XV-15 crackling stealth effect

So I've had a pair of pewter Tau XV-15 stealth units from GW for Warhammer 40,000 since about 2005. These were the first models I bought. I loved the look of them, even though the rest of the Tau army are sometimes a bit janky.

Last month I watched Prey.

The clear parts are coated in gloss resin, but unfortunately given the rough surface of the original pewter, the surface isn't particularly smooth and it shows.

The photography itself is a bit of a balance I think: I want to up the saturation and brightness a tad to show off the crackles, but that also accentuates the bright reflections from the clear parts. It is tricky, and I think I'll only be able to get it better by casting a much smoother model (the original here is pewter and has a fairly rough surface).