The Little World

That was always the way it was written in the older English instruction sheets – decalcomania. Until i started doing the artwork on the Liberator I didn’t make the connection between decals and mania. I have learned much in two days.

That’s how long it has taken to put on all the horrible little stencils that Airfix printed onto the decal sheet. Of course they are not to blame – sheet it home to Consolidated in the 40’s who decided that they had to print instructions on the outside of the package so that the ground crews could find the inspection ports, filler caps, danger zones, and other points of interest.

One would have thought the dangers would have been pretty bloody evident anyway; four whirling propellers and a belly full of high explosive to start with. But there are red warning bands in places where you wonder why anyone could injure themselves. Theres a couple of arrows showing you that there is going to be an undercarriage coming out of a nose gear bay…presumably if you were expecting it to sit on the tail.

If I were the man with the stencils and the spray gun I think I would have marked where the guns could swivel to and then painted bright orange and pink warning lines on the upper wings and fuselage to tell enemy fighter pilots to stay away. Perhaps big notices: ” Danger – Machine Guns ” in German and Japanese where they could see them…

I am happy to report that Airfix graphics can be put down over straight Mr. Color lacquer or Mr. Hobby Acrylic without silvering if you are careful. Then Micro-Sol snuggles them down. The only impossible task was trying to get black and white striped decals onto the rudders – with the thickness of the decal and the raised rivets – plus the fact that the decals were not cut for the rudder attachment posts – meant that the first trials looked like a rubber rug being put over a body on the floor. If I ever build an assembly ship or other colourful billboard aircraft I am going to paint on the various designs.

At least the surface and the decals proved receptive to matt varnish – perfect for a service aircraft. I may even put on exhaust stains…