SeaVenom Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Don't know if anyone else on here's built this kit. Not a bad kit but the decals are just useless. In fact probably the worst I've ever seen. I usually use Halfords Clear Lacquer to fix decals as it provides an easy to use, durable finish that usually fixes decals permanently........but not with these horrendous excuses for decals. I tried finishing the kit off in the last few days but all it took was only 1 little knock to cause a great rip in the decals making them lose a good chunk. I then tried scraping more just to see how well the decals had been fixed (I thought I'd finished this a while back) but they just scrape away real easy. The decals just haven't stuck at all under the coats of lacquer. They're just dry with virtually no adhesive and really brittle too. Does anyone do replacement lozenge decals for this kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Have heard of similar issues with the decals in this kit too - although I've never got as far as trying the ones in mine. Might be worth taking a look at Aviattic for the lozenge? Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTroll Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 The decals in all the Roden 1/32 WW1 kits are marginal at best. They are thin, translucent, fragile and often pre-fragmented. If you must build these kits, you should plan on using decals from Pheon, Aviattic or other dependable publishers. Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince14 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I like Roden kits - sure, they're not WNW standard but they're still worth the time and effort. But the decals are almost always bloody awful. I always replace them with aftermarket. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Mike Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 That seems to be the consensus, decent kit, crappy decals. I'd go with Aviattic, or cobble together some from Pheon. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVenom Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Have heard of similar issues with the decals in this kit too - although I've never got as far as trying the ones in mine. Might be worth taking a look at Aviattic for the lozenge? Iain Thanks guys and for posting that and hadn't seen that site before. Question is now............which ones do I get as a replacement for the Roden kit decals as some of them look quite similar to each other? Edited January 11, 2016 by SeaVenom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Thanks guys and for posting that and hadn't seen that site before. Question is now............which ones do I get as a replacement for the Roden kit decals as some of them look quite similar to each other? That's up to you. First 5 colours or 4 colours? It depends of the aircraft you're actually building. Then the finish : factory fresh, faded, or with tinted varnish, again depending of what you want. Of course you will need an upper and lower set. But they are very high quality decals, with outstanding printed fabric effect and very nice colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Guys, i have a few Roden kits in the stash, all still unbuilt, but they looks quite good. But what you said wbout the decals is a bit frightening. For some like the Siemens-Schuckert, there is no problem as some AM markings decals are available, but for many others, there is nothing available (most of the french Spads and Nieuport series). Are the nose art and roundels as crappy as the lozenges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I think the main problem has been the lozenze decals - partly because of their size. I built the Dr.1 a few years back and used the crosses/individual markings supplied in the kit with no real problems - but they are a little brittle so care needed. Iain Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince14 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 The larger ones are the worst - they really don't like being handled at all in my experience. With some care the smaller ones are usually fine. Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDave Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 There is a Pheon Lafayette set for the Spad and there are some exotic short run sets for the nieuports , including begemot, Flevo and Dutch decals. Zero77 and Tnarg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Ok, thank you. Anyway, i would not have used the larger decals like the lozenge, as they are damn ugly. Thanks Dr Dave, i already have a few sets from Begemot, and they are great. I even have a Nieuport 21 set. These guys made a set for a Nie-21, with exactly the aircraft i wanted to do (with the tsarist two-headed eagle). That's crazy, as i really think a very few people would buy such a set asking for 2 kits and possibly some scratch building to get the matching model. Tnarg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tnarg Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 The Nieuport N.24/27 kit actually looks quite good, (with much better detail than the Hobbycraft N.17) and I could really wish that we had a true N.17 with all of the fascinating pre-revolutionary Russian schemes available, like all those horses or mermaids on fuselage art, the Don republic, Ilya Murometz squadron of Alexander Riaboff, etc.. I'd guess there are others who like the later ducks, witches and devils too, but the red star makes me very ill. Given the likelihood of such a release, my only hope is to print/mask my own. I'm working on learning how to do that, because there are too many wonderful color schemes that no one else seems to love. However, I have to agree with their decal problems. The kits from Roden have some nice detail and reasonable shape, with some flaws (especially the Siemens Shuckert fuselage), but the decals have enough problems with color alone that it is hard to want to use them. Pheon and Aviattic are your friends, but WNW surplus parts of the kit sheets and extra sets could help also. Tnarg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVenom Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Ok, thank you. Anyway, i would not have used the larger decals like the lozenge, as they are damn ugly. Thanks Dr Dave, i already have a few sets from Begemot, and they are great. I even have a Nieuport 21 set. These guys made a set for a Nie-21, with exactly the aircraft i wanted to do (with the tsarist two-headed eagle). That's crazy, as i really think a very few people would buy such a set asking for 2 kits and possibly some scratch building to get the matching model. Do you think it's just Rodens lozenge decals that are ugly or just lozenge patterns in general? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVenom Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 I think the main problem has been the lozenze decals - partly because of their size. I built the Dr.1 a few years back and used the crosses/individual markings supplied in the kit with no real problems - but they are a little brittle so care needed. Iain Problem is..........if you cut the large lozenge decals up so they're smaller they're just as bad. Maybe some smaller decals would be ok though but they'd still probably be hard to stick permanently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now