Airfix Decal Troubles

[Snoopy]

I have built a few Airfix kits before and always seemed to have difficulty in applying the decals. They would tear easily, fold back on themselves and just be a general nuisance, as a result I have avoided airfix like the plague in recent years. I have no such trouble with Revell, their decals seem to be a bit thicker. However I was recently unable to resist purchasing the Airfix Saturn V and was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problems as me, and how (or if) they were able to solve them.

[Richard M]

I've made the re-issue of the Saturn V and I had no problem applying the decals over a gloss surface with a bit of Micro-set.

Best

Rich

[Giorgio N]

Airfix had very bad decals in some of their kits around a year or two ago. There've been a few discussions here.

Apart from these, in general I never had issues with airfix decals, at least not application issues (while I've had issues with the qualityof the designs). If they're too thin for your liking, a solution is to have plenty of water on the area where the decal is going. In this way it will float on the water and tear less easily. When it's in position, just press it down gently with a tissue.

Regarding the decals curling, the best solution is...don't let them curl. Ok sounds stupid, but the best solution is really to try and keep them on the surface, When you lay the decal just slide them slowly from the backing sheet to the model using a toothpick and again with plenty of water. If you have a long decal, like a coloured strip (these are the most frequently guilty of curling) you might want to cut it before dopping it in water and add the decal in sections.