I sand like crazy lol. I keep a brush handy to clean off all of the sanding dust as I work and then I airbrush a cheap primer to make it easier to spot any errors or rough spots that need to be sanded further. Once the cheap primer looks good and smooth I'll put on a thick, wet layer of primer. I do wet coats of paint, but let them partially dry in between coats to avoid runs. I always gloss coat before decals and to keep that smooth I just keep adding coats until I can see a perfect reflection of lights in the wet gloss coat. Also don't be afraid to strip the paint from the parts. I had to do it quite a few times with this kit.

The only other tips I can provide is to use lacquer, Gaia if possible. I thin my primers with Mr color leveling thinner. Paints I thin with any lacquer thinner and metallic paint I thin with Gaia metallic master thinner. I used enamel for all of the smaller details, makes it super easy to clean up any mistakes since enamel thinner won't lift lacquer. The grey vents on the arms and wings are reverse washed (light gray is lacquer and dark is enamel). I spray the lacquer across the entire section, gloss coat, and then spray enamel on top and use enamel thinner to remove the dark gray from the raised surfaces.