1/72 Xtradecal Boulton Paul Defiant Decals

[Stew Dapple]

On Hannant's 'Future Releases' list -

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/X72217

I'll be in for one of these, for sure

Cheers,

Stew

[Paul J]

Bit disappointed that they omitted 307 Polish Squadron on the set. The Hendon one for example! But you get THREE 264 Squadron ones!. Apart from slight variations in markings and a black one, Why!!

Talking of Xtradecals, I just recieved the Blenheim Mk.IV set and spotted a couple mistakes. Serial number of the Greek option on the sheet doesn't match the one in the diagrams and the same for the serial number for the Italian one. The decal is N2389 and the diagram has Z2389. Hmm.

Proof reader gone to sleep??

[Beard]

And I was only planning on buying three of the new Defiant.

[Work In Progress]

Bit disappointed that they omitted 307 Polish Squadron on the set.

Print Scale is your friend

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/PSL72120

[Paul J]

Print Scale is your friend

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/PSL72120

Cheers for that. Didn't know about this set.

[Veltro]

Bit disappointed that they omitted 307 Polish Squadron on the set. The Hendon one for example! But you get THREE 264 Squadron ones!. Apart from slight variations in markings and a black one, Why!!

Talking of Xtradecals, I just recieved the Blenheim Mk.IV set and spotted a couple mistakes. Serial number of the Greek option on the sheet doesn't match the one in the diagrams and the same for the serial number for the Italian one. The decal is N2389 and the diagram has Z2389. Hmm.

Proof reader gone to sleep??

I've had a look at this with regards to the Blenheim sheet. Fortunately, the error is on the instruction sheet and not the decals. For the Greek option, although both serials/codes are correct for Greek Blenheim's, the instruction should be shown as on the decal sheet, ie B268 and not B253.

Regarding the serial on the Italian option, the instruction sheet should read N3589 as per the decal. Erroneously, the instruction sheet is labelled Z3589. N3589 is the correct serial.

[viscount806x]

I don't want to pour water on this by any means but, in general, wouldn't it be far slicker, when modelling WWII subjects, to go back to how we did things 30-40 years ago using sheets of codes and serials? Unless there are squadron emblems or other fancy artwork, I can't see the saving in time, effort and most especially cost.

But then again, I don't see the logic in many things these days, i-phones, Sky TV and the use of '4 by 4s' by ordinary folk being particularly baffling.

Feel free to discuss.

Sorry to hijack your thread Stew. (yummy, stewed apple!)

Pip pip, Nige B

[Julien]

And I was only planning on buying three of the new Defiant.

You never really believed that did you!

[atvd1020]

Print Scale is your friend

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/PSL72120

The roundel colour may be off. Not as bad as in the link, but have a look here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234964403-print-scale-raf-subject-decals/

[Graham Boak]

Having the serial in one piece makes it much quicker and easier to place, and also (I find) easier to hide the background varnish. As for the other things you mention, well, yes.

[Stew Dapple]

I don't want to pour water on this by any means but, in general, wouldn't it be far slicker, when modelling WWII subjects, to go back to how we did things 30-40 years ago using sheets of codes and serials? Unless there are squadron emblems or other fancy artwork, I can't see the saving in time, effort and most especially cost...

I agree up to a point Nige, subject to Graham's proviso above, but also it's worth noting that the sheets of squadron codes are for a standard sort of 'font' and (especially in early war aircraft) squadron codes were applied to the aircraft at squadron level which did result in some variation in the shapes and sometimes the widths of certain letters (especially 'M', 'N' and the like)...

Of course if the particular aircraft you want to model does not appear on an aftermarket decal sheet then codes and serial sheets are your friend...

Cheers,

Stew

[Paul J]

I don't want to pour water on this by any means but, in general, wouldn't it be far slicker, when modelling WWII subjects, to go back to how we did things 30-40 years ago using sheets of codes and serials? Unless there are squadron emblems or other fancy artwork, I can't see the saving in time, effort and most especially cost.

But then again, I don't see the logic in many things these days, i-phones, Sky TV and the use of '4 by 4s' by ordinary folk being particularly baffling.

Feel free to discuss.

Sorry to hijack your thread Stew. (yummy, stewed apple!)

Pip pip, Nige B

Quite honestly, I entirely agree. Its probably the route I'll take with my build if and when I get the kit. ButI do go this way when building other models and no decals readily available I go to my sets of generic decals.

[stevehnz]

I'll be after a set of the Xtradecal markings, even if just for the ASR Defiant.

Steve.

[viscount806x]

Having the serial in one piece makes it much quicker and easier to place, and also (I find) easier to hide the background varnish. As for the other things you mention, well, yes.

True but for serials, you can do one digit at a time, blot it then get the next correctly placed and so on. Having them all floating does make it hard. cutting the digits out closely from the sheet minimises the carrier film and they can be overlapped after blotting to get positioned. With good quality ones like Modeldecals, the carrier disappears anyway if the surface has been pre varnished.

[viscount806x]

I agree up to a point Nige, subject to Graham's proviso above, but also it's worth noting that the sheets of squadron codes are for a standard sort of 'font' and (especially in early war aircraft) squadron codes were applied to the aircraft at squadron level which did result in some variation in the shapes and sometimes the widths of certain letters (especially 'M', 'N' and the like)...

Of course if the particular aircraft you want to model does not appear on an aftermarket decal sheet then codes and serial sheets are your friend...

Cheers,

Stew

Well yes if the font is a 'special like perhaps squadron codes with a different colour surround but for run of the mill codes and serials, I think the decal producers might be spoon feeding us too much

[Procopius]

Well yes if the font is a 'special like perhaps squadron codes with a different colour surround but for run of the mill codes and serials, I think the decal producers might be spoon feeding us too much

It's easy enough to cut all the serials up and do them yourself if you desire the added inconvenience, and you can even consider the hassle of cutting them to be a further bonus.

[Stew Dapple]

Well yes if the font is a 'special like perhaps squadron codes with a different colour surround but for run of the mill codes and serials, I think the decal producers might be spoon feeding us too much

Well Nige, if by 'spoon feeding us' you mean selling us aftermarket decals, that is pretty much the business of aftermarket decal producers so I don't see that they can be criticised for that.

If your inner purist is offended that it is easier to produce kits in different markings than it used to be, can I point out that aftermarket decals are an option, not an obligation?

I can't really grasp if you have a genuine complaint or if you are just trying to be more 'authentic' a modeller than I am?

Cheers,

Stew

[viscount806x]

Well Nige, if by 'spoon feeding us' you mean selling us aftermarket decals, that is pretty much the business of aftermarket decal producers so I don't see that they can be criticised for that.

If your inner purist is offended that it is easier to produce kits in different markings than it used to be, can I point out that aftermarket decals are an option, not an obligation?

I can't really grasp if you have a genuine complaint or if you are just trying to be more 'authentic' a modeller than I am?

Cheers,

Stew

Stew, no offence was intended at all and I'm not really complaining either but simply musing that perhaps a set of aftermarket decals which might help complete just a couple of models could be a bit less versatile than a good set or two of generic codes and serials, the latter of which might conceivably allow a very much larger number of models to be built for a similar price. That was all, it was just a discussion point centred primarily on value for money, not elitism.

I can be as enthusiastic as anyone about aftermarket decals when they provide something unique, different or require too much skill to reproduce for the average builder such as myself and there are many cases which deserve their attention still. A good example might be a set allowing the two carmine red Gloster Meteors G-AKPK and G-AIDC to be built, difficult lettering in a non standard colour but to date, totally ignored by aftermarketeers. Admittedly that example wouldn't be to everyones taste but each of us have our own wish list for tricky subjects I'm sure. The reason I thought particularly about this Defiant example wasn't because my 'inner purist was offended' (I probably haven't got one anyway) but because all I could see on that particular artwork, nice though they are, were standard codes and serials, available en masse on Xtradecal sheets for a fractional price.

I hope that this has clarified my open thoughts and I'm sorry if I have unintentionally upset you but it seemed an opportunity to discuss the point and I did apologise already for hijacking your posting.

Nige B

[viscount806x]

It's easy enough to cut all the serials up and do them yourself if you desire the added inconvenience, and you can even consider the hassle of cutting them to be a further bonus.

Is that a helpful addition to the discussion point which I raised?

[Stew Dapple]

Nige, thank you for your clarification, I had not taken offence but I did wonder what exactly you were getting at.

If you study the Defiant sheet closely you will note that in addition to some non-standard fuselage roundels not provided on the generic decal sheets, there is some variation in the thickness and style of letters even between the 264 Squadron aircraft. If you built those three options plus the 141 Squadron aircraft using the Model Decal generic codes and serials sheets the best you could hope for is that only two of them would be incorrect, because the other two, and possibly a third of the four would certainly be wrong. Ever so slightly wrong perhaps, and we are talking very small details, but in 1/72 all our details are very small so it just depends on where you want to draw the line.

I'll be getting this sheet, and building at least three of the options, so the expense (assuming it will be around the usual price of £8) will be offset; the time saved multiplied per build... the effort saved will obviously vary according to how much effort I would have put in anyway, so probably not much given my usual lazy modus operandi, but any effort saved is gratefully seized upon in any case.

I do have the Model Decal generic codes and serials sheets as well as some of the Xtradecal codes and various roundels and if I feel the need to make a model of a specific aircraft they are indeed useful. However sometimes I will be inspired by an aircraft in a scheme of which I had previously been unaware because it appears on an aftermarket decal sheet and in cases like that fairness - and to be honest accuracy - dictates that I should buy the sheet that inspired me.

Cheers,

Stew

[Sopwith Pup]

Well I'm very happy to see this sheet as it contains the two schemes I really want to do, namely the aircraft used by Ulsterman F/O F.D Hughes, PS-T and PS-B "Coimbatore ii".

Happy Days!

[viscount806x]

Nige, thank you for your clarification, I had not taken offence but I did wonder what exactly you were getting at.

If you study the Defiant sheet closely you will note that in addition to some non-standard fuselage roundels not provided on the generic decal sheets, there is some variation in the thickness and style of letters even between the 264 Squadron aircraft. If you built those three options plus the 141 Squadron aircraft using the Model Decal generic codes and serials sheets the best you could hope for is that only two of them would be incorrect, because the other two, and possibly a third of the four would certainly be wrong. Ever so slightly wrong perhaps, and we are talking very small details, but in 1/72 all our details are very small so it just depends on where you want to draw the line.

I'll be getting this sheet, and building at least three of the options, so the expense (assuming it will be around the usual price of £8) will be offset; the time saved multiplied per build... the effort saved will obviously vary according to how much effort I would have put in anyway, so probably not much given my usual lazy modus operandi, but any effort saved is gratefully seized upon in any case.

I do have the Model Decal generic codes and serials sheets as well as some of the Xtradecal codes and various roundels and if I feel the need to make a model of a specific aircraft they are indeed useful. However sometimes I will be inspired by an aircraft in a scheme of which I had previously been unaware because it appears on an aftermarket decal sheet and in cases like that fairness - and to be honest accuracy - dictates that I should buy the sheet that inspired me.

Cheers,

Stew

Fair comment Stew.

Best wishes, Nige B

[woody37]

Well yes if the font is a 'special like perhaps squadron codes with a different colour surround but for run of the mill codes and serials, I think the decal producers might be spoon feeding us too much

Supply & demand. If people buy them, people will continue to create and sell them.

I've just bought some of the generic lettering for Bomber Command stuff, but I also buy some of the full decal sets too.

We are hoarders you know, it's not just model kits we stash away like big crazy squirrels!!!!!

[viscount806x]

Supply & demand. If people buy them, people will continue to create and sell them.

I've just bought some of the generic lettering for Bomber Command stuff, but I also buy some of the full decal sets too.

We are hoarders you know, it's not just model kits we stash away like big crazy squirrels!!!!!

Cheers Woody, I also buy decals which appeal and I also buy more than I could conceivably use in the time left to me so you can lump me in with the hoarding squirrels as well. I do however wish that the really complex but desirable subjects could be tackled rather than ones which I myself, even with my debatable skills, could manage relatively easily without much help.

Nige B