Mike, the reason I installed the two elevator servos in the rear of the fuse on the yellow one was the engine, A YS 1.40 was going to make the plane nose heavy right from the get go. Before I hard mount my gear I always assemble my planes in the bones then sit the gear that can be moved in different places, I tape things on like servos and switches then see how it is going to CG. With the plane CGed I then hard mount my gear and make up my control rods, I have everything working while it is still in the bones then I take it apart and put all the nuts, bolts and screws in A container. {I tend to loose things in my shop} I do my final sand then cover and reassemble the plane. The CG should be very close and only need minor movement of the battery for the final CG. Colors?? I'm color blind so yellow with any dark contrasting trim works well for me and shows up in most any light conditions. This time of year white gets eaten up in any clouds floating by and in the air the plane is black enough. I have one blue and white plane that stays real close to me except for when I take it way up for A long flat spin. I hope the assemble first idea helps out, it makes doing any changes A lot easier. There is A photo of my 30% Extra above, the red and white one, it has four servos in the tail section of the fuse, two each for rudder and elevator, the weight of the G-62 up front dictated that right away. A lot depends on what you are putting in the plane.
Gene