Chuck1945

I’ve never used X-22 in that manner, but I have sprayed other coats of Tamiya paint over it without problems

If you refer to WWII Olive Drab, it was OD 41 not ANA anything and it did vary from various manufacturers as well as fading/chalking in service. Larger aircraft such as the B-17 had sub assemblies arriving for final assembly already painted by the subcontractor so it is was quite possible to have these not quite matching even at time of production. Dana Bell even states in his booklet on OD and Neutral Gray that after the ANA colors were approved the Material Command (where actual USAAF paint orders and color approval occurred) that the companies were to to continue using 41 which was an acceptable substitute for ANA 613 and at least one company was apparently even advised to simply change the label on the paint cans to ANA 613! The emphasis here is to recognize that while a color standard did exist (OD 41), in practice there was variation in the actual color used and not to get caught up in trying to find the 'right' color since there were several.

Sorry, missed the 1/144 part😯

Not a deal breaker one way or the other I suspect, but the Airfix kit is the only 1/72 P-51D with correct main gear bays

Academy did a B-50, see https://www.scalemates.com/kits/academy-2112-b-50-d-superfortress--107377

Thick CA may give you the adjustment time you want

Another vote for Post-It notes or similar. I wont say Tamiya tape WILL remove decals but it definitely CAN since I have intentionally removed decals using it

Good, keep using the Testors Airbrush thinner for spraying Testors paints and use the lacquer thinner for clean-up

I have also found a couple of additional uses for those clear colors. The blue, orange, and yellow can be dry brushed on exhausts and exhaust collecting front cowl rings (Gladiator, Blenheim, etc) to help replicate the heat tarnished metal. Also if you do WWI aircraft with unpainted wood surfaces (Albatros), a light mist of orange or yellow can help give some depth to the wood's appearance.

I have used Tamiya's XF-86 clear flt on the last couple of models I finished and Tamiya's clear gloss for gloss coats, both thinned with X-20A. Haven't used any semi-gloss

Dont know about others' experiences with Aires, but the Aires cockpit sets I have attempted to use required extensive thinning of both the resin part and kit sides. Be prepared for lots of test fitting and take care

Everything I have seen says the new B-25 C/d is quite good, superior to the Italeri version.

Perfect, just what I needed. I got a similar set last year that was 0.5mm-0.9mm. but didn't see any smaller size sets. Lucky so far, haven't broken one yet

An inevitable result of aging is your eyes losing their ability to focus continuously from very close to infinity. I am near sighted and as result, can still focus on close objects. I generally model without my glasses. When I need magnification a pair of 1.5x reading glasses work. Personally I found the extreme;y shallow depth of field and close focus distance to be not practical for me when I tried an Optivisor. You may want to try 1x reading glasses generally available almost anywhere before going for an Optivisor. BTW, I am 3 months shy of 73 and model 1/72 exclusively :)

Ross, 'Uncle Joe' looks great. Glad I was able to help you complete the project