discussion *sigh* thanks Airfix... (and an apology, kinda)

[Guest]

Let me build the whole damned plane, take 10 hours, have an epic decal sheet and then this:

How is that supposed to work?

 

[Guest]

ooh er! that looks like an interesting few hours.

 

[Guest]

Microsol would have that snuggling down a treat Michael - John sells it!

 

[john i am]

View attachment 90236

A very sharp knife or mask and spray instead of a decal. Abit late now maybe but I would have cut that decal into three sections before soaking.or you might want to try some of this magic fluid teasing the decal over the contours with a blunted cocktail stick cotton bud n loads of patience good luck cheers JohnView attachment 203259

 

[Guest]

I am familiar with the two microsols, but I refuse to believe this decal fits, I've squeezed things in with cocktail sticks and taken a top down view:

That is supposed to be a perfect 45 degree angle which can't happen because it has to go over something a few millimetres high. The decal on the paper has a perfect line at 45 degrees, mathematics prove this decal will only work on a flat surface, this is not flat!!!

GGRRRRRRR

 

[rickoshea52]

Are the flap fairings moulded as part of the wing or are they glued on? If glued on I would have added them after the decal and touched in with white paint.

 

[Guest]

Are the flap fairings moulded as part of the wing or are they glued on? If glued on I would have added them after the decal and touched in with white paint.

Glued on, that's exactly my frustration! If there was any mention at all in the destructions, I'd have left them till last, put the decals on and then cut through the hole I have to glue them onto!!

GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rickoshea52]

Glued on, that's exactly my frustration! If there was any mention at all in the destructions, I'd have left them till last, put the decals on and then cut through the hole I have to glue them onto!!GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I understand your frustration, I've been in similar situations but experience has been gained at the least from this. I have one of these in the build queue and you've helped me in avoiding this pitfall when the time comes to build it.

 

[BBdave]

I think this what we call the learning curve and it's how we learn to make better models I guess everyone messes up at some point.

Im not enjoying my current build (my second in many years) it just hasn't gone together well but i can learn from it and do the best i can to hopefully make models Im happy with.

I would mask and paint the white.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Not sure if I am missing something here. If it was me Mike I would paint it and do away with the decal. Mask it up with Tamiya tape and burr down the tape edges. Then paint the white area white.

Apart from anything else Mike it looks to me as if the red is going to grin through that white decal.

Laurie

 

[Guest]

This is a perfect example to demonstrate how important it is to read through the instructions thoroughly, which includes studying the paint scheme, before starting the model. That way we can plan all the various processes long before we get to them, which will help us to avoid such challenges. Sometimes we might decide to deviate from the instructions but we should always know what our own plan is to enable sub assemblies to be identified and built and assembled in a controlled manner.

I know it is easy to say afterwards but we have all been there and we have all had to learn that pre-planning the model is really important to it's successfull build. At the end of the day we must all thank you for showing us this and graphically reminding us how we should try avoid such things as we improve our modelling.

 

[Guest]

Post the pic on Airfix's Facebook page. Tell them about the instructions etc, you may get a free kit out of them

But we've all done it

 

[Guest]

Post the pic on Airfix's Facebook page. Tell them about the instructions etc, you may get a free kit out of them But we've all done it

I think you might need to be a bit cautious with such an approach. I can't remember using any instructions that tell you when to apply transfers, it is usually left to the modeller to decide on the order of doing things depending on thier own building plan. If you embark on a path of trying to blame Airfix for this there may be a possibility of embarrassing yourself as everyone adds thier own opinions as to why this has happened.

Apart from which I find the whole idea of trying to get something for nothing from a manufacturer by publishing things on the internet very distasteful, particularly when the manufacturer has done nothing wrong. If you have an issue with a manufacturer in any scenario surely the best approach should be to contact them personally and see if they are prepared to assist?

 

[Guest]

The aim was to bring it to their attention in the quickest way possible, not blame. If any assistance is given by any manufacture then this is great.

 

[stona]

Chuck the decal and mask and paint the white marking. It's all straight lines and easy.

Sometimes decals will need to be cut or at least pricked to make them fit. Think the roundels on the undersides of Spitfire wings. They have to conform to various bumps and bulges and sometimes microsol or similar is not enough. I cut the decals and touch up with a matched paint in cases like this.



And another one soaked with Microsol.



Cheers

Steve

 

[colin m]

Glued on, that's exactly my frustration! If there was any mention at all in the destructions, I'd have left them till last, put the decals on and then cut through the hole I have to glue them onto!!GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure most of us have done this once or twice, lesson learnt. So to attempt a rescue, as Steve has said, cut the decal. A new blade will help, cut the decal and make it conform, then touch up with paint.

 

[Guest]

Steve suggested in this particular case as I did, Colin, chuck the decal altogether and paint it on.

Laurie

 

[Guest]

OK, I'm calm now, long build due to errors I managed to get around which I was happy with but it was pretty late when this popped up and it was a toys out of the pram moment! From the paint scheme it's a pretty simple line, there are separate decals for the landing gear and pointy bit on the underside, so it's only the wing that it's not working for due to the fairings. According to the destructions the lines are simple enough, should be able to mask that.

I notice another chap seems to have had the same and decided not to bother with the fairings until the decals were on. Genius!!

Glad I've helped others learn from my mistake, let's hope that I can fix it and that the white paint I have remotely matches the white of the decals!

 

[flyjoe180]

Another option although probably just as fiddly is to cut the decal into sections and touch it up afterwards with paint. The problem is of course your white will most probably not match the white of the decal. Personally I would be masking and painting the stripes myself. Lots of lessons learnt here. And some interesting perspectives from people.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've gone for the easy option, do it again and leave the fairings off until the decals are down!

This is of course a photo for prosperity as my knife utterly destroys the decal trying to re-open the hole for the middle fairing!!!

I'm intrigued by Steve's results with Microsol. I might have to look at this, can't believe all that elevation and it's still a circle...