Welcome MadMoe,
That club in Columbia is a good group of guys but I bet they have a couple of CLOSET builders in the mix You might try visiting the LORCS down in Eldon, Mo. some time, they are a crazy fun bunch too. They go to Columbia's fun flies and vice versa sometimes.
The LT 40 is my favorite trainer also. One thing you might do to enhance the web experience is get a decent digital camera.
the old axiom "a picture speaks a thousand words" really applies well to building planes. I would make zero mods to the LT 40. Sig did to good of a job on it but I agree with making any covering scheme you like, just make sure to use colors you can see really well such as yellow and bright blue with a contrasting second color such as red or black. Check with these guys before you decide as some colors such as med green, white, red can get hard to see VERY quickly. I learned to fly at Eldon, it is a super nice field with lots of room. If you see a guy there flying a 2' x 2' x 4 mil piece of plastic and makin' it look easy don't be too suprised