**** DONE: 1/48 P-51D - Pacific Theatre of Operations II

[Airframes]

Ah, so it's you who makes things go 'bump' in the night!
Have a good week Geo.

 

[Crimea_River]

Hope not. Remember he drives big stuff.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

You have done a beaut job with that NMF Geo. Hope your weeks work goes okay.

 

[Wayne Little]

catch you later....Geo!

 

[T Bolt]

Finally catching up on your build George. The NMF turned out wonderful.

 

[mikewint]

Geo, don't know if this helps any but I painted the 1/48 B-29 with acrylic aluminum with out a future overcoat. I applied the decals directly to the paint using microsol. I thought they turned out well

 

[Rogi]

Wow, excellent turn out, Sol usually decimates my decals so I try to only apply set, any tips or tricks for working with just sol? How thick is the coat etc

 

[mikewint]

This is what I do, work with one decal to see how it (decal) are going to respond:
In general, with most decals: I add 3 - 5 drops of SOL to the soak water - paint the spot on the model where decal is going with SOL - slide decal onto model position - wick excess liquid away with a paper towel - gently paint decal with SOL - allow to dry. If decals don't want to adhere or thin decals then - soak in plain water - paint spot on model where decal is going with SET - slide decal onto model position - wick away excess liquid - paint decal with SOL - allow to dry.
You can always reapply more SOL to a dry decal with a paint brush but don't touch again until completely dry.
Remember decals require a SMOOTH CLEAN surface. If you're having problems getting the decal to lie flat apply Future - Allow to DRY/CURE 24/48 hours - then apply decals

 

[fubar57]

Thanks for looking in gents and thanks for the tip Mr. Wint. Started applying the decals last night and while they settle into the panel lines nicely they refuse to conform to the raised areas. These are Superscale decals and they recommend using Micro Set/Sol. Did, done didn't. After sitting over night, the star on the wing looked like it had a small pup tent at the bottom. Sooooooo, this A.M., I hit it with Mr. Mark Sol, Pollyscale Sol, more Micro Sol with less than stellar results. Finally I bathed it once more with Pollyscale Sol and while still wet, I applied a hot, wet cloth and gently but firmly pressed down on the decal and it has almost settled. I haven't ripped it....yet, but is there an out of the bottle match for insignia blue...you know, just in case I get a little too aggressive? The photo shows what I'm dealing with.

Geo

 

[fubar57]

Came back 2 hours later and the tail stripes had settled down better than the wing star...odd, though they still need some attention. All the tail stripes are now on and will hit them with Sol later tonight and then carry on with the rest of the decals. In the background is a bottle of Testors Green that is the exact match just in case. One concern I have is with the wing stripes. Anyone who has build a Tamiya P-51 knows that the flaps are separate and are designed to be modeled in the down position though with some minor surgery they can be posed in the up position. They decals are one piece so I'm going to have to decide whether to cut them and pose the flaps in the down position or leave them as is and have the flaps raised.

Geo

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

looks real good George!

 

[Airframes]

It's looking good George. It's a pain when a decal won't fully settle over a sharp, raised detail part - too much of a distinct 'peak' for the decal.
You might have to cut it, and re-touch.
For the wing stripes, it might be an idea to match the decal to the wing (before using the decal), with the flaps tacked in place in the up position, then mark the decal at the cut-line, and cut them. If possible, allow an overlap where the 'rolled' hinge line is, and position accordingly when applied. That way, any excess or shortage should be on the area of 'bare metal' over the rounded hinge section, which can be re-touched if required.

 

[Crimea_River]

With Terry.

You're not alone in having decal issues on those trim actuators. I've ruined a couple of Spitfire roundels trying to get these to settle over similar details and on subsequent build have cut a slot in the decal, allowed it to go where it wanted to, then paint the exposed bits with a matching colour.

 

[fubar57]

Thanks Terry and Andy. I'll debate the wing stripes until tonight. I'll get my biggest Mustang book out, count the number of aircraft with flaps up or down, winner dictates. Karl(Rochie) mentioned stripes on the bottom of the wings(which the decal sheet doesn't include) and I noticed that in Post#8 that the aircraft in the 4th photo down had them. However, on the next set of photos, I don't see a stripe on the under-side of the flap of my aircraft. In the same photo, are those gun exhaust stains? If so, I don't think I've every seen them so pronounced. One last thing I noticed in the photos and not shown on the decal location sheet is that the word "Foxy" on the starboard side is almost mirrored to the port side. Anyhoo....except for the wing stripes, the main decals are on.

Geo

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Geo. The flaps were normally fully down when parked, unlike many other aircraft. The main gear well doors were also closed after the gear extended, but tended to droop slightly, normally one more than the other, as pressure bled off, but were not normally fully down, as seen on preserved aircraft today.

 

[dneid]

The decal thing can be aggravating. Good luck with getting everything sorted, George. You are doing a wonderful job with that 'stang.

 

[mikewint]

Agree, with all, another possibility is trapped air, in addition to the raised part. I've used a pin or sharp X-Acto point to poke a small hole in the decal, then hit with -SOL.
I've also used the "cut a slot" technique but you need to be very accurate with it's placement

 

[Totalize]

Geo,

Just had a look at your recent progress and she is coming together very nicely. Those decals on the tail look problematic. Hope you get that sorted out. Looks great.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nasty decal problem there Geo. If you have to cut to get it to conform to shape and you have a small hole, one method I use is to cut a small piece of decal of the same colour (if you have it) and set that over the hole. It usually sets in nice and cannot be seen.