New Bearcat Hits The Drawing Board

Hi everyone! Haven't posted anything in a very long time, but I figured I'd share something I've been working on. With all the new stuff going on for Star Citizen and the 3D model prints through Shapeways, I started thinking about how one of my favorite fighters would work. So I give y'all the Bearcat. This is my first model, and I'm extremely new at this and still learning. Here're some of the things I changed/imagined how it would look when finished.

First, the engine thrusters. Instead of the Bearcat's six engine ports, I thought that two large thrust vectoring nozzles would be more fitting. Next, I moved the wingtip mounted tachyon guns to a more central position. I think with internal missile bays, the missiles would launch one by one out where the guns were. I also made small housing area for the guns in case anyone would want to swap the guns out (I honestly don't think I have the scale of the tachyon guns right, but that can be fixed). I haven't added the maneuvering thrusters yet. Still learning on how I could do that, but I think they'd work best right where the wings meet the fuselage and also near the cockpit. Instead of intakes right by the cockpit, I decided to make those the retro rockets for reverse thrust and leave the intakes by the engines. Finally, the last thing I can think of right now (it's 2 am) is the cockpit. Once that's finished, it's going to be a strut-less or near strut-less canopy to give the pilot an uninterrupted field of view.

Like I said, this is a work in progress, but I would appreciate any feedback on how to make this better or any ideas on features to add to the model. Also, if anyone can point me to tutorials on texturing, I have an idea on a paint scheme I want to use on this. I'm going to work on this when I can so progress might be slow, but hopefully the final product can be something everyone can use and enjoy.