@mudhappy well getting rid of the HUD completely is easy enough, just erase the images in the texture zip (not delete) with paint net program. only thing is though you can not see when you are wanting to use the advanced feature. however i did not check to see if you could still use the advanced features when this is done. i believe you can still use the features in advanced that are numbered with the number keys.
edit: there is also a a file or two in the mesh zip as well.
will have to play with the files a bit to figure out exactly what does what again to be totally sure. it was something i came across when messing around with files, so i did not bother remembering exactly how it is done.
changing the color can be done, but not fast and easy that i know of. basicly you have to repaint the original images or create your own from scratch. repainting would be easier if you want the stock image only recolored. the solid colors (black/white) are simple to do. the tranparent parts though will need to be matched on the transparency.