I realise I may get thrown off the boards for saying this, but I think that design is cooler than the original!
Brilliant work!!!
Excellent work!
What gauge and size of Styrene sheet did you use?
If the templates are available I would very much like to have a bash at this build.
Cheers
For construction, I used Tamiya cement for the initial joint, then dumped hot glue all inside the shroud to make it solid. The Tamiya doesn't stick all that well by itself, but it lets you create a nice smooth joint until you can reinforce it. I'm sure there are better glue options out there though, from people with far more modelling experience than I have