Tag: Decals
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The No Step Two Step

Or how I stencilled myself into the asylum. As a kid facing my first decal sheets, I was blazingly confident. Allowed to use water and scissors…what could possibly go wrong? After all, Aurora moulded the position of the USAF and the insignia right there on the top of the wing – all you had to…
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Convair F-106 – Part Two – Delta Dart

I have been fascinated by this aircraft for decades – they were flying north of my home province during some of the more critical parts of the Cold War. Every new Fifty Cent Fighter Series aircraft seems to be getting a slightly different treatment. In this case it is Mr Hobby aqueous primer and surface…
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Decal Or Not Decal

That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the agonies of masking tape and airbrush or to take scissors and water and end them. I am in the position of Hamlet every time I look a the colour call-out of a kit. I have the decal sheet in one hand and my heart in…
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The Odd Model

Vs the Old Standard. Is it possible to find happiness in the box of your 115th Spitfire if you elect to decorate it in the colours of the Congolese Air Force? Only if the other 114 are in RAF standard Day Fighter green/grey/sky and are distinguishable only by tail code. You started to feel confident…
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Academy SPAD XIII – Part Three – Not Goin’ Nowhere

And not surprising – it’s 38º C outside and 43º C in my work shed. I shall be lurking near the beer cooler and doing the final assembly and decal work inside. I praise the luxury of the choice. The ticklish job of assembly with a bi- or tri-plane is the stage at which you…
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SE5A – Part Three – The Roundels Wearing An Airplane

The basic structure of the little ESCI kit for the SE5A was rewarding – things fit and lined up. But that did not make the 30-year old decals any better. I tried, folks. I honestly tried. John France saw me trying and lent me some Micro Sol to try and get the things to lay…
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Another Bronco – Part Three – The Failed Decals Redeem Themselves

You will have read the science experiment that resulted in determining the best decal coating solution. Here it is in action. Supercheap Auto clear acrylic diluted with Mr Color Rapid Thinner and sprayed in three thin coats. Releases in good time, and can be floated down over Mr Mark Setter and positioned accurately. No panic…
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Foam Core For The Win Yet Again

Using foam board is now becoming the new trend around here. We’ve stopped using sheets of pasta when we make lasagne – it’s foam board instead. It also makes pretty good non-lethal ninja stars, if you’re into sex games… It also solved a problem in the decaling of a new fighter plane. I built an…
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RAF Wellington – Part Five – Desert Heavy

Well, not that heavy – remember that this bomber is twin engined to a pre-war design. But the theatre at the time saw few combat aircraft much bigger. The Vickers Wellington Ic is decked in a Western Desert night scheme drawn directly from the instruction call-out. The odd wavy top edge to the coal-black under-colour…
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Tupolev ANT-5 – Part Four – Trebly Armed…

On a wing and a half. This model of the Tupolev ANT-5…or 4 – it’s hard to make head or tail of the Soviet numbering system – is a curate’s egg in many respects. The basic kit is buildable, but there are breakable parts that do so and then need to be joined with cement…
