Revell 1/72nd SR-71 w/D-21 Drone

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Alright. I give myself a C+ (75%) on this front. Here's the scoop.

The Revell decals suck. As Wurger noted they are extremely thick. As the last pics showed, I attempted to get them to lay flat along the raised panel lines with much work and patience pushing and prodding them. To no avail.

I was too impatient and attempted to apply too many decals before assessing the situation. Lesson learned. I hope you learn from my mistakes.

Once having realized that I had a serious "silvering" problem going on, I agonized on my "remedy". What I landed upon was worrisome to me. I intended to pull up my more seriously silvered decals with a water-wet paintbrush. This took quite a few minutes and patience truly was a virtue. I lifted them up and soaked them in water.

Here is the scary part. I intended to use Future (Klear) as my decal solvent/adhesive. My first attempt is here with the U.S. AIR FORCE decal. Oh man I almost had a disaster. I got the decal off, applied some Future on the backside and attempted to apply it to the model. The effing decal folded up on me and with the sticky Future I thought my decal was toast. After much fiddeling I got it straightened out and honestly breathed a sigh of relief. Not too bad.

But I needed another plan.
 

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It's not looking that bad, considering the problems you've had, Matt. Bear in mind that many irregularities will disappear after the final finishing coat.
I was in my local model shop on Saturday, and saw the same kit for sale. I burst out laughing, thinking of all the new swear words I've learned due to your build. It took a bit of explaining to Iris, the shop owner!
PS if all else fails, get some Microsol, (not the Microset) and use plenty, in stages, to soften the decal, in place if you have to. You'll need to keep going back now and then, and GENTLY smooth some of the wrinkles that WILL appear. This is contrary to S.O.P.'s, and it's best to use a soft brush to do the job. When the decal(s) look more or less settled, give them a tiny bit more Microsol, then LEAVE them until dry. Any small imperfections/ wrinkles etc., can then be smoothed out with 'spot brushing' Microsol on the tip of a small brush, or, if you think they will take it without splitting, which they should, being thick, smooth-out with a soft tissue. Don't worry about any tissue residue left behind; this will come off with a damp cloth/brush during the clean-up process.
Good luck!
Terry.
 
Airframes said:
I was in my local model shop on Saturday, and saw the same kit for sale. I burst out laughing, thinking of all the new swear words I've learned due to your build. It took a bit of explaining to Iris, the shop owner!
Click to expand...

Good Lord. I'm international. Tell Iris she's a doll. And her patrons are suspect.
 
Okay a few more from while the forum was down.

It was unfortunate that I didn't discover my decal problem sooner. As I was unable to remove all of the decals. Well, unable is not the right word. Chickenshit is more like it. After doing a few, I almost wrecked every one. Since I had only initially put on the NO STEP lines, insignia, USAF and Rapid Rabbit tail marks, I drew the line and stopped. Some significant silvering on the Rapid Rabbit tail fin markings, but I'm did not want to risk it.

So I proceded with using Future as my base for all decals henceforward. And they dried perfectly clear. Cut your decals, soak in water, apply Future to the decal area, dry decal, slide decal onto future and blot with a soft cloth. Any excess future either was blotted up immediately, or cleaned up with Windex, or if still remained just painted over with the final coat of Future. The latter works with the prior coat and levels itself out so you don't even notice (read that in the Future manual) that one of you gents posted.
 

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The markings for the optical/RF sensors were all attached to a common decal background. To minimize silvering this required lots of trimming and resulted in a huge number of little decals to apply. Below is an example, followed up by the complete decal work for the lower fuselage.

Next step is the final sealing coat of Future. She's getting overly glossy and the shading subtleties are getting lost in the glare and flourescent lights. But that will disappear when the matte coat is applied later.
 

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Holy Moley! That bird has come alive! Don't know if you noticed Matt, but the third pic in the first group, the one nose-on, looks just like it's flying high above the cloud undercast. Try to get a similar, full shot, on the towel, maybe with the model raised on a tin, or something similar, out of sight. Lose any shadows (Photoshop or similar if unable to adjust lighting) crop to suit, and you've got a pic just like the real thing! Great work Matt.
And WHAT!? The package still hasn't arrived? The Post Office told me it would be 5 to 7 days by Air Mail! If it hasn't reached you by the end of this week latest, let me know, and I'll check it out against the registration receipt. It had to be completed and recorded at my end for Customs purposes etc., and is also proof of posting. It was dropped at the Post Office on Saturday 8th, although I was told it wouldn't be collected until Monday 10th. Not good enough service! And now I'm officially annoyed! Grrr!!!
Edit, got those dates confused, should read Sat 1st, collect Mon 3rd, DELIVERED BY Mon 10th !
 

Terry, I'm embarrassed. I responded today and my wife walked in the door no more than an hour later with the package. She's all here mate. Thanks. See my PM.
 
I wanted to provide some background on this particular airframe that is the subject of my build. I found out that its history is awfully rich for this wonderful airplane.

My subject airplane is the SR-71A 61-17978 (some sources listed it as 64-17978 ) that was operated in Detachment OL-KA 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW). This particular airplane was the first SR-71A to deploy to Okinawa to replace the A-12 on 8 March 1968. It is interesting to note that this particular airplane is the subject of many paintings and pictures in books and magazines. (Note to Airframes: The information you sent me included this particular airframe too) Once I began to look, the more pics of this particular bird I found. Perhaps as I relate the story, it will become obvious as to why.

[The last pic is by Jim Geddes.]
 

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I was lucky enough to even find a picture of the crewchief who manned and maintained her.

Pilot, Captain Dennis Bush [first pic]

Radar Systems Operator (RSO), Captain James Fagg

Crew Chief Dewayne Allen [second pic back row, left]

[Pic sources unknown]
 

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61-17978 (SR-71A) Nicknamed the "Rapid Rabbit", this aircraft was written off on 20 July 1972, during the roll out phase of its landing at Kadena AFB, Okinawa. In extreme crosswinds, the pilot, Captain Dennis (Denny) K. Bush attempted a landing at Kadena deploying the drag chute to combat the crosswind situation and slow the plane. A go-around was initiated after the chute was jettisoned when it became obvious the rollout would not be successful. [Note: Release of the chute is normal in a crosswind situation to prevent the plane from weather-vaning into the wind.]

On the next landing attempt, the aircraft touched down slightly "hot" but he had no chute to reduce the aircraft's speed.

Normally the braking chute is used for all landings to assist in slowing the aircraft, although under good conditions the brakes can do the job themselves without the assist. However, the chute becomes extremely important during high-speed landings -- even with empty fuel tanks, the blackbird still weighs more than 2 fully-loaded dump trucks; she has almost no drag due to her low profile; and because of the high temperature imparted during flight, her brakes lose efficiency and have difficulty stopping her completely when landing at high speeds (which are necessary when landing with high crosswinds).

The pilot was unable to keep the plane on the runway due to the crosswinds. The landing gear hit a concrete barrier. The aircraft suffered significant damage but the pilot, Captain Bush, and the RSO, Captain Fagg, escaped without injury. She was buried under a berm at the end of the runway, which is called "Habu Mountain" or "Habu Hill" depending on who you ask. However, some parts including the rudders were used on other Blackbirds. The next Blackbird accident would not occur for another 18 years.

[Pic sources unknown]
 

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