Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be any real shortcut to getting the sort of amazing scale finish we see on this model. And yes it might take weeks to get that many rivets done. And of course before you spend that much time on the rivets you'll be spending weeks properly glassing, and sanding, and priming, and sanding, and re-priming, and resanding, and adding panel lines, and...

That's one of the reasons I stick with WWI. I'm a bit of a fanantic and I think I'd go insane if I tried to do a heavy metal bird.