+++ FINISHED! +++ Fujimi Phantom F-4K/FG.1 (Royal Navy) 1/72

[Mozzy19]

Decal disasters seem to be quite common in this build unfortunately. I'm sure the great and the good of Britmodeller should be able to help you with your decals.

Sean

[jrlx]

Thanks for your words Sean. This was the first time I had problems with decals. I've used Airfix, Academy and Revell decals before with perfect results. There's always a first time, I guess...

[Fatboydim]

That's a pity about the decals Jaime. The paint finish looks very good. Thank you for the information about the Aqua Gloss. Joe

[jrlx]

Thanks Joe. I was quite pleased with the paint finish. I think it was due to the two coats of Alclad primer and the sanding of surface defects before the second coat.

Jaime

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

I didn't manage to finish any of my three British Phantom builds in time for the Phantom GB, but I will now finish them as regular WIPs (the three threads are now in the Aircraft WIP area).

 

While I'm still considering how to solve the problem of the damaged tail fin decals, I sanded the wrinkles with 1200 grit wet & dry. This is how the decals look now:

IMAG2511

 

IMAG2512

 

So, what can I do now? The possibilities are:

1. ask some fellow modeller for some spare decals
2. buy a set of decals for a RN Phantom
3. print the decals myself on decal paper, using an image from the net (some Photoshop work will be needed)
4. since the white lozenge with the omega is ok on the starboard side and is passable on the port side, I could mask the tail and paint the red areas.

 

I can do 3 or 4 immediately. If I go for option 4, I will do it as follows:

• apply Aqua Gloss to smooth out the surface irregularities
• mask along the edges of the red areas and over the white lozenges
• seal the masking with Aqua Gloss
• paint over the red areas of the decals with a red paint. It seems that Gunze H327 (Red FS11136) is very similar to the decal's red, or should I use Gunze H23 (Shine Red)?

 

I'd be most grateful to hear your advice.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Jaime - I'm so sorry that you've hit this snag with the decals.You've still got a beautiful model there.For what it's worth,in my honest opinion,I'd be tempted to carefully seal over the White Omega Sections with Klear.Then,I'd mask the outline of the red and airbrush it with the lightest (as in finest) coat of red.That should restore their appearance.If I had,or knew anybody that did have,any 1/72 decal replacements then they would be in 1st.Class Airmail to you.I hope this may give you some food for thought.What I do know is that when you've got the model fully sorted out,she'll be a beauty! All the very best,Paul.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

That's what I'd do, too; the "difficult" bit (the Omega) looks fine, so you should be able to fix the red section with paint.

[jrlx]

Paul, Ex-FAAWAFU, thanks for the kind words and suggestions.

I would be inclined to paint over the red area of the decals, however Troffa kindly offered to send me some spares of the tail fin decals, which I gratefully accepted.

So, I'll have second try when the spares arrive. This time I'll apply first a coat of Microscale's Liquid Decal Film (to the decals of my three British Phantoms, by the way). This should strengthen the decals which are rather old, since I bought these kits second hand on ebay and they are 20-30 years old. Hopefully, the decals will behave better this time...

Thanks again

Jaime

[Marco53]

great job

[jrlx]

Thanks for the appreciation, Marco

Cheers

Jaime

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

Yesterday I received by post the spare tail fin decals sent by Troffa. A big thank you to Troffa for his very kind offer

 

Here they are:

IMAG2567

 

Before applying the new decals, I had to remove the damaged ones.This is done with Micro Set, the very liquid used to set the decals on the model's surface. Here's the set-up:

IMAG2560

 

Initially I masked the white R decal but I took off the tape right at the beginning of the decal removal process, because I was afraid that Micro Set would be absorbed by the tape and damage the R.

 

To remove the damaged decal, I applied Micro Set until the decal was so soft that it started to peel off:

IMAG2562

 

Then, using the brush soaked in Micro Set, I pushed the decal slowly and gently until it was completely removed. This is a very lengthy process. It took me 1h30 to complete this side. The following pictures show various stages of the process:

IMAG2563

 

IMAG2564

 

IMAG2565

 

Here's the final result:

IMAG2566

 

The wrinkles in the decal imprinted on the painted surface. Sanding the decal as I did, didn't help either. So there's a slight damage to the paint that I'll have to repair.

 

The decal on the other side of the fin was more difficult to remove because it was more damaged and kept braking to pieces during the removal process. It took me 2h to remove it. Here's the end result:

IMAG2561

 

This side is very damaged and will need to be repainted.

 

So, the next step is repairing the tail fin painting. Only after can I apply the new decals.

 

Thanks again to Troffa for the replacement decals and thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

[Fatboydim]

Hi Jaime, it's a shame about the paint. I'm sure with another coat of paint, and a polish with some micro-mesh it will look fine.

[jrlx]

Hi Joe,

This was to be expected. I'm sure you're right and that was my intended approach to repair the painting.

Cheers

Jaime

[Cookenbacher]

Sorry the decals have given you so much trouble, but you'll have it sorted in no time Jaime. That's beautiful build of the Fujimi kit.

[jrlx]

Thanks Cookie. I'd like to finish the repair until Friday, since I'll be away on holidays for two weeks starting Saturday.

Jaime

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

I'm finally posting an update on this build. It got stuck while I was trying to build several entries to the Battle of Britain and Tiger Moth GBs, which I didn't manage to finish in time. I finished only a Bf 109, but after moving it to the KUTA VIII GB. So, after much delay, I managed to get back to this model and make some progress on it.

 

I wasn't completely away from the model, though. Back in October, I found that the lower part of the wind-shield had no glazing, so I had to remove the masking, paint the interior black colour and, later, paint the external camouflage colour. The first two steps were done in October, to use some black paint still in the airbrush, while I was working on other models. Here's the wind-shield still with the wrong masking of the lower part:

IMAG2791

 

The masking was removed from the lower glazing and the area around was protected, before painting the interior black:

IMAG2792

 

After painting and removing the masking:

IMAG2802

 

In January, I also applied a coat of Microscale's Decal Film to the decal sheet, in order to strengthen the decals and avoid additional problems, like in the tail fin. Here's the decal sheets and decal film liquid for illustrative purposes. The replacement tail fin decals were kindly donated to me by Troffa:

IMAG3257

 

Finally, last weekend I returned to this model in earnest. The first major step was to repair the tail fin paint work, which had been damaged by the tail fin decal wrinkles. For this I used micromesh 3600, until achieving a smooth surface:

IMAG3298

 

IMAG3299

 

Before repainting, I had to mask and protect the rest of the aircraft. I started by delimiting the areas to protect, using masking tape. Apart from the tail fin, I also left a few panels unprotected to repair a few spots:

IMAG3300

 

IMAG3301

 

The masking was finished using kitchen cling film:

IMAG3303

 

IMAG3302

 

This specific spot near the starboard exhaust had also been damaged when I accidentally touched the decal still soaked in the setting solution. It would have to be repaired as well:

IMAG3304

 

The paint work was repaired using a mix of 75% thinner and 25% paint, airbrushed at 10 psi and low volume spraying. Successive thin layers of paint achieved a good result:

IMAG3306

 

IMAG3307

 

The lower area of the wind-shield finally received the external colour coverage:

IMAG3308

 

The damaged spot near the exhaust was repaired as well:

IMAG3305

 

However, since I didn't repaint the whole panel, there was a visible coverage difference between the repaired area and the rest of the panel:

IMAG3309

 

So, the panel was delimited by masking tape and repainted. Now it was OK:

IMAG3310

 

After removing the protective masking, the next step was applying the tail fin decals. Here's the set up for that:

IMAG3311

 

This time the decals didn't self-destruct:

IMAG3312

 

I also applied the top wing roundels:

IMAG3313

 

However, this process wasn't without problems. First, the decal film creates a thin film that extends beyond the decal area itself and it easily crumbles apart in small pieces that must be cleaned away. On the other hand, the decals become thicker and don't conform easily to the surface detail. I also had problems making the roundels stick to the surface, as the rims kept curling up. I only managed to solve this with additional doses of setting solution and a cotton bud. The transparent areas of the decal film are also very prone to silvering.

 

So, this is now up to date. Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

[Tomoshenko]

The like is for your stirling perseverance (notwithstanding the fine subject matter and build), as opposed to your trials and testing tribulations. :-)

[jrlx]

Thanks Tomoshenko! Much appreciated

[Fatboydim]

Hi Jaime, that worked out very well in the end. Your Phantom is looking very good. Well done, Joe

[jrlx]

Thanks Joe! Nice hearing from you, what are you building now? I'm a bit behind following threads recently...

[Fatboydim]

Thanks Joe! Nice hearing from you, what are you building now? I'm a bit behind following threads recently...

Thank you Jaime, I'm also a bit behind. My last effort was a what if Skyraider in Royal Navy markings (I really enjoyed that one). I've just started a Corsair in the STGB. But like yourself, I'm busy doing other things and my modelling time is limited.

[jrlx]

I remember that Skyraider. It was an excellent build. The aircraft itself is very impressive and is now in my list of future buys.

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Jaime - You're doing a phine job with this beauty and she's coming together well.Looking forward to her 'roll-out'! All the very best,Paul.

[jrlx]

Hi Paul, thanks a lot! It will still take some time to finish this bird. The number of stencils to apply is a daunting perspective... What are you building, now? Is it still the F-101?

[mcdonnell]

Hi Paul, thanks a lot! It will still take some time to finish this bird. The number of stencils to apply is a daunting perspective... What are you building, now? Is it still the F-101?

Hello Jaime - There are a lot of stencils on the Navy bird and for getting equal spacings I used my old faithful 'Dividers'.I found their use both a necessity and a blessing.The 'Voodoo' is now fully primed up and I'm getting her ready for the decorative painting process as soon as I can.I updated my WIP which show her in the white primer.All the very best,Paul.