Thanks for the replies so far. I assumed, seemingly correctly, that trying to remove one layer of paint would simply take off the other as well. Weathering or just ignoring seem to be the way forward then. Apologies for the lack of detail in my original post by the way, yes it is a second hand model. Think originally released back in 2011. On opening it up the condition of the internal packaging suggests its never been opened, which is what the seller had stated, so I've no reason to doubt their honesty.