Richie,
Can't wait to see what you come up with in the electrics department.
Personally I would love to see a definitive, standalone, turret "son et lumiere" FX package

. Xenon gunflash, recoil servo and a big speaker (in the turret), amp and KA-BOOM sound chip. All syncronized to a single trigger switch. Totally independent of the rest of the model electrics/electronics, and a serious alternative to the blank-firer for those that don't want to go that route.
Re-engineering the kit to an Ausf A would be very impressive, but a lot of work due the the different angles and thickness of the hull plates! Easier to go back to Solidworks and design new hull plates than to modify the kit hull, methinks.
Good luck, anyway.
Fabrice