AK_Satchel,
That is a beautiful piece you have there. I’m sure you are pleased. I have made some crude furniture pieces and I couldn’t touch that.
I am guessing you will be selling the tables without pieces. I am still hand painting my set of pieces and the man hours in that is not something folks are willing to pay, in my experience.
Regarding the magnetized fighters … I would drill a hole down the axis of the plane and insert a piece of a paperclip wire. Then I would put a magnet under the deck of the carrier. I believe with a strong enough magnet, this would work fine. However, having more than one aircraft carrier nearby might be a problem.
I like your bases for the airplanes. Seems the fighters might need these too.
I like your idea for having the drinks in holders and not on the table.
Have you considered having drawer pulls with the national emblums on the knobs?
I would also consider making a small “stand” that would sit on four legs of about four inches in length. The surface of the stand (a mini table of its own) would be the battle board. For newbies, they could place their units on the stand which rests on the table and remove casualties as the battle goes on. Big time veterans wouldn’t need this, but it might be a nice touch. After the battle is over, the remaining units are placed back on the tabletop and the stand can be set aside someplace.
Regarding color schemes, I am using two colors for the IJN units; sand and IJN green. For the UK, I plan to use desert sand and something else for European theater units. For the US, I will use basic OD green, but I may repaint five infantry units with a little camo pattern for US Marines. All the Ruskies (brown) and Germans (medium grey) will be one color. Maybe someday I will paint a few Germans in a pale grey for Africa Corps or something.
You have done some fantastic work and I hope you receive a financial reward for it along with your own satisfaction. Sorry, but I just couldn’t afford one myself. Good Luck!