bigbadbadge Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Looks lovely Steve, with the decals on . What a beauty. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philp Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Looks good to me. I have heard of using a hairdryer to help decals conform but haven’t tried it myself. Only used to help the paint dry a bit faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 On 10/26/2022 at 6:13 AM, Navy Bird said: Hmm...I've never had any problems with Xtradecal (which are made by Microscale). I use Microscale's decal solvents (Micro-Set and Micro-Sol) - what are you guys using? Now, that said, I did have some major problems with a TwoBobs sheet (also printed by Microscale). That sheet seemed to not have any decal film applied over the ink. Talk about a Technicolour psychedelic moment in the decal bowl. Cheers, Bill Which Two Bobs sheet was that Bill, I've got a "few" squirreled away & a coat of MS Liquid Decal film might be in order if I have that one? Now pay attention you lot, reading through these last couple of pages as Steve @Fritag fought with his decals & reading others chip it, do yourselves a favour & read up on the Klear/Future bedding method, it does everything it purports to pretty much & is very forgiving. Using this & combining with John's @Biggles87 method of hot water pressure applied to the decal I got some Xtradecal to settle over the vortex generators on an Airfix A-4 wing. Yes, a couple poked through but the decal did by & large conform & looked fine after some tiny fix ups. The K/F method also has the advantage, a bit like @Rizon's white glue method, of sticking down decals that might be reluctant to stick & as the bedding solution dries it does a good job of drawing the decal down into panel lines. here endith the lesson. Hawks looking splendider & splendider Steve. 👍 Steve. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 51 minutes ago, stevehnz said: Which Two Bobs sheet was that Bill, I've got a "few" squirreled away & a coat of MS Liquid Decal film might be in order if I have that one? F/A-18E/F Rockin' Rhinos 3 VFA-2/VFA-154 sheet no. 72-046. I used to use MS decal film and/or Future but I've switched to MRP Super Clear Gloss. Works like a charm, just remember to cut close to the design. Cheers, Bill 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 10 minutes ago, Navy Bird said: F/A-18E/F Rockin' Rhinos 3 VFA-2/VFA-154 sheet no. 72-046. I used to use MS decal film and/or Future but I've switched to MRP Super Clear Gloss. Works like a charm, just remember to cut close to the design. Cheers, Bill Thanks Bill, I'm off the hook on that one but will inspect those I have carefully all the same. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 (edited) Very interesting discussion about decals chaps, thanks (I initially wrote ‘fascinating’ discussion but on reflection thought that made me sound a bit overenthusiastic about the whole process ) 16 hours ago, Johnson said: I use and like Xtradecals but they can be a bit inflexible especially the roundels I'm afraid. Yes that fits with my experience here. It was really only the roundels that I had difficulty with. 10 hours ago, stevehnz said: read up on the Klear/Future bedding method, it does everything it purports to pretty much & is very forgiving. I did try using Klear with the roundels here Steve, but not your full KOE method Back to school for me… 14 hours ago, Rizon said: Either way, I prefer a 50/50 mix of water and white glue Thanks Rizon, that’s a technique I’ve not tried. I shall bear that in mind for the future. May even have a practise… 16 hours ago, Johnson said: I was getting the same problem and I looked on BM for an alternative and now use Microsoft One Drive. 5GB for free. Posting on BM can be a bit of a faff but fine once your used to it. Thanks Charlie, I have an Office 365 subscription and so have a whole TB available (well most of it anyway) - you may have saved me from an unnecessary photo-hosting subscription One of these days I also need to cancel my legacy Photobucket subscription. I’ve no intention of uploading anything more to Photobucket but all the photos on my previous threads and most of this thread are hosted by Photobucket and I don’t want to lose the links (yet). 15 hours ago, Paulaero said: Don't mention stencils!!! 😆 I feel your pain, Paul; there’s a surprising number of stencils on a Hawk. Not as many as your Phantom, but then the Hawk is smaller….. On t’other hand I’ve got 2 of them to do… As far as decalling goes, it’s now one down and one to go. The last stencil went on the Valley Hawk yesterday and a klear coat last night. I guess stencil decals can be overdone/overscale in 1/72; but here I think they add a bit of life to the Valley block-colour scheme. That said, not too much to be seen down under. A case of spot the difference? More on the top side. And I’ve followed advice and got a couple of softer pencils - 4B and 9B, to experiment with. Fed up with decals and still have a Hawk to go…. Edited October 28, 2022 by Fritag typo 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Keep 'em nice and sharp, you'll be fine with them Doesn't that scheme look wonderful on a Hawk? Yes Bill it does and how well Steve has added them is another credit to the man. 👍 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 35 minutes ago, Fritag said: That said, not too much to be seen down under. A case of spot the difference? Well, I can see two pairs of "lift here" stencils I think? One pair under cockpit and the other at the extreme rear. A nice bit os subtle streaking there too. Very nice indeed. I bit the bullet a couple of years ago and went for a full Flickr subscription. Only costs a few quid a month and I use it to post all hobby related stuff, so modelling and other things of interest. Still think Flickr is one of the best IMHO. Oh, and yes, the contribution of some of your viewers about decals was an eye opener and something I will try for sure. You see Steve, this thread is the thread that keeps giving! 👍 Terry 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 I do the Fickr thing too and have done since PB held everyone to ransom. All my posts have had links updated to Flickr from PB, or at least all I have found! Well worth the money as I would only use up the free allocation anyway then have to look somewhere else! Nice decaling too, the stencils really add some life to the airframes. Ian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 +3 for Flickr. Even if they can't spell scintillate. Cheers, Bill PS. Stencils are my life. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 2 hours ago, Navy Bird said: scintillate. Sin 'til late! (?) My motto as a yoof. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 11 hours ago, Fritag said: Fed up with decals and still have a Hawk to go…. This one is looking ace, anyway Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 I've been otherwise engaged fighting off the you-know-what the last few days (well, I couldn't let the pandemic pass into history without at least having taken part...), so just catching up. Looking good! sorry for the troubles with the decals... Not much to add to the decal wisdom already provided but one tip for the most stubborn decals - and silvering for the matter - is a well controlled dab of Tamiya Extra Thin. There's not a decal produced that will stand up to that, nor silvering. Obviously much care is required but it works when all else fails. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 A good no, excellent piece of advice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 1 hour ago, mark.au said: I've been otherwise engaged fighting off the you-know-what the last few days (well, I couldn't let the pandemic pass into history without at least having taken part...), Hope it didn't hit you too bad. When I finally "acquired" it a few weeks ago, my doc put me on Paxlovid and I think that really helped. It was brutal for the first few days though. Cheers, Bill 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Just caught up with the paint progress Steve, bloomin marvellous I find 1/72 scale hard to keep a scale accuracy due to how thin parts would really be in this scale, but you've achieved it most admirably. How many prime ministers are we up to now? This is far more interesting than that though 🤣 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 On 28/10/2022 at 08:54, Fritag said: And I’ve followed advice and got a couple of softer pencils - 4B and 9B, to experiment with. I didn't realize there was anything above 8B! (There's a Spinal Tap amplifier joke in here somewhere I think....) Tedious as it might seem to do them, those stencils are providing a rich punctuation to the quality of the preceding work. Nearly there! 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Now that's a nice pair !! Congratulations Sir.... Come on the RFI is now at hand.... Impressive job !! Sincerely. CC 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 6 hours ago, TheBaron said: I didn't realize there was anything above 8B! (There's a Spinal Tap amplifier joke in here somewhere I think....) Only if your piano has a really long keyboard, but by the time you're up to that high a pitch you're pushing the range where only dogs will hear you James 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 Mrs F is in London at the mo’, staying at the RAF club for a few nights to meet up with a friend who’s over from Chicago. And seeing as It’s ages since our last hols , I’m off down to join her tomorrow for a couple of nights followed by a few nights in Paris, at a club that has a reciprocal arrangement with the RAF club Haven’t been back to Paris for at least 10 years, so it’s well overdue. In other news, I’ve finally decalled both the bl**dy Hawks and given them a coat of shiny Tamiya clear lacquer in readiness for some oil work. This is the state of play prior to weathering: The decalling’s been more than a bit tedious; but I’m looking forward to some subtle oil work rather more. 34 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Yeah, well, I guess they're OK. NOT! They're spectacular!! 👍 👍 👍 Cheers, Bill 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Stunning is the word that springs to mind. I do love the Valley Hawk! Ian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Looking good! I’m curious as to whether there’s another layer to your enjoyment in these models having actually flown these airframes? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Wot they all said and more! One question. Many moons ago, we had sight of some work on the TWU Hawk gun pack. Is this to be fitted? Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Totally agreed with the above comments... Great Hawks !! Have a great stay in Paris !! I did'nt get down there for years.... What happen in Paris, stay in Paris.... CC 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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