Archer Fine Transfers

….well, almost but more on that later. Undoubtedly the most worrisome nail-biter of this build was getting the rear guns in. I decided to show them in the stowed position which caused a myriad of difficulties, exasperated by extremely limited working space. My first plan was to leave the guns so they could pivot and slide into the stowage space and then glue the assembly in place, but no dice. Then I decided to cut the ends off the barrels leaving just enough to tuck into the fuselage, but of course I cut them about 1mm too short. Luckily the framework of the canopy covers it. Bullet dodged. At this point (too late to change anything) it became apparent that the alignment pin on the gun assembly is down too low to get the gun assembly properly situated if you intend to show them in the stowed position, so if you plan to go this way, I’d strongly suggest adding a new alignment pin just above the factory one. This will drop the gun assembly down into a more natural position. The other problem is the ammo belts. I assume they are designed to fit in the ammo “can” when the guns are in the raised position, but such is not the case in the stowed position so I gust glued them to the guns and let them hang down, but if you do this they should be splayed out a bit, otherwise they hit the rail that the guns move on, severely limiting the amount you can pivot the guns down. Regardless, the rear canopy hides all these problems and in the end, after 3 hours finally getting them in place it’s quite passable. So anyway, here are some grab shots on the bench: The rubber tires turned out pretty decent looking weathered with chalk pastels. Which brings up the “Well, almost” part of the story. I didn’t have any problems using hairspray chipping in the cockpit, but had zero luck on the fuselage and then this mess on the prop. I scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed and then resorted to scraping the paint loose with my fingernail and wound up with a completely unrealistic looking mess. However, the one blade with the huge chunk missing was just the opposite…. It came off almost by itself, an even bigger mess. So, back to the drawing board and yet more experiments because nothing looks like chipping other than actual chipping and I’m determined to come up with a technique that works. I’m going to strip this off and start over. This has been exhausting, but at least it turned out okay. Some things came out great, some not so much so I guess I’m happy. In closing, thanks for watching and commenting. Next, I’ll get some glamour shots for the RFI forum.

I'm assuming that you want to drill a hole trough the tube, not enlarge the inside diameter of the tube. If you want to enlarge the diameter of the tube you should use a reamer and lots of cutting oil.

It just dawned on me that you're probably drilling a very small diameter tube, so instead of all that I originally posted, try chucking the drill bit with just a very short portion showing, just enough to go all the way through plus a little. This should eliminate the bending/breaking to some degree. Generally speaking, drilling tubing is problematic.

The issue drilling through tubing is getting the drill bit perfectly square to the tube, otherwise it "wanders", bends and breaks. My suggestion would be to get a good drill press vise to hold the tubing and a center drill to get the hole started. Another thing to consider is the quality of the drill press - cheaper ones have a lot of runout. VISE CENTER DRILL

I'm not sure what primer you're using but this is why I tossed all my water based paints in favor of lacquer.

Yep, I still have some that we printed 25 years ago and they're fine. Over the past 5 years it was nothing but non stop frustration with adhesives, even the same stuff we were using back then changed even though we were told it was the same. When the people you've been dealing with for 25 years start jerking you around it's time to go. When we emptied the shelves of the remaining dry transfers in January our future was pretty uncertain, but the new stuff - N.C.F. (No Clear Film) decals, Nano-Film decals and Fabric Texture - has been very well received and we haven't missed a beat. Quite frankly I'm thrilled to be rid of the DT's.

It’s on its feet! Only thing left now is some tiny pieces like lights, antenna and the rear guns. Hopefully I’ll have this wrapped up next week. Thank you everyone for the comments and encouragement.

When we started manufacturing dry transfers over 30 years ago, our proprietary process was state of the art, but since then dry transfer technology has become obsolete. Back before computer graphics, dry transfers were used by graphic designers to show the client what their packaging would look like. It was an extremely expensive and time consuming proposition, yet it was the only way (other than a press proof, which was even more expensive) to put a design on a box or can, or whatever. Back then we could buy chemicals from several different suppliers, each competing for a part of a highly lucrative market. However, there was only one source of an adhesive with a long shelf life and it was the only adhesive we used. A few years ago, that supplier stopped making it and we bought their remaining stock. When that ran out we tried several different other adhesives with mixed results, then the original adhesive became available again, or so we thought. The latest batch was not the original and it was at that point we realized it was time to throw in the towel. Dry transfers are dead. Time marches on and new technologies emerge so we adapted. The products and technology we now sell are state of the art and far superior to dry transfers. As for storage, keep them in a sealed zip-lock bag and don't put weight on them, but eventually the adhesive will dry out. The only way to re-activate the adhesive is to airbrush a wet coat of lacquer thinner on them, but the results will be mixed. Having said that, all I can tell you is that everything Archer has ever sold comes with a lifetime replacement or refund guarantee. Simply return the unused portion and ask for a refund and you'll get it.

When I finish I'm planning to make a punch list of issues, minor and significant, about the kit. It's like 90% great but the other 10% makes you wonder.

Well, I wouldn't go that far. I'm not pointing out my messes.... and there are a bunch.

Frankly, I thought I’d never live to see the day when the control surfaces are on and masking is off. Fourteen months so far on this build. This is the first time I’ve tried to portray a war-weary aircraft. It didn’t start out like that but I have a special interest in the early years of the war in the Pacific and no fighting men ever had to operate in conditions worse than Guadalcanal. Then I discovered this picture and found my inspiration. Top view with flaps and control surfaces attached. I didn’t glue this part of the upper cowling on so I could build it as a sub assembly. Easier for me to assemble fiddly bits on the bench than on the model. I couldn’t see any reason to use brass guns since so little is visible so I used the kit guns and it’s so simple to just glue them in and be over with it. And yes, I drilled the barrels. Anyway, This is where I am now….. the end is nigh. BTW, If anyone knows where I ca get a set of resin wheels for this, I’d be very thankful, and BTW, they need to be treaded for ground operations.

Blushing or hazing or frosting clear coat

Does anyone use this, and if so for what?

You may be experiencing hazing. Are you in a high humidity environment?

I briefly worked F4's during Nam and if you're doing an in-service aircraft, those colors faded very fast.