beautifully drawn 3d drawings (all the more remarkable because hand drawn) absolutely fascinating, particularly the "hardening" device for artificially stiffening up the controls as speed increased; a lot of stuff to look through but some really interesting information comes to light, plus a modest price of $9-95 for the download.
Best wishes
Chris