I use the same except that I go lazy and shoot just the cowl and wheel pants now.

Ultracote won me over!
And NO it is NOT as nice as a painted model______however, when you get rid of the house and buy a Condo it requires a few changes in building style.

I do not feel that .75 lbs is any sort of extreme penalty for the ability to shoot and design your own scheme.
If however you are bouncing around close to the weight limit on a two meter, then yes.
But as we each are simply enjoying the excellent flight characteristics of the Focus Sport it makes little difference.
I'd be willing to bet that the flight characteristics are virtually identical.