The Little World

Okay, let’s talk dirty. I’ll start.

Polish and Russian decals.

Sorry to be so brutal, but the topic needs addressing. In the past I have wished to address the makers of some Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian plastic model kits and send them the sheets back with suitable curses. The problem has not so much been the design of the graphics as their execution.

I’ll put ICM and Mister Craft on the table now. In both cases I have had excellent mouldings and horrid decorations. In both case the decals seemed to explode into fragments when I attempted to apply them. And remember I have been decaling everything since the first Revell ship kit in 1954 – it is no new thing for me. I honestly avoided some kits from Eastern European makers if I could not supply alternative markings from a better source.

I looked upon the Polish PZL markings with a suitable degree of regret…

So I boxed clever: I realised that the nature of the substrate would stretch the envelope. This kit has textured surfaces wherever the big decals go. A more finicky person would call them excessive. I wanted to keep the texture but toned it down by Mr. Surfacer 1000 followed by a good moderate gloss paint finish. I then glossed it further with Mr. Color lacquer. The thing was as shiny as a wet fish.

In the meantime I had sprayed the decal sheet with two coats of Mr. Hobby semi-gloss clear acrylic spray. This was the end of a rattle can, but you can also get the same liquid in jars for airbrushing. It sealed and re-enforced the decals.

Then a careful trimming of the letters and symbols. I tried to leave as little clear carrier around the things that I wanted to see – I knew excessive film carried with it the risk of silvering.

The decals released well – 10 seconds in warm water and a further 10 seconds rest on a wet tissue. The surface was flooded with Mr Mark Setter to receive it and they were floated off the paper sheet with a soft brush. No fractures and the decals settled in well. After patting dry and a half hour of setting, a layer of Mr. Mark Solver snuggled them further.

Result?

No silvering, perfect adhesion. No carrier visible. When I added a later of Micro Satin Cote the decals disappeared and became painted insignia. The Polish Monster has been tamed! Next the Ukrainian Horror…