Whenever possible i cut them up and use real springs as PMan mentioned above. Its not very difficult and is certainly worth it. These are some i have altered for my CLK-GTR, the springs i used were from a pen, i think, and im fairly confident from all the reference i have that they are more to scale than the original molding.
However if u feel this might be a bit too tricky or just dont want the hassle then this scan from Tamiya's model mag demonstrates the best way ive seen for painting them. Hope these help!!!???
