[theOshkoshModeler]

The first stage of this project is the easiest, but is an extremely tedious and time-consuming task: preparing the original kit for the recolors.
This means taking the entire PDF of the original kit into a graphics editor (I use Inkscape, thankfully all Canon kits come in SVG-based graphics), completely removing all color from the kit and ironing out imperfections (a sample 'A' page is provided in the attachments).

I say 'ironing out' because like the other Canon kits this 747 has a LOT of misshapen/asymmetrical elements and errors at the sub-millimeter level. It's not really enough to affect the building experience but it is annoying to be repainting and have to completely redo the original kit to make everything symmetrical and clean.
I'm not sure if it was the limitations of whatever 3D modeling/graphics editing program Kiyonaga was using in 2006 (the Canon BA 747 is basically just a free recolor of his 2006 Japanese Air Force One with the only changes being the RB211s and a correction to the placement of the nose gear) or if he just rushed his way through drawing the parts, who knows

One error in particular sticks out to me (thanks to Edison's Big Orange N601BN modification) that could completely ruin some repaints. The largest part that makes up the second deck (A12) is too short by the factor of a single window.
If you look at photos of any 747 (besides 8 and 8i), between the first and second doors on the lower deck there is always fourteen windows (unless they've been covered post-manufacturing). On the kit, part A11 includes the first window and A13 includes the last two. That means there should be a total of eleven windows on part A12. The original kit only includes ten.
Edison spotted the error while designing his -100 modification (which I used as a reference) and lengthened part A12 to include that extra window.
The missing window reduces the length of the model by half a centimeter, which not only prevents it from being truly 1:144 scale but could also cause issues with compact liveries if the repainter forgets to include the extra window; especially if they're using the windows as a tool.

Errors aside, in the next few days I'll complete and upload a test build up to the fifth former (basically the entire A page with a few extra parts), with and without internal glue tabs, to test the fit and look of the pre-300 'hump' which all of the USAF 747s include.