John1 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Question for all the master modelers. Any thoughts on how to weather decals. Specifically see below: The "USAF" marking and the aircraft number are both heavily worn & scratched. I think I can replicate some of the scratches using a silver artist's pencil but I'm curious what your thoughts are on how to replicate the fading and peeling. One of my pet peeves is looking at pictures of exquisitely weathered models with immaculate decals all over them. 109 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I almost always try to avoid at all costs using decals for large codes and medium sized fuse and tail codes, as invariably the carrier between them shows up with a demarcation line. Weathering also seems to highlight the sometimes odd shaped carrier edges. If at all possible, I always like to use paint masks for codes, as they are easily weathered with some 1200 - 4000 wet/dry. I used this technique on my Flanker roundels, but works the same way for codes. Daniel Leduc, CATCplSlade, Mel and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Saw a build over on HS of a J29 Tunnan. It was a heavily weathered aircraft. Great job on the markings. The builder said he lightly sanded the decals. Anyone ever done this? If so, how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durangokid Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I've lightly sanded decals and the key part is 'lightly'. I used 8000 grit and it's a slow process but if you use a stronger grit, it's likely to have a ripping affect. Some decals are printed over white. So if you have a red decal that was printed over white, you will see the white part as you sand away the red part. Hope that make sense... Bryan Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 answer: use masks sorry, feeling slightly mischievous this morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Another option: airbrush a very diluted thin layer of the slightly lightened original paint over the decals. For a natural metal plane, use an aluminum color mixed with some very light gray. Do tests before airbrushing the kit as that technique must be used sparingly and you may go too far very quickly. Daniel Leduc and nmayhew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 On 9/12/2019 at 2:32 AM, nmayhew said: answer: use masks sorry, feeling slightly mischievous this morning! If only someone had the appropriate USAF and FF-XXX masks, this would definitely be the way to go. Alas, I don't think these exist and I don't think I'm at a level where I could create these myself. I do think that masks are the way of the future for replicating larger sized markings on LSP's. Much superior to decals. Thierry - I think I'm going to go with your suggestion. WIsh me luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Good luck! Just test before applying the level of wear you want to get. A little bit less will always be better than too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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