Tag: Decals
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De Havilland Vampire T.11 – Part Three – Do Not Decal

At least do not decal when you can paint. I am in awe of modellers who can make a decal panel lay down over an undulating wing or fuselage and have it come out taut and flat with no silvering or air bubbles. Even more so when the decal involves several panels abutting each other.…
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Seriously New Decals

Having painted a picture of myself as a miserable skinflint who wouldn’t pay a penny for a souvenir piece of the rope that they’ll eventually use to hang the Prime Minister, I must correct this. I would. And I pay for good quality aftermarket parts if they are necessary – and there is nothing more…
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Seriously Old Decals

By a serious old modeller. I seem to be turning into the olde cheape modeller these days…and loving it. The number of older kits that have fallen into my hands lately suggests that I am either dumpster diving for my hobby or other people are not recognising the value of their own possessions before they…
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When To Decal

When to pause from your day’s task of cutting, cementing, painting, and cursing to apply your model’s decals? Is there a right time? Is there a wrong time? Don’t just depend on the maker’s instruction sheet – they have their own priorities and one of them might be to sell more sheets of decals. It’s…
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Canadair Sabre – Part Four – A Delicate Matter

I am going to broach a delicate subject in a sensitive manner – surely a new thing for me. I normally try to make a point in an argument with a 17 pounder round. I am going to criticize someone for a product I have tried – in the full knowledge that I may be…
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Spitfire Mk IX – Part Four – Is This A Decal Or A Tarpaulin?

I spent one morning recently decalling airplanes – a simple but delightful exercise in cut and paste. The surfaces of the planes were a clear smooth gloss and the first two decal sets – from Hobby Boss – were all that you could want. They were not pretentious markings – just stars, numbers, and a…
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The Sock Drawer

Whenever some cartoonist wants to suggest that someone has no life – and way too much time to spend living it – they have the poor individual sorting out his or her sock drawer. It is meant to be hilarious and pitiful at the same time, like parliament in Ottawa. I think this is entirely…
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Consolidated Liberator B. VI – Part Eight – Decalcomania

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…
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Ongoing Maintenance

I did not realise that there would be a schedule of maintenance on a plastic model – I thought once it was done, that was it. Silly me. There is maintenance on anything that you need to continue working – car, marriage, camera, etc. The models are no different. a. There will be cleaning issues.…
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Boeing Fortress Mk.III – Part Nine – Not A Good Idea, Max

Well that was a bust, albeit ultimately a successful one. The plan to carefully spray between the lines – with a Tamiya rattle can – was reasonably stupid thinking on my part. You saw in the last column where I just did the overall brown and went on as per normal. The camo lines were…
