The Little World

For GSI Creos’ decal products.

I’ve just been through two separate decal problem sessions and in both cases the Mr Hobby materials pulled me out of a bog.

a. The Russianstiltskin decals that spoiled the Spirit of St. Louis model were removed with warm water and detergent and the skin of the aircraft scrubbed clean. The decals themselves were crap to start with, had not improved in 50 years of sitting around, and were a nightmare to try to put down. They needed putting down with a pistol…*

Testor’s clear inkjet decal sheet, a half hour on the computer and the Epson printer, and then an overnight coat of Micro-Scale decal liquid got me set for the next round.

Then the Mr Mark Setter was applied to the areas, the new decals floated down, and the whole lot redone in 15 minutes. The result is brilliant!

b. The Unloved Buffalo was ready for some decals – in this case MPM and Special Hobby leftover sheets. I selected orange triangles for the Netherlands East Indies Air Force but they had to go down over raised Revell rivets.

Mark Setter to get them halfway down, and then Mark Softer to soften them up and let them settle. Settle they have, and by the time the Dullcote goes on you won’t know they haven’t been painted on.

The experiment of painting a small section of wing or fuselage with clear lacquer to give a gloss decaling surface was tried again, and again I think it is somewhat of a failure. This can be hidden under the Dullcote, but I shall not be trying the technique again. I suspect the Mr. Mark Softer could have coped with a matt paint surface anyway.

*  Quoth the Raven: ” Nevermore “. I shall not trust Soviet decal sheets for anything but ideas. If I desperately need what they have laid down I’ll copy the sheet on the scanner and reprint it myself on the Epson inkjet. Or bite the bullet and get aftermarket ones from a reputable printer.

Not so sure about Mr. Craft decals either. I’ll overcoat them with varnish before attempting to apply them in the future. They are newly-made but still too thin and friable.