RichardL

To each his own. BTW, saying that enamels take longer to dry with age is rubbish since there is no supporting evidence.

Well I got some Testors bottles from the mid 1980's that cure in several hours when sprayed in thin layers. BTW, enamels don't dry, they cure. Fore more info, read this link: What can speed up enamel paint dry time? An excerpt from the link above:

Chances are it's the odorless mineral spirits. Testors enamel thinner rarely fails. Taking risk with the cheaper stuff is not worth it. Do a test as mentioned above to be sure.

Yes, remove the line completely. There will be a shadow where the line was as the plastic will be in a slightly different color. For a straight line, if you are unsure, just remove both ends and use a fine pencil to mark the ends, then remove the rest of the line. You can then line up your guide tape or ruler using the two marks.

I have always removed each raised panel line first, then scribe a new one in its place to avoid shifting the new line's location by a hair. For straight lines, I used either a thin self stick aluminum tape or dymo tape as a guide. For circles and curves, I used templates.

There are many superior hobby specific alternatives, such as Tamiya X-22, Alclad Aqua Gloss, MIG Lucky Gloss, MM Acryl Gloss to name a few. My personal favorite is Gunze Aqueous H30, which is even more glossy than Tamiya X-22:

Any metal primer will do, such as Tamiya surface primer or Gunze Mr. Metal Primer. AK acrylics might even stick well to bare metal parts. Do some testing to find out.

I would replace "most acrylic brands" with "some acrylic brands". I have zero issue airbrushing acrylics. In fact, I can spray acrylics much better than enamels. Modern acrylics do not tend to exhibit tip dry.

Micro Flat always gives me a finish with a slight sheen - not completely flat.

I would go with a color laser printer because the print is more durable and doesn't bleed like ink would. Plus, it's not necessary to seal the decals with a sealer/setter. The best paper to use, of course, would be decal paper for laser printers: Waterslide Decal Paper for Laser

Vallejo Model Air Dark Ghost Gray is pretty close:

Here is Mr. Color 307 laid next to the actual Dark Ghost Gray color chip: It's slightly too dark and too blue.

Gunze is not very close, and you will need to lighten it just a tad.

I'll take 48-046 F-16C Hill Vipers. Please PM me your mailing address so I can send you payment for it. Thanks.

A coat or two of clear gloss for the decals will darken the color. Another coat of clear gloss to protect the paint and decals before washing will darken the color even more.