jwoods

Yep, you live and learn! The product was called "plastic putty" which is why I believe it would be suitable for general use, but maybe the fine nozzle should have made me think twice. I did spot some of the Milliput in the shop. I'll certainly try that out next time. Thanks for the recomendation Right now I'm wondering if I should try and hack out the Vallejo stuff and start again - or try to keep the model out of sunlight and hope it will eventually cure after a few months/years...

Thanks to everyone for all their help and advice! Really appreciated I found in my local hobby shop some thin, narrow plastic strips that seemed to be the right width to cover the windows. So I applied this from the inside, and used some filler and sanded down from the outside. To my horror, I noticed that this old kit (60s perhaps? - eBay purchase, paid way over the odds...) was missing a few parts. Thankfully it was only things like some cabin and cargo doors. I had already glued the fuselage together, but managed to poke in and glue some scraps of spruce, then that gave me a structure to support the filler. I have to say though, that this Vallejo putty is pretty awful stuff. After several layers and sanding I just about got it to an acceptable standard, however - weeks later (I was waiting for a sunny day to do some spray painting on the balcony) the bloody stuff expands and reputtifies in heat/sunlight! What good is that to anyone!?

Apologies! No criticisism to your friend intented - they're really fine decals, and the fact that they even exist and are produced is awesome. But still, ignoring customer emails (no matter how dumb they may be) hardly encourages loyalty...

Decisions decisions... I'll give this some more thought (got a Revell Queen Mary 2 to complete first anyway). I did not know that this was not really a problem, more like a feature or offical build-step in punching holes in decals with a cocktail stick or something similar. I would have assumed that the decals could be produced that had the holes already cut out of them - hence my unanswered query to the decal maker. I found this other forum thread where the modeller had the same conundrum, seems like the result can look pretty good! http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6235&sid=90af647d47bcf65b82aafc805099b342&start=15 Thanks for all your helpful replies !

Not sure I got a hole puncher in the kit. This would have been quite a nice option to consider if I had got one...

I'll soon start with an Airfix VC10 (the civilian one with the BA decals). I was hoping to use these BOAC 26decals I bought separately but my kit seems to have the cabin windows punched out of the plastic, whereas the decals have the cabin window as an actual printed decal. This is a problem because BOAC has the coloured strip painted down the lengh of the plane. What is the recomended course of action here? Modify the kit (fill in the windows somehow) Modify the decals (cut out the window holes) Buy a different kit Buy different decals. ... something else? I emailed the guy at 26decals for advice (he should really provide some instruction or suitable decals for all kit variations) but I got no reply... Looking forward to hearing your tips!