Airfix 1/72 C-47 Skytrain 315th TCG and the case of the two stage cock up (or how I learned to live with my mistakes)

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Hi all,

 

Well after my last few builds went ok, I guess I was overdue a cock up. As it turned out a fur-lined, surround sound, ocean going cock up. All of my own making.

 

So the Airfix new tool Dak, a lovely model which I've built once before. It does need a bit of fettling and some PPP is your friend but the detail is good and it is every inch a C-47.

 

I wanted to build a 315th Troop Carrier Group machine - the unit was based at Spanhoe, Northants and the Sywell Aviation Museum has a display cabinet on them. In that is a Horsa, Hotspur, Hadrian and lately a C-46 which I've all built, some dating back 30 years! Anyway, the Dak in the display is the old tool Airfix Dak and was probably 40 years old (it was donated) and is the then advised box scheme of brown and grey. So having had the urge to scratch the itch to replace it with a newer, better model in the correct colours with D-Day stripes I began looking for decals for the 315th. Trouble is there aren't any. No-one does aftermarket for them! BUT the Airfix decals in the original 1962 Dak tooling included (along with Silver City Airways) the M6 code for the 315th! those, a couple of serials, a very bad Indian chief's head for each side and a code letter were your lot in them days...

 

So, kit went together well - sprayed with Humbrol Acrylic rattle cans with blu tack masks - now you can say what you like about Humbrol, or rattle cans but their cans give a beautifully smooth coat of paint with a satin sheen. I was really impressed - in fact the decals I used from the box went down over paint with just Mr Setter and some DACO red with no silvering at all and no need for a gloss coat. The white was Rustoleum plastic primer and I masked and brush painted the stripes and de-icing boots.

 

Anyway, all was well til I tried to apply the big M6 decals- they had been taped to a window sill to kill the yellowing for a few weeks anyway. Well they went on but were obviously not very good at all, not helped by the fact that on the port side there is a socking great venturi sticking up. I don't know what I was expecting but anyway...

 

So I tried some setting solution -that didn't help just wrinkled them more - so muggins thought....I know! A hairdryer....that will help them confirm. And in the process melted the top of the fuse and several side windows distorted. This required a lot of swearing and some refilling of seams and round the windows again with PPP (God Bless Deluxe Models) then respraying with a rattle can. Not easy which is why I need to start airbrushing again. Luckily a coat of Tamiya flat clear helped level everything out but the top of the fuse is a bit wobbly and the M6 decals look pretty crap. 

 

Bother, quoth I.

 

By this stage, I wanted it off my bench - (its a cabinet filler I 'had' to do rather than having a burning (pun) desire to complete)....so I finished it off. I hate binning models- I've only done it twice - an Academy Storch and the Aeropoxy Fox Moth - in 37 years...

 

 

It was going to be a smart factory fresh build with some panel line washes but I've fallen out of love with it.

 

So lessons learned   1) Dont expect 50 year old decals to behave ( I could have masked and sprayed them) 2) Dont use a hairdryer without being very careful. 3) BE PATIENT!  If I hadn't panicked about the decals I wouldn't have rushed and spoiled the model

 

On to the next one - the modelling Gods have had their fun!

 

TT

 

C5BED400-6D5D-4661-B293-B17C1E977821 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

E17D9788-58EC-4A09-9FED-A16693F4D217 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

2131D153-98DA-4C92-9B8C-2CF29B4DFFDD by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by TEXANTOMCAT

[Avgas]

18 minutes ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

So I tried some setting solution -that didn't help just wrinkled them more - so muggins thought....I know! A hairdryer....that will help them confirm. And in the process melted the top of the fuse and several side windows distorted. This required a lot of swearing and some refilling of seams and round the windows again with PPP (God Bless Deluxe Models) then respraying with a rattle can.

Sounds a bit like the battle I've just had with some Aztec decals. Thankfully I skipped the hairdryer and went straight for the nuclear option, Tamiya Extra Thin. I learned my lesson with heat a few years back when my Mig-29 that I'd left on the radiator overnight looked like a drooped nose Concorde in the morning..

 

Well done on the save, l'd never had known you struggled just by looking at it. Nice result !

[SAT69]

Great save. And, yes, we've all done something like that at some time ... or will do something like that at some time. None of us are immune but we keep right on building and learning ... and learning some more. Comes with the hobby. In fact, I suspect it comes with every hobby.

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Thanks chaps. I fear she’s a bit of a Monet- good from a few feet away but close up.... 😯 still as a cabinet filler she’s better than the one she replaces.. just! 
 

Normally DACO reaches parts Microsol can’t reach- not heard about using Tamiya extra thin (though a mate at model club swears by using a cotton bud with cellulose thinners - he is a nutter though) - please tell me more Avgas!

 

I remember the column in an old Aviation monthly ‘I learned about flying from that’ perhaps we should have the equivalent thread for modelling! 🙂

 

thanks again!

 

TT

[Avgas]

28 minutes ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

not heard about using Tamiya extra thin (though a mate at model club swears by using a cotton bud with cellulose thinners - he is a nutter though) - please tell me more Avgas!

Well, my order of battle is usually Micro Set/Sol, Tamiya X20a through an airbrush, and if they both fail, a dab of Tamiya Extra Thin. I'd suggest practicing on a surplus decal! The important thing is to only give a single dab, if more is needed then wait until the first appliction is completely dry. Like I said, its a nuclear option and I'd try stronger solvents than the Sol/Set that I have, before giving this a go. I didn't have any X20a left, or a stronger purpose made decal solvent, or the will to put much more effort into the build because the quality of the decals was a let down (see pics).

 

Before TET (Note the out of register printing which is why I stopped caring 🤦‍♂️)

 

After TET

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Blimey what a difference- thanks for the tip- I have some x20a acrylic thinner I’d have never thought of using that as a decal setter

 

I have to say the modern Airfix decals are flawless- the ones in the Dak sank in with DACO Red even the walkways over the lumps and bumps - and those in their recent Tiger Moth in 1/48 were the same - indeed the yellow fuselage bands were the best I’ve ever used they just flopped on like a wet towel fitted perfectly and were completely opaque! 

Edited June 1, 2020 by TEXANTOMCAT

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Good save on the C-47!  Another option is Solvaset, which is designed for problem decals.  It's my nuclear option.

[Wulfman]

Looks good to me, a great resurrection !

 

Wulfman

[Eric Mc]

Using old decals is a bit of a gamble. I've found old FROG and Matchbox decals can still work and neither yellow that much. Old AIrfix not so good. I've just completed a 1975 issue Airfix FIAT G50 and used the original decals. They had yellowed so they got the "two weeks in the sun" treatment which did work. However, their adhesiveness was poor and there was a bit of silvering, even on a Klear coat.

 

It doesn't look too bad though.