Hey Rabbit, thanks for the pat on the back. Much appreciated! In response to your questions, let's start with the base coat.
When I started using Alclad, I had never done a NMF before. So, in an attempt to get the best results with Alclad, I used their proprietary primers. I've used their white, gray, and black primers on various builds. I know there are a lot of modelers that say a NMF must have a black base coat, but I'll say I've gotten good results with all of Alclads primer colors. For this build, I used their black under the NMF for the first time. Now, what black primer/base to use? I don't think it matters. I can't say for certain which brands will work under which final coat because I've only used Alclad under Alclad. I'm sure there are some combos that might react with each other in a a negative way, but I can't say what those are. Sorry, but I've only used Alclad with Alclad. Others may know more.
Now, the decals? Some say that you do not need to gloss coat a NMF before and/or after decals. I do. I gloss my paint before decals then gloss after. The second coat over the decals protects the decals and helps blend the carrier film into the previous gloss coat, thus helping make the carrier film disappear. Especially with thicker decals and thicker carrier films. What I have found is a second gloss coat evens out the sheen for a final flat coat, if that is your plan. What I mean is, I have laid decals over NMF without first putting down a gloss coat, then I sprayed my flat coat. The decals protected the NMF under the carrier film, so my flat coat "flatted" the NMF but not the NMF under the carrier film. So what happened was I ended up with different sheens in my final finish. That made the carrier film more obvious! The NMF under the carrier film was still shiny, but the NMF that was not covered by decals was flat. The pre- and post-decal gloss coat helps avoid that. Or, instead of a second gloss coat, I've used a metalizer sealer, like Testors Metalizer Sealer (R.I.P.) with the same effect. The second coat (whatever you use) evens out the NMF so the final flat coat doesn't result in differences in sheen.
I hope that makes sense. I've had some good success using the methods I've described above. Ironically, my methods have resulted in some issues with the decals on this kit. Nothing major, but problems I've never encountered before. I'm going to blame it on the decals.
Anyway, thanks again for lookin'. I hope my long answer helps. If you have any other questions, just ask. I'm happy to assist in any way I can. Keep up the good work on your F-104. I built that kit, too, and it was a challenge!
Next time I post, I hope to have photos of my finished Sabre Dog. Stay tuned!
-O