Quality of Tamiya F4U-1A Corsair 1/32 Decals

[ringleheim]

Has anyone built Tamiya's 1/32 F4U-1A and actually used all the Tamiya decals?

 

I'm wondering if they are usable or if I should just avoid a lot of frustration and get a set from Eagle Cals instead.

 

I am worried about the instrument decals (I've heard they disintegrate if used with decal setting solutions) but also the rest of the markings too.

 

I like Option C aircraft #883 from Vella Lavella Island, December 1943.

 

If the decals are OK, I'd just assume build that one and save the $22 or whatever on the Eagle Cals. 

Thanks,

Jim 

[John1]

Fair amount of discussion about this on another Corsair thread (can't recall which one).  Consensus seems to be that while they are a bit on the thick side, they are just fine. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by John1

[rjones726]

40 minutes ago, John1 said:

Fair amount of discussion about this on another Corsair thread (can't recall which one).  Consensus seems to be that while they are a bit on the thick side, they are just fine. 

 

IMHO that describes every set of Tamiya decals I've ever worked with

 

[Suresh Nathan]

883 is the awesome Boyington Corsair. Tamiya decals are ok but slightly inaccurate. Originally 883 was shown to have early red outlines on the roundels. This has recently been corrected with authors believing the red had been over painted with black (it looks that way to me too) . The Tamiya one I think doesn't show either. 

 

I hope you're going to weather the heck out of yours....... This is my Revell F4U with handpainted markings and old Revell decals that were cracked. Lol!

 

Post pics! I love this corsair! 

 

Edited August 23, 2018 by Suresh Nathan

[Dave J]

I was the one that said at there is nothing wrong with Tamiya decals, yes they are a tad thick but that's it... People that complain that they are crap are applying them incorrectly. A while ago I was one of those people...

I don't use any setting or sol agents on them. Just a bit of heat from a hairdryer and cotton bud to roll out the moisture from behind the decal. I have used this method on old and new decals supplied in Tamiya kits.

 

The only question would be the accuracy of them. I know the Mk.XVI Spitfire had issues with the 485 Sqdn decals. 

 

 

[ringleheim]

3 hours ago, Dave J said:

I was the one that said at there is nothing wrong with Tamiya decals, yes they are a tad thick but that's it... People that complain that they are crap are applying them incorrectly. A while ago I was one of those people...

I don't use any setting or sol agents on them. Just a bit of heat from a hairdryer and cotton bud to roll out the moisture from behind the decal. I have used this method on old and new decals supplied in Tamiya kits.

 

The only question would be the accuracy of them. I know the Mk.XVI Spitfire had issues with the 485 Sqdn decals. 

 

 

When you say "applying them incorrectly" I guess you mean using setting solutions? 

 

Decals should be able to be used with setting solutions; you can do a lot with setting solutions that you can't do without. 

 

Hairdyers and heat are fine but they can damage decals just as much as setting solutions.

 

 

[BiggTim]

I stole one of the national insignia from my Tamiya Corsair to finish my Hellcat a few years back, and it went down beautifully. I applied them like any others I've done, setting solution and all, and it blends perfectly with the painted markings on the rest of the plane.

Edited August 23, 2018 by BiggTim

[cbk57]

Keep in mind that thickness of the decal is relative, it is only slightly thicker than aftermarket ones, on the other hand, you rarely have color bleed through on a tamiya decal.  Try out a spare on something, I think you will find them an acceptable solution in most cases.  I have no problem using them if they are right for what I am building.  If you are going to use decals Tamiya’s are usually an adequate choice.   

 

The main time I would not use them is if they are wrong, for example the National insignia they supplied with the Mustang were arguably too dark.  So I did not use them.  However, I tried a.m. decals and had bad color bread through from my overlap of invasion stripes.  I used masks in the end but maybe should have just used the kit decals to begin with.

 

Most of us on here I think are old enough to remember truly bad decals.  I certainly do, my models I built early on would have huge outlines from decal film until I learned to carefully trim the film of each one, today that is often not necessary at all.

 

I remember one revell build in particular in which the decals were so bad, they fell apart and or broke as I tried to apply them.  Today I would to use a decal from a manufacturer like Timmy’s if there is something that is more accurate or better resolution etc, but I would not rule out Tamiya automatically.  I would say use the best tool for the job.  

Edited August 23, 2018 by cbk57

[Dana Bell]

Hi Jim,

 

I can't address the quality of Tamiya's decals for #883, but I'd caution you that the color scheme is incorrectly interpreted.  When the kit was issued we all knew that Corsairs wore the 4-toned scheme with the N/S Sea Blue carried down the fuselage sides to blend into the wing.  We subsequently learned that many early applications continued the Intermediate Blue camouflage over the top of the wing, from the nose back straight back to the tail.  #883 was one such aircraft.

 

The area above the wing was usually stained by spilled gasoline and other fluids, and abraded by maintenance work - do there were frequent touch ups, just to add confusion to your painting plans.

 

Good luck with the model!

 

Cheers,

 

 

Dana

[cbk57]

Per Dana’s post above, I looked at Tamiya’s decals and instructions quickly.  I don’t think they are quite right per the Funk sheet and what it offers, maybe they could be made right.  One set of national insignia are outlined in red as we know that may not be correct.  They have another set though in the sheet outlined in blue.  If concencerned about accuracy, you deifnately need to do some homework.  

 

Thanks Dana, I have given some thought to doing 883 myself as I have all three of the Tamiya Corsairs on the shelf at the moment, however years ago I did a -1.  I am thinking of a bouble build of the -1A and -1D at the moment.  I also have both of your books and have been studying those carefully.  

[Bill Cross]

The Birdcage decals went on fine when one of my masks went haywire. They ARE a bit thickish, but they are far from crap. I would not get other national insignia just to have them, though I continue to aspire to masks and painted insignia because of the size of 32-scale markings.

[ScottsGT]

3 hours ago, Dana Bell said:

I can't address the quality of Tamiya's decals for #883, but I'd caution you that the color scheme is incorrectly interpreted.  When the kit was issued we all knew that Corsairs wore the 4-toned scheme with the N/S Sea Blue carried down the fuselage sides to blend into the wing.  We subsequently learned that many early applications continued the Intermediate Blue camouflage over the top of the wing, from the nose back straight back to the tail.  #883 was one such aircraft.

 

Hey Dana,  can you point me to some images of this on the web?  Maybe not 883, but any Corsair?  Your ability to discover the obscure has just amazed me!  Planning on building my Tamiya as 883, and I want to get it right. 

[BarryWilliams]

Tamiya decals are indeed too thick but my main complaint about them is how brittle they are.  The smaller ones such as the ip are manageable the real issue comes with the larger or more complex shaped ones.   

 

A kit if this quality really deserves masks rather than decals the difference really show in 1/32 scale.    

 

[BiggTim]

Agreed, masks are nearly always the best choice, but lacking them, the kit decals are pretty good. I didn't personally find the one I stole for my Hellcat to be brittle when using decal solution, but I also used some Techmod decals for the ones I couldn't mask. 

[cbk57]

2 hours ago, BarryWilliams said:

Tamiya decals are indeed too thick but my main complaint about them is how brittle they are.  The smaller ones such as the ip are manageable the real issue comes with the larger or more complex shaped ones.   

 

A kit if this quality really deserves masks rather than decals the difference really show in 1/32 scale.    

 

 

I am not all there on masks, I used them on my Mustang build, I am open to them but not convinced that I have to use them.  I probably won’t on my next build.  I find them extremely fidly on U.S. insignia with the star, bars and border.