Jock Tamson
Staff Sergeant
Wot they said......and wow 
**** DONE: GB-62 1/48 Spitfire Vc Trop - Spitfires
- Thread starter Crimea_River
- Start date
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That does look really good Andy
- Thread starter
- #143
Crimea_River
Marshal
Thanks everyone. I don't think that this one would stand up in a contest with such a haphazard paint scheme but I'm fine with that. Today saw the UF-S decals applied and tomorrow we should see the "UF" mostly disappear in a mist of blue. I don't know where Eduard got their lettering style from as it's rather unique for an RAF aircraft. Makes you wonder if these guys have reference pics up their sleeve or if they just make sh!t up.
Note also the gas spill at the filler cap made using thinned artist oils. Hope to have another update tomorrow.
Note also the gas spill at the filler cap made using thinned artist oils. Hope to have another update tomorrow.
fubar57
General
I did note the stain at the fuselage cap, neato
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Look great Andy. 
Viking1066
Chief Master Sergeant
Beautiful!!
le_steph40
Chief Master Sergeant
with all above 
Berny5664
Senior Airman
Andy,
as you well know at the competitions there are judges who have seen each aircraft reproduced live who will judge on the basis of certain evidente
. It is enough for us to admire models like yours which, in addition to being well made, represent unique aircraft.
Very nice congratulazioni
Jock Tamson
Staff Sergeant
Good stuff 
Lovely work so far Andy!
- Thread starter
- #152
Crimea_River
Marshal
Thanks again everyone.
This morning I peeled off the infamous film on the Eduard decals and am glad I did, as you'll see in a minute. The first step was to mask off the roundels and surrounding areas and apply a thin coat of the blue over the "UF" portion of the squadron code. I actually did it twice as I thought I'd achieved the right amount of transparency to faintly see the codes when looking at them by eye but when I looked through my camera, the letters appeared more distinctly.
Now, here's where the fun started. You see those tiny flakes on the left and bottom of the "U" and on the bottom of the "F"? Those are remnants of the decal film which are impossible to see until you paint over them with thin paint and they start to lift. At this point, I didn't notice them but they show in the pic.
The next step was to cut some "T" masks from my Oramask roll, stick them in place, and spray on some Medium Sea Grey. At this point, I saw the flake on the bottom of the "F", which I peeled off with tweezers, and found another at the top right edge of the new "T".
After removing the masks, I had some lifting of the blue paint. I thought that the paint would seal the decals but I guess it was just too thin.
There are NO shortcuts with these decals. I should have applied a solid clear coat before applying the blue but, even then, there would be no guarantee of a good bond. I was now loathe to mask again for fear of making things worse so I touched up the tears with blue paint by hand and then applied a good dose of semi-gloss clear.
In the above pic, the film on the "BR301" decal pulled off when I removed the mask and this decal got a very good coat of clear. The one on the other side stayed put despite me trying to peel it so I left it alone.
This is my second go with the new Eduard decals and I guess I still need to figure out how to get them to work for me. They look great when peeled but must be FULLY peeled before applying a coating over them. However, I've yet to have one film that did not tear into tiny pieces when removing it. The option of leaving the film on only works, in my opinion, when the decals are applied to a perfectly flat surface with no raised details, otherwise they just don't seem to sit down as nice as other brands.
Before closing up shop, I added the exhausts and the prop:
Well, the hard stuff is now behind me and it remains only to add a few fiddly bits and the IFF wires. I might be back tomorrow with more progress but in the meantime, thanks once again for the likes and kudos.
This morning I peeled off the infamous film on the Eduard decals and am glad I did, as you'll see in a minute. The first step was to mask off the roundels and surrounding areas and apply a thin coat of the blue over the "UF" portion of the squadron code. I actually did it twice as I thought I'd achieved the right amount of transparency to faintly see the codes when looking at them by eye but when I looked through my camera, the letters appeared more distinctly.
Now, here's where the fun started. You see those tiny flakes on the left and bottom of the "U" and on the bottom of the "F"? Those are remnants of the decal film which are impossible to see until you paint over them with thin paint and they start to lift. At this point, I didn't notice them but they show in the pic.
The next step was to cut some "T" masks from my Oramask roll, stick them in place, and spray on some Medium Sea Grey. At this point, I saw the flake on the bottom of the "F", which I peeled off with tweezers, and found another at the top right edge of the new "T".
After removing the masks, I had some lifting of the blue paint. I thought that the paint would seal the decals but I guess it was just too thin.
There are NO shortcuts with these decals. I should have applied a solid clear coat before applying the blue but, even then, there would be no guarantee of a good bond. I was now loathe to mask again for fear of making things worse so I touched up the tears with blue paint by hand and then applied a good dose of semi-gloss clear.
In the above pic, the film on the "BR301" decal pulled off when I removed the mask and this decal got a very good coat of clear. The one on the other side stayed put despite me trying to peel it so I left it alone.
This is my second go with the new Eduard decals and I guess I still need to figure out how to get them to work for me. They look great when peeled but must be FULLY peeled before applying a coating over them. However, I've yet to have one film that did not tear into tiny pieces when removing it. The option of leaving the film on only works, in my opinion, when the decals are applied to a perfectly flat surface with no raised details, otherwise they just don't seem to sit down as nice as other brands.
Before closing up shop, I added the exhausts and the prop:
Well, the hard stuff is now behind me and it remains only to add a few fiddly bits and the IFF wires. I might be back tomorrow with more progress but in the meantime, thanks once again for the likes and kudos.
fubar57
General
Looks great despite the issues. I can't see me having any success with those decals
Viking1066
Chief Master Sergeant
Beautiful work. Good info to know about those decals as I haven't had to try and use any. Those danged decals are all so different from each!
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Agree with George and excellent workmanship with a great outcome.
Berny5664
Senior Airman
Apparently the laying of decals is always a lottery ... 
.
In any case, your Spitfire, I like more and more Andy
.In any case, your Spitfire, I like more and more Andy
le_steph40
Chief Master Sergeant
Excellent
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
A few niggles, but it turned out excellent in your capable hands Andy.
Jock Tamson
Staff Sergeant
Decals! As a kid I loved putting on the "transfers" at the end of a build. These days not so much. Looking good though 
