MANX AIR Twin Otter

[Bangseat]

Wonderful! I'm awed you can achieve that finish with inkjet decals, I have had no success with them. It looks like you have printed on white decal paper for the white lettering, is that the case? And you've got them to conform to the surface too, that is what I really struggled with, after applying a sealer coat setting solutions weren't doing the job. 

 

Bravo! 

[Wulfman]

Superb modelling and presentation !

 

Wulfman

[thorfinn]

5 hours ago, Bangseat said:

It looks like you have printed on white decal paper for the white lettering, is that the case? And you've got them to conform to the surface too, that is what I really struggled with, after applying a sealer coat setting solutions weren't doing the job. 

Actually, I decided to print them out on clear decal stock; the white lettering on the artwork prints clear, letting the base-coat show through.

I frankly wasn't sure whether the clear-printed 'translucent' red on the tail would look opaque enough (and not be blotchy), but luckily it came out well in that regard.

I did have to apply a number of 'doses' of Solvaset to get the decal to lie down over the rudder texture. If you look carefully in the photos at the bottom of the rudder on the right side, there's a slight mis-match of red color, where I had to touch-up: the last bit of setting solution got the decal soft enough to 'suck down'...but it made that clear-printed red bleed just a little bit.

Solvaset seems to have a popular reputation as being too harsh or powerful to use in any but the direst of circumstances, but it's actually the only such product I've ever used, and I find it quite docile to work with. The trick is to blot up any excess after it's been allowed to spread beneath the decal, and not to allow it to pool on the surface. Even then, I've never found it as 'corrosive' as it's often credited to be.

With home-printed decals -- even well-sealed ones -- there's just a natural limit as to how much setting solution they will bear. And red seems to be the color most prone to running. Just one of those things.

Thanks for your comments.