I used flat Monokote and Perfect camo paint for the cowl/gear/struts. As you can see, it's not a match. But I was happy with the result. Bottom of wings, stab, and fuse are flat gray Monokote. The rudder is regular shiny Monokote, in red, white, and blue. I used Solartex on a Cub once--great stuff. You can't beat a fabric covering job on a plane like this.

I've never competed in a scale competition, but from what I hear, you supply the documentation on the plane. The DSA-1's a homebuilt aircraft. It's probably seen all sorts of different landing gear mods. So it wouldn't necessarily be a scale violation to go with the aluminum gear.