Gazzas Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Love it, John! The weathering and wear looks great. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 Finally. An envelope from the Czech Republic was delivered to my doorstep. One set of HGW Wet Transfers for the F4U Corsair. Having never used wet transfers before, I thought it would be prudent to perform a test. The carrier film that holds the markings covers the whole sheet so you have to cut out each marking separately. After cutting the marking out, application begins just like you would a normal decal: after dipping in water, the paper backing slides away allowing you to apply the decal. The directions specifically call for Mr Mark Setter to be applied on the model before the marking. From my understanding, Mr Mark Setter has adhesive properties and that is an important property for these wet transfers to work properly. After the marking is slid into place, a cotton bud is used to blot out the excess fluid. This is what the marking looks like after application. The instructions say to allow 6-8 hours to dry but being a test, I was curious if 3-4 hours was sufficient. Using a toothpick, I carefully rubbed one corner of the clear carrier until it curled up and I used tweezers to pull of the carrier, leaving the marking behind. In this case, 3-4 hours was sufficient for the marking to bond with model surface. The result is a marking with zero clear decal film. With that initial test giving me some confidence, I applied the wet transfers on the top surfaces of both wings of the F4U. Even with the removable carrier film still in place, the markings are still much thinner than the Tamiya decals treated with decal solution. I'll probably leave these overnight before I start removing the carrier film. Kagemusha, TAG, Landrotten Highlander and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett M Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Nice! Looking forward to see how the whole plane looks stenciled up. Guess I’ll pick up some new decal setter too Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 waiting to see this as well!! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) Thanks guys! Ok... I cheated! I couldn't wait a full 24 hours to remove the carrier film from the transfers. Later last night, after about 3 hours, I started pulling them off and found that the transfers had adhered well. Here is one of the tiny stencils as the carrier is being removed. No decal film whatsoever but I've found that the resolution of the transfers, compared to the Tamiya decals, is less than ideal. I would say that the transfers were 99% successful. The only area that weren't perfect were some of the WALKWAY stencils which were applied over a panel lines. The marking didn't settle all the way into the panel line and therefore the marking turned out incomplete. The rest of the transfers came out great. I slide the wings and horizontal stabilizers on and put 740 into the light box for some photos before the weathering process begins. Edited January 20, 2020 by Thunnus daveculp, D.B. Andrus, chrish and 17 others 18 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Very sharp! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Fantastic work John. You had more luck with the HGW transfers than I did on my Corsair build. I will try them again on a future RoG Bf109 G-6 build using the Mr. Mark stuff. Again, beautiful build! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett M Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Very nice looking with the decals in place, especially the lack of carrier film. The wing tip marking (hand grip) really made me think that someone could have used a paper cut out and sprayed the words onto the actual aircraft. Definitely looking forward to seeing your weathering bring this to life. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Really nice John, never had much luck with the wet transfer system but you have aced it. Regards. Andy Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Wow, those wet X-fers look excellent! That wing would be pounding on my OCD every time I walked by it! Really stupendous work Thunnus, Brett M, Kagemusha and 1 other 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I love the replacement wing, it rocks! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 Thanks guys! I really liked the HGW wet transfers. In some ways, they are superior to masks since they seem to be thinner than a coat of paint. I had excellent results using warm water and the Mr Setter solution with a dry time of about 3-4 hours. Time for a panel wash! As usual, I am using a home-mixed pastel wash comprised of water, pastel chalk and a drop of dishwash soap. For the white and lighter blue areas, I am using a brown color. Please note, the stenciling on the wing bottoms are Tamiya decal and you can see the edges of the decal film. I'm hoping that a little Micromeshing and the flat coat will blend them in. Difficult to see the effect on a wide angle shot of the entire wing but if you zoom in on certain areas, you can notice the effect. My goal with the wash, in addition to highlighting detail, is to reduce the physical grooves and holes with lines and dots, which I think makes the surface look less like a plastic model. Here's the top side of the port wing. No decal film visible here! The underside of the aircraft is completely covered with rivets, panel lines and other details. So the wash will almost cover the surface completely. After the wash is completely dry, it is wiped off carefully with a moistened paper towel. I use small pieces and toss each piece as they get loaded with the dark wash. The darker blue upper surfaces are treated with a darker brown (almost black) wash. The effect is much more subtle due to the reduced contrast between the wash and the dark blue camo color. But it should be more visible once the blue gets lightened with a flat coat. Next, I'm going to do some post-shading and some chipping using a fine sponge. Lothar, brewer, TenSeven and 11 others 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigor Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Nice work love the replacement wing. The wash really brings it to life Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomv87 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Wonderful work going on here. Exceptional build! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 Thank you for the comments! The aerial mast on the tail fin broke off so I took the opportunity to fashion the aerial attachment hardware from electrical wire and brass tubing. Some of the post-shading was done, including the exhaust stains. TenSeven, Brett M, Antonio Argudo and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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