By now, 6-12 months for the Ark. Lusty is howver, pretty much good to go for RW or FW. Should be worked up by Nov/Dec. The "paint" thing is utter boll8cks - Camrex is pretty much Camrex. Unless you want to change the spec in "warpaint" for no discernable reason then just stick with it - it will let you play with AV8B and V22 on JMFTEX stateside.
I'm afraid GR9 has gone gentlemen. Wishing will not bring it back - particularly not the BAES design authority guys made redundant recently. There is no reason for USMC or anyone else to pick up 60-odd jets that don't match their own, let alone swap them for AV8B+.
It would be nice to think otherwise, but I'm afraid, reality bites.
That said, the first ship is coming along nicely and the Libyan debacle (aim, not execution) will concentrate the minds in MoD/Downing St as to real efficiencies in our own backyard.