Gloves also protect against contamination by the oils and other things that could be on your hands. I would prefer to use bare hands since it's cooler but there's a good reason for it.
I'm seeing the pics, no problem. I have this in the closet and I am a little intimidated by it looking at these and other pics. You did a superior job. I don't see anything I would consider off on the entire build. Nice one!
I'd pay $5-7 dollars considering what needs to be replaced. Maybe for a more experienced modeler with a stock of parts it would be worth more but for me replacing the engine and trans would be more of an effort.
Paint is immaculate and a great color. BMF is more than adequate ( I get down on myself with BMF too). Dashboard is seriously clean and neat. If I had to pick one thing out it's that the front bumper tilts slightly upward on the left side. But that would be pickin' fly doo-doo out of pepper. Dynamite job!
VERY nice build. I'm not a big fan of the color but it otherwise looks great. I just built one with Gravity Colors Protonic Blue and Frozen Grey. It does not look nearly as good as yours. Yours is very clean and sleek. I'll post mine in the next few days to give another view but congratulations on a job well done!
A valiant effort considering all the issues. Paint looks very nice. Sometimes I think you may just have to grab a hold of the hood and bend it to the breaking point. Or maybe that's just my heavy-handed ways.