What is it about decals....

[BarryWilliams]

I have mostly built WW2 1/32 aircraft and I soon learnt how poor decals are to use in this scale.   Even Tamiya, who make the best kits you can get cannot produce decent decals.  They may be accurate and well printed, but that is no good in you cannot rely on them.  The smaller ones are manageable but the larger ones are guaranteed to splinter and in the odd times they don’t splinter resist conforming to details even with the strongest solutions.   At least though there are plenty of AM sets and better still masks.  
 

But then I decided to build some modern jets.  The first two being Revell Tornado and the Kitty Hawk F-5E, both are pretty crap manufacturers but one thing they both do better than Tamiya is produce decals that don’t splinter, or at least not from just looking at them.  OK, not as nicely printed as Tamiya and Kitty Hawk’s trade mark shoddiness is evident, but they did not splinter and laid down rather well.   
 

Next up the superb Tamiya F16CJ.  Naturally I looked up alternative markings as you can never trust Tamiya’s.  Not a lot around but I did find some beautifully printed Two Bobs decals for the 50th anniversary of the Wild Weasel mission.  But it is not much use having these beautiful decals if they are unusable.   They splinter worse than Tamiya and Trumpeter, they seem thin enough but they just did not conform whatever masking solutions I tried. So I have abandoned them, I have just used masking tape to pull off the remnants and resprayed.
 

So what now?

 

I am not going to repaint the model to do one of the Tamiya schemes as those decals are likely to splinter as well so that a fools errand. 
 

I am thinking of not trying to represent a real aircraft at all but to try cobbling together a fictional scheme from what decals I have.   I cannot see another option.

 

Right now I am pretty peed off.

Why on earth cannot Tamiya learn from Revell (or Kitty Hawk, or Zoukei Mura come to that) and produce decals that actually work?
 

Next is the Trumpeter F14B and their decals fail on every front with not a lot of AM around and there is no way I will buy ‘Two Bobs’ again.....   as for masks, nothing. 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by BarryWilliams

[nmayhew]

Use masks

[Out2gtcha]

4 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

Let’s see you do an Air Force wing badge or a full Phantom stencil job with masks

 

I've actually made a AF winged badge with my Silhouette. As long as its larger than an inch or so possible.

 

For me, that is not to say decals don't have their place because they definitely do. 

There are just certain things you cannot do with masks, like 3D graphics, multiple colored pics with shading, or stencils.

Also there are definite limits on size with masks as well. You can only go so small or so intricate with masks, as the cutter is only capable of so much.

So for now at least, we will need decals for some things and can make masks for the rest.

The Silouhette cutter has revolutionized model schemes for me personally, but it's not the end all be all, and is not capable of doing every scheme out there.

 

 

[mozart]

Sums it up nicely Brian! I’ll use masks as much as possible but recognise their limitations for smaller markings, so decals (or transfers as we used to call them in the UK) have their role to play. 

[Gazzas]

I've made the change to using masks as much as possible.  But I know decals will never be totally superseded.  I've tried printing my own decals on decal paper recommended from various modelling forums.  Even if I do get an acceptable printing result, and the decal conforms to the details, they're still too damn thick and can be seen as a raised area.

[Kagemusha]

20 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

You mean “dekkuls”? 
 

as opposed to “DEE-cals”

 

I say decals, just as Her Majesty the Queen does - her favourite kit incidentally is the Tamiya Spitfire Mk.VIII - it is a policy for her household that no one is employed who pronounces it dee-cals, likewise with scones... 

[MikeMaben]

Still ,  is it dēcalcomania  or  dĕcalcomania ? 

 

[The Dude]

Yeah one of the many projects I am working on is a 1/32 academy hornet and I am using CAM decals. Those are hit or miss although more miss than hit IMO. I bought 2 of the same sheets just in case I had problems and of course I did. Glad I got 2 because I needed them.

 

I agree anything made by cartograf is the best available. 

Edited December 23, 2019 by The Dude

[mozart]

7 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

Just for the record...  

 

Thanks for that, I’ll sleep easy now. I thought “decal” was a word the Yanks had made up. 

Edited December 23, 2019 by mozart

[LSP_Ray]

7 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

Just for the record...  

 

Hmmm...The F4u factory drawings still referred to it as 'decalcomania' in 1943...

[mozart]

14 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

Mais non mon ami!!  C’est un mot français!

Et un petit peu Italienne peut etre? 

[MikeC]

On 12/22/2019 at 11:06 PM, Jennings Heilig said:

Just for the record...  

 

 

"Decalcomania" sounds like the state one gets into after applying a large decal that tears in a couple of places, can't be persuaded into quite the right position, and ends up needing multiple applications of setting solutions to settle it down.  Followed by applying what feels like 3,000 tiny stencils.  And then they all silver.      

[ChuckD]

Yeah, after ruining a thunderbolt project due to terrible decal issues, I'm ready to check out of the decal game - insofar as is possible.  Any good resources for getting started with a mask cutter in this hobby?

[Tony T]

 

As Jennings says, try Cartograph (and I would add Fantasy from nearby Cornwall). E.g. Kursad of Caracal decals gets his printed in Italy.

 

Decals simply comprise layers of ink printed onto paper coated in water soluble glue, with a clear varnish layer as the last layer on top (usually). If you bend them, you crack the ink all the way through. Storing them away from damp and bright sunlight is essential. For obvious reasons, any potential problems are exacerbated by 1/32 scale. 

 

Given the life of most models is measured by the state of the decor, it's probably best to do schemes that will likely last longest rather than being the prettiest. 

 

Tony 

[Cheetah11]

Sometimes I feel we are moving backwards in this hobby, decals being one area. The SAAF decals I used on my Sabre earlier this year were purchased In 1980 and printed by Modeldecal in the UK. After nearly 40 years they still worked perfectly. The color and shapes are easily the most accurate. The Italeri Mirage SAAF roundels are worst rendering of these roundels I have seen. ( To be fair to Cartograph they probably did not do the graphics)