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OK chaps....so a potentially major setback that in the long run will actually work in my favour and produce a better finish.
Short version is that the two great big slab-sided decals that would go on the rear of the fuselage for the stripes, roundels, code letter and serial numbers would not settle down, especially at the top - no matter what I did. Not sure if they were iffy or just poor in the first place. So I have done my best to remove them and for the most part they came off very well, without too much damage and what there is will be hidden under my solution to the problem.
As I had mentioned before I had thought about getting an AM set sometime back, specifically Xtradecal X48130 (link), but I have known for a while that they are out of stock for some time. However, I discovered I can source individual Xtradecal sets for the code letters, roundels and serial numbers, so I can still do the aircraft as shown in X48130. It is a bit extravagant but it gives me flexibility with future builds, plus I can probably sell the partly used sets for a reduced fee if I want to and get some money back.
But first up another mammoth masking session to put down the invasion stripes and the sky band at the back.....
.....but at least I know it will give me a much better finish in the long run, and certainly much better than the kit decals would have looked!
Oh and I had also discovered that the tail plane squares had been misprinted but at least I could easily correctly that.
ATB
Andrew
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It's not as bad as it looks...honestly!
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A bit of a setback with those decals ? but I'm sure in the end you'll have a great result with the new ones... cheersComment
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That is a shame. I have had my fair share of decal disasters this year (Vodafone F1 car that I did for a GB) but it's amazing what you can salvage when you take a step back and just chip away at it. It's going to be a great build when finished Andrew.SteveComment
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After market decals will do your model justice Andrew. These older Academy decals can be complete pants, a real hit-and-miss affair. Their newer fancy kits come with Cartograph decals.Comment
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OK chaps......so the battles continue....but this time entirely my fault....but with yet anther silver lining and an interesting learning experience!
So Tuesday, I masked up ahead of the fuselage stripes and I really went to town to make sure none of my previous good work was ruined. Then throughout the week I worked on the stripes week and by yesterday evening, the stripes and sky band*** was done!
However, earlier in the day, it had dawned on me I had not put any clear coat over the other decals......you can see the where this is going...... 
.....and so when I removed all the masking....most of the decals came with it......BUT actually in most cases almost completely, fortunately. I have been over them a few times with masking tape to pull the remaining bits off, which also helped for the most part
However, in the case of the upper wing roundels, it actually pulled all of the carrier film off but left substantial amounts of the roundel paint behind, much like the new Eduard decals!!!!
Whilst this is obviously a pain, again it's for the best in the long run as the topside decals had reacted badly to the Micro Sol and became semi-transparent, plus the register and alignment on the underside ones were off.
I have decided not to attack the remaining roundel paint further in case I damage the underlying paint job but rather, as it is just paint with no carrier film and so is very flat, just put a clear coat over the top and apply fresh decals. I've just got to hope Academy got the diameter spot one..... ?
ACW as usual
Andrew
*** It is my understanding the the Sky stripe was supposed to be the same width as the invasion stripes but that the rear white invasion stripe sometimes went over it a bit. The kit decals certainly has this effect and I'm sure I've seen it on photos but I'll take the flak if I've got this wrong.
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The masking and stripes.....
The decal debacle and unintentional 'Eduard' effect...
There were two decals on the tailplane.......
You can see where the carrier film has come off on this one as a single piece on the masking tape. It is completely smooth to the touch....
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That's quite a dramatic update Andrew, but luckely the paintwork seems to be intact ?...
That masking tape you're using, is that a low tack hobby tape or a typical painters tape? CheersComment
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Thanks Steven...lucky indeed. I use a mixture of hobby tape and 'normal' tape of larger areas (it's actually less tacky than the modelling stuff I use!) but I am very careful to de-tac both, so I'm not sue what happened. But as I said the decals weren't looking great, having gone semi-transparent, and so this is probably a blessing in disguise!
ATB
Andrew
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I haven't checked in for a while Andrew and cor, blimey mate! It's making you work for it!
With your determination I'm sure it'll turn out spiffing in the end ?Comment
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Real shame the machine is playing you up.Im sure you will fix her up Andrew.
RichardComment
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Hi Andy. Iam sure you will get on top of this build. Can I ask you why you applied the decals while you were still masking up and painting. I usually put the decals on after all the messy painting bit is finished to avoid exactly what you are experiencing. Was it something to do with the camo. I am still learning alot about this hobby so was just curious as to why you did it this way around. Good luck with the repair, still looks great.SteveComment
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Thanks chaps....glad you're liking i.
Steve - normally I wouldn't have done that way for the very reason I've had problems with but as the kit fuselage decals wouldn't play ball and I had all the other ones on, I had no choice other than to paint after getting the decals on but lessons have been learnt. As you will see below, the AM decals are now on.
Thanks again chaps.
ATB
Andrew
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OK chaps, so the decals are on.
I had wanted to use the Xtradecal set X48130 (link) to do one of the Spits (RB159) from that but it is out of stock and not due to be back in stock until the end of the year.
So I ended up their individual roundel, code letter and serial number sets to do it- albeit the sets are generic and so the format/shapes are very sightly off the real thing- not that I'm worried given this was a test build for various new techniques.
I've not used Xtradecal decals before and whilst they're not quite up to Cartograph they are vastly superior to the kit ones and so again another silver lining to the problems I've had.
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
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The Xtradecal sets I used......
The results....not perfect but will do nicely.....
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Great recovery job Andy. I agree. That will do very nicely.SteveComment
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