Zero77 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 I begin to get a bit tired of this build.... First the Miroscale decals are a POC.... And then, i damaged the paint with my dirty gloves, and it's entirely my fault.... I use cotton gloves to handle the model, and they are too old with paint particles, and they became a bit sticky. So i just got awful finger prints on the models, through the gloves.... Angry toward myself. I started to correct that, but that's a shame... And i cannot make small touch-up as with standard metallic paints. The polished aluminium requires a gloss black undercoat. Without it, i lose the high shine. And just spraying polished aluminium on the finger print dont do anything except highlighting them even more. Back to the decals. Yes they are crappy. I dont blame Yellow Wings at all, as the design and research is good, but i think he should change his printer.... The decals absolutely dont conform to the surface, they react badly to the own Microscale product Microsol (wrinkles that dont disappear even when dry), some are very brittle when dry, and finally they don't stick at all. I said they are brittle, look at this, the red is the more brittle, the blue behave better, i just dont know why : I was not satisfied with the tail markings (blue band and red stripes), as they were peeling on the edge of the tail, so i decided to go with the kit decals for the tail. And i was able to remove the Microscale decals only rubbing them with fingers. Here are some bits : However, the Special Hobby decals behave way better. A real pleasure to work with ! On the picture, there are still some wrinkles around a small inspection panel, but that's not a problem, i will deal with that later. In fact the only good point for the Microscale decals (except the printing, which is good with nice colors and details, i have to say) is the carrier film. It's almost invisible, even on a critical reflective surface as polished aluminium. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Great work so far beating this one into submission Nickolas! Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks for your support Brian ! I'm gonna kill it ! (in the good sens of course !) I've just finished the engine cowling 3 color stripe. As explained earlier, i thought it was impossible to use the decals because of the shape of the cowling, especially on the upper area (with the MG bulges). And at this time, i had not even noticed how bad were the decals to conform of uneven surfaces. So i had to paint this. Except for the red, i had to make mixes to get the same colors than the other red-yellow-blue markings, to keep something coherent. But i think it's quite good. I chose to apply a coat of gloss varnish to unify the colors, which did not had exactly the same sheen. Maybe it's too much glossy, i'll see that later. If necessary, i can apply a light coat of thinned satin varnish with a paint brush. I was happy to remove the engine masking tapes ! That's starting to take shape. jgrease, tomv87, rafju and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Painting these big areas rather than using decals is the right choice. Very effective, Nicolas ! Hubert Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hi That turns nicely , i's colourful ,and eye-catching !!!!!But , if I may : why didn't you paint the stripes on the rudder as you did one the cowl ?? the final result is hundred times better ......My 2c opinion....................hit it good .................! Alain Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 why didn't you paint the stripes on the rudder as you did one the cowl ?? the final result is hundred times better ......My 2c opinion....................hit it good .................!Alain Why? Simple : i'm lazy ! I did not want to bother with tricky masking again, risk any metallic paint lift off, overspray under the masks (because of the uneven surface on the fabric rudder) implying touch-ups with more risks of peeling or overspray.... Decals appeared simpler to me. But now, i agree with you. The Microscale decals are so bad that if i knew that before, i would have painted the rudder first, then mask it and only then tackle the gloss black undercoat and polished aluminium finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Nickolas Sure looks like to Good Guys came out on top ... nice going and taking care of business. I've used Yellow wing decals before and haven't experienced any of the problems you've. back in the day, Microscale Decals were; The Decal and never any problems. I'm wondering if the decals might be bad and dried out from being in a hot and dry warehouse before you purchased them. I would definitely fire off an email to Yellow Wings and I'm sure they will have an answer. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Looking very nice despite the problems....Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Why? Simple : i'm lazy ! I did not want to bother with tricky masking again, risk any metallic paint lift off, overspray under the masks (because of the uneven surface on the fabric rudder) implying touch-ups with more risks of peeling or overspray.... Decals appeared simpler to me. But now, i agree with you. The Microscale decals are so bad that if i knew that before, i would have painted the rudder first, then mask it and only then tackle the gloss black undercoat and polished aluminium finish. It's a good reason !!!!! If I remember , you experimented the same stuff on your F 86 ( yellow band) don't you ?,, Alain Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Excellent work, Nicolas! You really nailed those matching paint colours. Spot on! Kev Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 That paint job on the cowl is terrific - great alignment over the compound curves and strong colour matching. Good stuff Nic! Jim Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Thanks guys ! Nickolas Sure looks like to Good Guys came out on top ... nice going and taking care of business. I've used Yellow wing decals before and haven't experienced any of the problems you've. back in the day, Microscale Decals were; The Decal and never any problems. I'm wondering if the decals might be bad and dried out from being in a hot and dry warehouse before you purchased them. I would definitely fire off an email to Yellow Wings and I'm sure they will have an answer. Keep 'em coming Peter You're right Peter. I also wondered if i may be unlucky and got a set from a bad batch. I will send an email to Yellow Wings anyway. Their sets are nice, not pricey and for uncommon aircraft, they deserve a better feedback that this, that's a pity. It's a good reason !!!!! If I remember , you experimented the same stuff on your F 86 ( yellow band) don't you ?,, Alain It was very different with the Sabre as i was using Rub-N-Buff for a real mirror effect, and Rub-N-Buff is quite difficult to mask and paint (any paint !) absolutely doesnt bite on it. It's not a paint but just a wax. Even too much handling may damage it. It's the better highly polished effect i know but it's a nightmare to work with in my opinion. On the Rub-n-Buff i first tried to paint the yellow stripes over it, but i had to strip off the whole model and restart the paint job from scratch. For the second try, i first painted the yellow stripes, masked them, and only then apply the Rub-n-Buff. However, i still had to paint a few markings with stencils, and it was a real PITA (the paint lift off when i removed the masks !). By the way, this Sabre is almost done, i just have to finish a few CAD design for custom decals for unit insignas. It is on the next ones to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 That paint job on the cowl is terrific - great alignment over the compound curves and strong colour matching. Good stuff Nic! Jim Thanks Jim. In fact, it's far from perfect regarding the alignment. In the red/yellow area, there is a small offset that can be noticed from some angles. But yes it's quite difficult to get something good given the weird shape of the engine cowling when viewed from above ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) I think i'm cursed with this P-36 decals.... First : i've just laid the other side of the rudder stripes. Kit decals. The first side was great and could not had better. But this one shredded in several bits as soon as i wet it.... I managed to set it correctly but it is not so good than the first one. And secondly, just so you can call me the dumbest guy of 2016 : the "inspection panel" that you can see on this picture is.... just a bit of support paper that stuck on the underside of the decal for some reason.... I just dont understand how it happened as i always laid the decals on the model directly from the paper, and the model was obviously clean of any foreign object. I dont understand.... Anyway it happened, and i'm stupid enough to have missed it and took it for a part of the model ! Actually it makes me laugh. Unexpected and unintentional scratch-building. I just got unwanted wrinkles for free. Edited January 9, 2016 by Zero77 tomv87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lothar Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Fantastic build - I love the paint scheme and she'll be a showstopper when finished !!!! Lothar Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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