Quinta Cockpit Sets

[Curt B]

Hi All,

 

I know my post here won't be anything new to most of you, but I wanted to take a moment to tell you that I've been holding off on making progress on my 1/48 Tamiya Ilyushin iL-2 Sturmovick airplane model, because I was at the point of needing to use the cockpit decals, and, frankly, I was nervous about it.  I had read the really well done Modeling News article about how to use the Quinta 3D decals, but I'm still usually skittish with new products until I deal with them myself.  I decided that yesterday was the day.  I should not have been worried.  Everything the Modeling News article said about the Quinta decals and how to use them was spot on!  You simply soak them for 10-15 seconds, and the 3D vinyl 'parts' slide off the backing easily and you can put them on a piece of plastic for safekeeping.  I had previously created a custom mix of Tamiya colors to match the vinyl color of the majority of the Quinta parts.  The suggested XF-22 wasn't going to be a close enough match to the Quinta vinyl color chosen for the instrument panel.  So instead of following the Tamiya instructions, I mixed up a custom color, a light gray with a faint bluish cast, that pretty much nails the Quinta colors.  Once the 'decals' have been soaked, they easily slip off their backing,  I padded the pieces dry with kleenex, and then decided to glue them in place using Gator Grip white model glue, great stuff if you've never used it!.  There was simply no drama involved in using/installing these new 3D decals.  They are easy to use, not harder than regular decals, and they are beautiful!  My IL-2 cockpit looks fantastic, and certainly better than it would have had I limited myself to my former favorite cockpit improvement, painted photo etch.  I know that for the future, I'll be using Quinta whenever it's available for my given model, despite it being rather costly.  In this modeler's opinion, the quality is worth the price! 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I agree they're very nice indeed. I've only used one set so far but it won't be the last.

[Whitewolf]

Haven't used my 1/48 Mig 29SMT set yet. I didn't see the magazine article on these, so you slide them off, dry them then use glue? I had heard the decals don't fasten as such?

[DarrenH]

They are not a decal.

they are simply secured to decal paper for transport.

Once removed they can be secured using whatever method you want ie white glue, super glue, etc.

Do not mistake the panels for being a decal they are most definitely not.

[sammy da fish]

Yep can confirm they are easy to use, I managed to use these superb decals on my Si-27UB and finished both cockpits within twenty minutes using PVA glue. Only down side is that they were £22 which quite a bit of dosh. Will I be using them again oh yes.

sammy
 

[Curt B]

On 12/27/2020 at 4:54 AM, Whitewolf said:

Haven't used my 1/48 Mig 29SMT set yet. I didn't see the magazine article on these, so you slide them off, dry them then use glue? I had heard the decals don't fasten as such?

As other have said, they really aren't 'decals', as such.  They are more like vinyl versions of the pre-painted Eduard cockpit photo etch, to try to come up with a way to describe them.  The use of decal film is just the way the manufacturer chose to provide them to the modeler.  You can soak them and slide them off sort of like a decal, but you can pat them dry and set them aside.  I had great success in securing them to the plastic parts using Gator Grip Acrylic Hobby Glue, which holds wonderfully and dries clear, in case there is a little excess that you don't clean up while it's still wet.  

Like other have said, they are expensive, but there is nothing else out there in the marketplace that is similar to them.  The only issue I had with the set I used for my 1/48 Tamiya Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik was the color, though it's not clear to me that anyone really knows what the original war time color of the cockpit of this plane really was.  I ended up mixing an almost perfect match in Tamiya paint, and the panels, now installed, simply couldn't be better.

[Whitewolf]

On 30/12/2020 at 15:02, Curt B said:

As other have said, they really aren't 'decals', as such.  They are more like vinyl versions of the pre-painted Eduard cockpit photo etch, to try to come up with a way to describe them.  The use of decal film is just the way the manufacturer chose to provide them to the modeler.  You can soak them and slide them off sort of like a decal, but you can pat them dry and set them aside.  I had great success in securing them to the plastic parts using Gator Grip Acrylic Hobby Glue, which holds wonderfully and dries clear, in case there is a little excess that you don't clean up while it's still wet.  

Like other have said, they are expensive, but there is nothing else out there in the marketplace that is similar to them.  The only issue I had with the set I used for my 1/48 Tamiya Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik was the color, though it's not clear to me that anyone really knows what the original war time color of the cockpit of this plane really was.  I ended up mixing an almost perfect match in Tamiya paint, and the panels, now installed, simply couldn't be better.

 

[Whitewolf]

Great article, I must admit I was a bit unsure about how they worked exactly, but now I fully understand, many thanks!