Applying decals..

[Guest]

I'll go and crack open these jam doughnuts and grab a glass of milk lol

I never realised even the 400ml cans would last so long, not too bad i'll definately practice first before doing anything to the model.

Im pretty well accustomed to the cooling affect with some gas powered airguns i have, if you shoot them a bit rapidly they lose power until they warm up a little.

Looking forward to getting it and having a shot, should be interesting.

Is there a special way to clean them when your ready to use another colour?

[Guest]

Spray a load of thinners through it whilst adjusting the spray.

When you have finished it is better to take it apart and do everything properly.

[Guest]

Cheers. Forgot to say before, i've done some spray painting in the past and learned about thin coats being better than a thick one the hard way lol so i'll definately apply the same to this.

[Guest]

to stop it loosing pressure put the can in a bowl of warm (not hot) water to keep the pressure up whilst spraying, i know they say on the can not to do this but as long as you are spraying whilst its in the water the pressure cant build up enough to explode now can it.

...well, never has done for me!!!

edit....yet!

toby is on the look out for a cheap compressor for me at the good old boot sales (he saw one a day before i asked for £30!!!) its quite annoying i work sundays so i dont get a chance to go down to them any more!!

[wonwinglo]

RJW quote-

'if you are using enamels you can use white spirit (big bottle for a couple of quid from wilcos) or a few other things you can use...il let richard or barry explain all them. if you are using acrylics it is best to use acrylic thinners (some people use water) which you can get from model shop/hardware store'

Be a bit careful here as some of the cheaper white spirit is like refined diesel oil,my advice is to go for a good quality white spirit for mixing your paint and use the cheap stuff for cleaning the gun,if you work in a confined space then use Sansador,this you can get from art shops and is a good quality artists thinner for use with enamels or oil paints,the effect on drying of the paint revolves around the solvents used in the paint,always try paints with a bit of thinners before commiting to the airbrush as some colours do not mix properly,a good example of this is Revell paints,these are formulated differently and some thinners will not mix with them.

Although I have not tried it myself some modellers use ordinary cellulose thinners for painting,but once again go careful as used on bare plastic it will certainly attack the plastic,use Halfords white/grey acrylic primer first should you go that route,the Halfords primer is an excellent product and will detect any blemishes which can be carefully sanded out with wet and dry paper prior to final paint being added.

Just go careful and use that paint hack model that I have mentioned here many times.

[Guest]

Typical, i'll be using Revell paints for this model i have seen conversion charts online to convert to Humbrol paints, but every one i look at seems to have differences in them. If anyone knows of an accurate one i'd appreciate seeing it!

I'll have a look for the Sansador stuff you mentioned, but im guessing from an art shop it wont be cheap.

....and i used to think this was an inexpensive hobby lol

edit:

Just remembered this stuff i seen in the model shop

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=8_8999936&products_id=55750

I guess thats designed for thinning revell paints?

[Guest]

Another update...

Layed my hands on a spray can of Testors Dullcote (ordered online, £3.96 delivered) and i put a coat on the plane. To my surprise, 95% of the silvering that i had on the decals has vanished and made it look alot better so now i dont really have any significant silvering at all on the decals.

[Guest]

good good 5th!!!

get some more pics up!!!

[Guest]

dilute vinegar

can someone tell me how to dilute vinegar for decals

[wonwinglo]

You can use undiluted white vinigar for softening decals,but try a test decal first as the quality of these vary a lot,a small amount of washing up liquid in the vinigar will act as a wetting agent,but ony a smidgin,go careful.

[Guest]

i have posted something on the modelboat mayhem site but i am having a nightmare with vinyl pinstriping, for a boat hull....

i have used car stripes many times before , but the latest boat i am building seems to have some kind of deathwish !!!!

its gonna go out the window soon!,

i prepared the hull as usual, painted it, and then degreased and prepared it ready to accept a single white vinyl pinstripe- i stuck it on and it looked very smart and tidy......

2 weeks later i pop into the workshop and take a look at the hull and several large sections of the striping was lifting and coming away..... the striping was clean , new and still 'sticky' but it would not stay adhered to the hull for more than about 4 days !

so after advice on the mayhem site i removed all the striping,- not that easy as i had now added some detailing on the stern in the waterline area... i bought another roll of striping from a different manufacturer and prepared the hull ready to accept the enw striping,

i carefully applied it and then put the model away , i came back from holiday 3 weeks later and the new striping has lifted in 2 places !

i think i am going to have to paint it in.... i have never had issues with vinyl like this before ! getting damm annoyed now and very frustrated !

[wonwinglo]

Your Decalfix is a slightly weaker version than Microsol products,experiment on a 'Hack' type model,that way you can try different makes of decals and see the effects,combined with different soak times.

Dont forget that white vinigar will also soften decals,you can adjust the acetic strength by adding water,as before experiment first before committing to your pride and joy or new model.

[Guest]

Tamiya? (More like Spam-ier!)

So what's all this about Tamiya being the pinnacle of the modelling experience?

I am coming to the end of a thus-far enjoyable, pain-free build of Tamiya's 1/48 P51b Mustang. Now to one my favourite bits - applying decals. I thought Tamiya were meant to be top notch! The decals are really poor. By dint of treating them with extreme caution, I have managed to apply most of them with reasonable success. But they're VERY delicate: difficult to get off the backing paper and extremely fragile round the edges. As it happens, the slightly rough edge gives it an appealing worn look, but I am about to apply wide, white (theatre?) stripes around the wings, and I just know they're gonna disintegrate.

:sobbing:

Am I only the only one to encounter problems with Tamiya decals?

[wonwinglo]

Coat the decal with Future/Johnsons first,that should do the trick.

Experiment with an small piece before you apply the main decals.

[Guest]

the older tamiya decals were too thick. now they are too thin. i now tend to go with afte-market decals if i can find some nice ones or can afford it. revell of germany are the best kit decals IMO.

do you mean the d-day landing stripes or is it just white?