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Tamiya F-15C Kicked Up A Notch- Dec 1/17: DONE!


chuck540z3

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Thank you Chuck for taking the time to put together such an invaluable tutorial for us all too use to become better at our craft. I'm personaly very grateful, that both you and Peter, are so generous to provide such detailed information in this form.

 

One question, which I may have missed, but do you trim all the clear carrier film from each decal you use? Or is it the surface prep and finishing clear coat that eliminates the silvering?

 

Thanks again Chuck, well done and thanks for contribution.

Damian

Edited by damouav
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Thank you Chuck for taking the time to put together such an invaluable tutorial for us all too use to become better at our craft. I'm personaly very grateful, that both you and Peter, are so generous to

provide such detailed information in this form.

 

One question, which I may have missed, but do you trim all the clear carrier film from each decal you use? Or is it the surface prep and finishing clear coat that eliminates the silvering?

 

Thanks again Chuck, well done and thanks for contribution.

Damian

 

Thanks again guys!

 

GOOD question, which I should have covered in my tutorial.  It's hard to remember everything, so thank you for reminding me.  I have updated the post accordingly.

 

The answer is that most modern decal sheets have minimal decal film at the edges, so there is no need to trim for most applications.  If the film edges are a bit wide, you should trim them, because the goal is to have as little decal film as possible.  More decal film = more chances of problems and ability to see the edges of the decal.  Leave a sliver of extra film, however, because the film is the thinnest part of the decal and the ultimate seal against air getting underneath.

 

Sometimes you should trim the decal film completely off.  A good example is where the edge of the decal will encounter a panel line, so all that's in the panel line is the clear film.  MS can suck it down into the panel line, but why take the chance and the edge of the decal might now be visible.

 

Another similar tip is to cut up complex decals that can be difficult to apply as one piece.  Multiple stencils are a good example, where 2-3 small decals might be much easier to apply than one big one that shows extra carrier film for no good reason.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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Thanks again guys!

 

GOOD question, which I should have covered in my tutorial.  It's hard to remember everything, so thank you for reminding me.  I have updated the post accordingly.

 

The answer is that most modern decal sheets have minimal decal film at the edges, so there is no need to trim for most applications.  If the film edges are a bit wide, you should trim them, because the goal is to have as little decal film as possible.  More decal film = more chances of problems and ability to see the edges of the decal.  Leave a sliver of extra film, however, because the film is the thinnest part of the decal and the ultimate seal against air getting underneath.

 

Sometimes you should trim the decal film completely off.  A good example is where the edge of the decal will encounter a panel line, so all that's in the panel line is the clear film.  MS can suck it down into the panel line, but why take the chance and the edge of the decal might now be visible.

 

Another similar tip is to cut up complex decals that can be difficult to apply as one piece.  Multiple stencils are a good example, where 2-3 small decals might be much easier to apply than one big one that shows extra carrier film for no good reason.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Thanks for the update Chuck, I will read through your original post again.

 

Excellent work.

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Thanks again guys.  I just added a couple more pics of the starboard side in the original "Decaling Tutorial" post, if you want to see more of that side.

 

Also, as a heads up for those who might care, this build will not be totally finished for at least a month- at least not here in this forum.   I am going on vacation in a week, for two weeks, which leaves the beginning of December as the most likely time frame when I will have some "Ready for Inspection" pics to show.  Finishing a model is one thing, but doing it justice with the camera is another big step, which always takes more time than you think. Unless you have questions, "see" you again then and thanks for your continued support and comments.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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Chuck, what did you use for the wire mesh for the gun vents? I got chicken wire, but its too big compared to what you've got on yours and mine looks out of scale.  Also where can I pick it up/order it from?

 

Thanks 

 

Dan

 

P.S. One of these days I'll get some photos onto imageshack and post em, but I've been following your tips here and its helped a lot, I have some differences (notably riveting the entire fuselage).  Once the gun/bay are done, its a time to sand/smooth all the rivets, add the raised rivets to the vertical stabilizers and couple other spot, a few details here and there, masking, and its ready to prime....but then comes the exhausts and landing gear.

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Chuck, what did you use for the wire mesh for the gun vents? I got chicken wire, but its too big compared to what you've got on yours and mine looks out of scale.  Also where can I pick it up/order it from?

 

Thanks 

 

Dan

 

P.S. One of these days I'll get some photos onto imageshack and post em, but I've been following your tips here and its helped a lot, I have some differences (notably riveting the entire fuselage).  Once the gun/bay are done, its a time to sand/smooth all the rivets, add the raised rivets to the vertical stabilizers and couple other spot, a few details here and there, masking, and its ready to prime....but then comes the exhausts and landing gear.

 

 

Fine brass mesh from either a reusable coffee filter or the mesh sold by The Model Car Garage at the link below.  It's the very same stuff.

 

https://www.modelcargarage.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=54&idcategory=13

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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Hi Chuck,

Great tutorial on decaling, very helpful. Just a couple of  questions, do you use the same techniques for applying decals over natural metal finish like on your mustang build or do you do anything different? I've always wondered if the decal film would show up more on NMF builds or not. Do you still put another coat of gloss clear over the decals on NMF builds as well, and then a flat coat?

 

Thanks,

Rick

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Chuck has generously allowed me to republish his decal tutorial as an article on the website, which is now available at the link below:

 

http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=3241

 

Thanks, Chuck!

 

Kev

 

 

Thanks Kev!  It's nice to have this thing archived- and appreciated, since I always forget where I posted past tutorials.

 

 

Hi Chuck,

Great tutorial on decaling, very helpful. Just a couple of  questions, do you use the same techniques for applying decals over natural metal finish like on your mustang build or do you do anything different? I've always wondered if the decal film would show up more on NMF builds or not. Do you still put another coat of gloss clear over the decals on NMF builds as well, and then a flat coat?

 

Thanks,

Rick

 

Thanks Rick.

 

Another good question.  Generally speaking, I try to avoid spraying any clear coat on Alclad metallic finishes, because no matter what you use, a clear coat of any kind will knock down the shine.  That's why this Eagle build has no clear coat on the rear titanium panels.  Small stencils can be applied directly to the Alclad without a clearcoat, but you must use Microsol sparingly.  Some high shine Alclad finishes like Chrome, Polished Aluminum, Airframe Aluminum, etc. are all alcohol based and very fragile, because they don't “bite†the primer coat like the other Alclad lacquer products and decal solutions are not recommended according to the Alclad website.

 

For larger decals you really have no choice but to spray a high gloss clear coat, to achieve the very same thing as a regular paint finish.  While the metallic finish does not need to be shinier than it is already to apply decals, it should be protected, especially if it's a high gloss finish.  The final "spot coat" of clear coat seals the edges of the decals and smooths out the edges, reducing their ability to reflect light.

 

Here are some examples.  For my Mustang build, I was trying to create a war weary fighter that was a bit on the dull side, so the reduction of shine was not a big factor.  For this project I used Alclad's lacquer clear coat, ALC 310.  Avoid the acrylic Alclad Aqua Gloss, ALC 600, because it's crap that is hard to spray and takes a long time to dry.  After the decals were dry, I sealed them in with the clear coat, followed by a dull coat.

 

 

iKm9X7.jpg

 

eFyaQc.jpg

 

 

For my P-38L, I was trying to replicate a museum hanger queen, that was polished and very shiny.  Thanks to a tip from Kevin, I used Tamiya's acrylic X-22, which is now my go-to gloss finish for everything.  It sprays easily with a bit of Tamiya lacquer thinner, dries quickly and also dries very hard. 

 

 

6CWphb.jpg

 

 

There's a fairly wide carrier film behind this big stencil, but you can't see it with a good coat of X-22 sealing in the edges.

 

 

x0jq5c.jpg

 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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