QCD modeling of hadron physics

We review recent developments in the understanding of meson properties as solutions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in rainbow-ladder truncation. Included are recent results for the pseudoscalar and vector meson masses and leptonic decay constants, ranging from pions up to c\bar{c} bound states; extrapolation to b\bar{b} states is explored. We also present a new and improved calculation of F_\pi(Q^2) and an analysis of the \pi\gamma\gamma transition form factor for both \pi(140) and \pi(1330). Lattice-QCD results for propagators and the quark-gluon vertex are analyzed, and the effects of quark-gluon vertex dressing and the three-gluon coupling upon meson masses are considered.