Well, i'd say could be a tad or two darker still, Jan Kees. And, if possible, no shine or reflection so it looks like weathered bare metal.
Here's a very good representation of a resin 1/32 scale Cougar model by Darren Roberts.
For the leading edges he used Alclad Dark Aluminum, comes very close to what can be seen on photos of the Cougar. A very good example:
No doubt painting details of BUno.128082 might have changed during her career but here she is (F9F-6 Cougar) on the flightline at NAS Miramar 1953. F.i. the airintakes don't show the typical red warning signs, just all bare metal only.
If you might like the livery of the model above for a possible Cougar repaint, Jan Kees, here's a link to Darren Roberts Cougar page
http://hsfeatures.com/features04/f9f8cougardr_1.htm
and also a link to the artwork by Stephen Mudgett
http://www.hsgalleries.com/gallery04/f9f8profilesm_1.htm
Btw, typically this all goes for the F9F Panther as well.
Hope this helps, Jan Kees.
Btw(2), that grey/white 203 looks fantastic !
Btw(3), does this model really have no jet pilot figure inside the cockpit ?....
cheers,
jan