Well, that's one way of doing it... Assuming you're either going to lay down a thin coat of the base coat paint to lessen the contrast, or going to use a gloss coat to keep the decals from silvering, have you done any testing to determine whether or not all that graphite will create a barrier that prevents the paint/gloss coat from adhering?
Great job!
Man your good, and this model is going to be fantastic.
Tell us about your model, and how your going to light it up, and make her run.
I love seeing builds.
Thanks for posting your progress pix, please share more with us when you can.