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Safety Belts


Uncle Pete

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The Tamiya Mosquito I just finished had decals for safety belts.  I'd never run across that before and it struck me as a good idea. .. 

MC Detail 3

 

.... so I thought I'd see if it was a regular thing.  I poked around on the internet but couldn't find an "Assorted Seat Belt" decal sheet but it occurred to me before cutting the Tamiya seat belt off the sheet to scan it into my pooter.  I printed one out and cut a paper one for the Hurri on the bench...

IMG_1320

 

... Glued it on and dumped a blob of floor wax over it.  A bit grim under magnification but in 1/72 it doesn't look half bad.  I could have stretched it a bit more to put the lap belt in the right place but I can live with it as is... Next one will be better.

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I'm not a huge fan of decals for seat belts, but I've seen in the past a nice trick where the decal was applied to paper and then cut. This resulted in a more realistic solution and your idea reminds me a lot of that trick. I can see how cutting the printed belt will not be the easiest task, but IMHO the result is worth the work. To me your printed belt looks more realistic than the decals on the Mosquito

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44 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

I can see how cutting the printed belt will not be the easiest task

You ain't whistlin' Dixie!  It was a game and a half.  The decal does look a bit too smooth... I like the roughness of the paper one and you can also muck about with the colour a bit in the computer if you don't like it.

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They look good, particularly for 1/72.

Like Giorgio I don't like decal seatbelts, I used them once on the first build I did when I returned to modelling, and hated them immediately. I have also tried just cutting out the decal, still on the backing paper, but that also didn't look good. I have also tried using Tamiya masking tape and buckles made of fuse wire which was passable (barely (with the canopy closed (and not looking too closely))).

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There isn't much that beats photo etch or Eduards superfabric belts, but they aren't always available at the right price, so I often get images of seatbelts from the internet and modify (if necessary) and print them off on good quality paper. They don't stand up to close scrutiny, but are usually good enough at a distance.

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I'm happy with that if it saves me a few quid.

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56 minutes ago, Gorby said:

They don't stand up to close scrutiny, but are usually good enough at a distance.

As long as they're better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, I'm okay... It's not like I'm building them for the RAF museum.  I made a set for another plane out of regular masking tape... The Tamiya stuff strikes me as a bit too bright.  Can't be bothered making buckles, though, I know my limits!

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