Xtradecal 72322 SAAF Fighters WW2,.....Roundel sizes??

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                 I`ve bought the recent Xtradecal SAAF sheets but two of the subjects that I was looking forward to building have dodgy roundel sizes,..... something which I have come across in other Xtradecal sheets too! The main thing I have discovered so far are the upper wing roundels on both Mustang options,..... they are the same size as the upper wing roundels on the Beaufighter on the same sheet,..... and far too big for a Mustang!

Hopefully I`ll have a suitable roundels in the spares box,..... but C Types with orange centres and SAAF roundels in general, are hard to find,.... which is why I was looking forward to the sheet.

 

I don`t know who is doing the artwork for them these days or who is checking them over,..... but having contacted Hannants in the past on other decal matters and received no response,... I`ll just leave it here as a warning for fellow Britmodellers to be aware,

Here are some pics for comparison;

 

 

And although I don`t have a photo of the actual aircraft (yet!) I`m a bit dubious about the size of the codes on the silver Mustang,.... although I`ll give them the benefit of the doubt;

 

 

Cheers

         Tony

Edited January 22, 2021 by tonyot

[Beard]

That's disappointing. Slight colour problems you can (possibly) live with but the roundels being the wrong size just suggests sloppy work.

[Harry Lime]

Tony,

 

Maybe these from Fantasy Printshop might be a solution for you?

 

Mark.

[72modeler]

@tonyot,

Tony,

 

Go to the MAV decals website- IIRC they have a sheet of very nice WW2 SAAF roundels, as well as numerous sheets dedicated to WW2 and postwar SAAF flown aircraft. I have used their decals, and they are very nice and appear to be well-researched. But you probably already knew this! BTW, those two are going to be your usual stunners, it looks like! Thanks for the heads-up on the Xtradecal sheet, as I ordered it last week.

Mike

 

https://www.mavdecals.co.za/product-category/south-african-air-force/

Edited January 23, 2021 by 72modeler
added text

[Rabbit Leader]

Not the best of discoveries there Tony and as you say, unfortunately not the first time. Although I don’t normally like adding ‘shout outs’ to the various BM members in threads like this, however @Jon Freeman seems to still have meetings with Hannants, so perhaps he can raise this issue in a future meeting. In the past I know they have been good to add small addendum sheets to solve such issues, so perhaps this option may be something for them to consider. Hopefully that’s the only blemish to what look to be a great selection of new decals. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Rabbit Leader]

Tony, 
Just wondering if you can use a generic set of right sized RAF C1 roundels and then punch out a suitably sized orange disc from the oversized Xtradecal roundels? Then it’s just a matter of applying the orange discs over the red one to obtain your correct SAAF roundel. I realise the chances of getting these exactly the same size are pretty slim, however you never know your luck. Still, it’s rather unfortunate to have to resort to this practice, so hopefully Hannants will oblige with a 2nd ‘corrected’ print off as quickly as possible.

Cheers.. Dave 

[Giorgio N]

Unfortunately Xtradecals track record when it comes to accuracy is a bit patchy and this would not be the first time they've printed markings in the wrong size.

I would personally cut a circular mask to spray the correct orange over an RAF C/C1 type roundel, but cutting small circles to exact size is not easy and of course this approach requires an airbrush.

[tonyot]

On 1/23/2021 at 5:49 PM, Harry Lime said:

Tony,

 

Maybe these from Fantasy Printshop might be a solution for you?

 

Mark.

Thanks Mark,.... I wasn`t aware of those,.... think I`ll order a set,..... cheers mate! 

 

On 1/23/2021 at 6:30 PM, 72modeler said:

@tonyot,

Tony,

 

Go to the MAV decals website- IIRC they have a sheet of very nice WW2 SAAF roundels, as well as numerous sheets dedicated to WW2 and postwar SAAF flown aircraft. I have used their decals, and they are very nice and appear to be well-researched. But you probably already knew this! BTW, those two are going to be your usual stunners, it looks like! Thanks for the heads-up on the Xtradecal sheet, as I ordered it last week.

Mike

 

https://www.mavdecals.co.za/product-category/south-african-air-force/

Cheers Mike,.... yeah I`ll have a look,.... I do have some of their stuff. 

23 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Tony, 
Just wondering if you can use a generic set of right sized RAF C1 roundels and then punch out a suitably sized orange disc from the oversized Xtradecal roundels? Then it’s just a matter of applying the orange discs over the red one to obtain your correct SAAF roundel. I realise the chances of getting these exactly the same size are pretty slim, however you never know your luck. Still, it’s rather unfortunate to have to resort to this practice, so hopefully Hannants will oblige with a 2nd ‘corrected’ print off as quickly as possible.

Cheers.. Dave 

Thanks Dave,.... I don`t have a punch and die set,..... but it is a good idea. 

 

7 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Unfortunately Xtradecals track record when it comes to accuracy is a bit patchy and this would not be the first time they've printed markings in the wrong size.

I would personally cut a circular mask to spray the correct orange over an RAF C/C1 type roundel, but cutting small circles to exact size is not easy and of course this approach requires an airbrush.

Thanks Giorgio,.....  I`ll check my spares box,..... and some 5 Sqn Mustangs retained their RAF roundels too,..... I`ve been trying to find a reference photo of this aircraft but to no avail so far,...... I have a feeling that it might be based on a side view drawing,...... the size of the codes concern me too as they are large than any that I have seen on 5 Sqn Mustang`s,.... camo or silver.

 

Chees Fella`s,

          Tony

[Jon Freeman]

On 1/22/2021 at 7:37 PM, tonyot said:

Hiya Folks,

                 I`ve bought the recent Xtradecal SAAF sheets but two of the subjects that I was looking forward to building have dodgy roundel sizes,..... something which I have come across in other Xtradecal sheets too! The main thing I have discovered so far are the upper wing roundels on both Mustang options,..... they are the same size as the upper wing roundels on the Beaufighter on the same sheet,..... and far too big for a Mustang!

Hopefully I`ll have a suitable roundels in the spares box,..... but C Types with orange centres and SAAF roundels in general, are hard to find,.... which is why I was looking forward to the sheet.

 

I don`t know who is doing the artwork for them these days or who is checking them over,..... but having contacted Hannants in the past on other decal matters and received no response,... I`ll just leave it here as a warning for fellow Britmodellers to be aware,

Here are some pics for comparison;

 

 

And although I don`t have a photo of the actual aircraft (yet!) I`m a bit dubious about the size of the codes on the silver Mustang,.... although I`ll give them the benefit of the doubt;

 

 

Cheers

         Tony

Hi Tony.

 

I must admit this is a faux pas on my behalf and entirely my fault. I shall explain to Tony at Hannants and endeavour to have an addendum sheet printed for these upperwing roundels.

I simply have no idea why I'd put that size of roundel on the sheet, I must have had my mind on other things.

 

My apologies,

 

Jon

[tonyot]

8 hours ago, Jon Freeman said:

Hi Tony.

 

I must admit this is a faux pas on my behalf and entirely my fault. I shall explain to Tony at Hannants and endeavour to have an addendum sheet printed for these upperwing roundels.

I simply have no idea why I'd put that size of roundel on the sheet, I must have had my mind on other things.

 

My apologies,

 

Jon

No worries Jon,.... I hadn`t realised that you were still doing Xtradecals mate. Hope you are keeping safe and well?

Cheers

         Tony

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,...... in case you are interested,..... a South African friend kindly sent me a photo of the real aircraft and I`ve done the decalling on the Mustang!

 

Looking at the photo,... the codes are definitely too large, both wide and tall,..... and the fin flash is too tall too. To cure this I cut the fin flash down, and for the codes I cut the letter G into quarters and made it smaller by overlapping the sections until I was happy with them, then I cut the L down, along with the V. The serial is probably too small too,..... but I can live with that! For the upper wing roundel I used a Marauder upper wing roundel from one of the Med Twins sheets,.... although this may still be a touch too big,.... it does at least match the eoundel size seen on some Mustangs!

 

Here is the pic of the real aircraft,.... with the model part done on the keyboard,..... having discussed the colour of the anti glare panel and fin I went with black and so overpainted the Olive Drab that I had previously applied,..... a handful of squadron aircraft had these areas painted black and this appears to be one of them. I cannot decide whethe there is a white band on the spinner of if it is just chipped paintwork,.....I`ll probably opt for the latter!;

 

 

A closer view of the model,.... note the size of the upper wing roundel from the decal sheet! The cut down codes are applied to the model,.... while the original codes can be seen above, ready to be cut down as described. I`ve inclluded two pics,.... neither are brilliant, taken at night,..... so hopefully either one will be of use?;

 

Here are the smaller Marauder roundels alongside the Xtradecal upper wing roundels;

 

Finally,.... here is the Mustang with the decals applied. I just need to find some Aeroproducts propeller blades now as this aircraft was a Mk.IVa (ie P-51K) Yes that is another Airfix Spit Vc in Malta colours too,.... I have quite a few Spit`s on the go at the moment and had a mass decalling night tonght!;

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited January 27, 2021 by tonyot

[Rabbit Leader]

You are persevering well with quite a number of issues with that decal sheet Tony, sounds like a few details may not have been scaled down correctly to 1:72 scale. Xtradecals ought to take that sheet off the Hannants website and do a proper re-print. I wonder what else is not quite right? 
Cheers.. Dave 

[72modeler]

3 hours ago, tonyot said:

I just need to find some Aeroproducts propeller blades now

You have but to ask, my friend!

Mike

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/pavla-models-u72-28-p-51d-k-mustang-propellers-decal-sheet--153162

[tonyot]

14 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

You are persevering well with quite a number of issues with that decal sheet Tony, sounds like a few details may not have been scaled down correctly to 1:72 scale. Xtradecals ought to take that sheet off the Hannants website and do a proper re-print. I wonder what else is not quite right? 
Cheers.. Dave 

Agreed Dave,..... it certainly makes me more wary of starting a subject from the sheet until I`ve checked it out.   There is another Mustang that I want to do,.... but I`d be struggling for another set of upper wing roundels now! I have the other sheets too with some post war options on it. 

 

12 hours ago, 72modeler said:

You have but to ask, my friend!

Mike

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/pavla-models-u72-28-p-51d-k-mustang-propellers-decal-sheet--153162

Cheers Mike,..... I wasn`t aware of that set mate! I`ll have a scout through my spares box first and if no luck I`ll chase one up,..... Freightdog Models also did a prop with a chin conversion for the RAF louvred intakes,.... but I`ll be using that on another model!

 

Cheers

          Tony

[Etiennedup]

Splendid Job  with the decals mate.............. The REAL cherry on the cake would be,,,,,,,,,, to find a colour version of the subject!

Cheers,

Etienne.

[72modeler]

4 hours ago, tonyot said:

Agreed Dave,..... it certainly makes me more wary of starting a subject from the sheet until I`ve checked it out.   There is another Mustang that I want to do,.... but I`d be struggling for another set of upper wing roundels now! I have the other sheets too with some post war options on it. 

 

Cheers Mike,..... I wasn`t aware of that set mate! I`ll have a scout through my spares box first and if no luck I`ll chase one up,..... Freightdog Models also did a prop with a chin conversion for the RAF louvred intakes,.... but I`ll be using that on another model!

 

Cheers

          Tony

You might check P-39Q and P-63 kits, as I think both types  used the same Aeroproducts 4-blade prop as the P-51K.

Mike

[tonyot]

3 hours ago, Etiennedup said:

Splendid Job  with the decals mate.............. The REAL cherry on the cake would be,,,,,,,,,, to find a colour version of the subject!

Cheers,

Etienne.

Thanks Etienne,.... wouldn`t it just eh mate,...... you don`t have one amongst your excellent collection do you?

 

11 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

You might check P-39Q and P-63 kits, as I think both types  used the same Aeroproducts 4-blade prop as the P-51K.

Mike

Thanks Mike,... good idea,.... I`ll have a look mate.

 

Cheers

         Tony

[72modeler]

@tonyot

Tony,

 

I just remembered that Freightdog did a prop and spinner for the P-51K in 1/72 scale, in case you're still in need of one. I think they are still available.

Mike