I can say that I really enjoy this hobby, after all why would I waste my time on it if I don't enjoy it? However every good and enjoyable thing has a down side or a boring part that must be done in order to have more fun with other enjoyable parts. The parts I don't really enjoy are taking care of the seams, decaling ( even though I enjoy the view after decals are positioned) and gluing parts with cyanoacrylate glue. I'm doing my best to improve these areas and start to enjoy them ( but IMO I'll never be able to enjoy sanding and filling seams). Decaling isn't a boring, but a difficult task for me. It has been so because I've never managed to really get the painted on look and get frustrated by that. I try to paint as much markings as possible (especially the bigger surfaces) to avoid those frustrations and enjoy the hobby. I'll use this picture of my recent build to describe what am I talking about.
I painted the bigger surfaces that were supplied as decals with some masking and acrylic paint before applying other decals ( black anti-glare surface in front of the windscreen and white rudder ). While I used decals for the roundels and numbers. Silvering isn't a problem, but making the decal confront to surface and enter the panels is hard. I use both Micro Set and Sol but can't achieve the painted on look. So if someone has any suggestions or tips they are more than welcome to share them. I've managed to learn some new tricks regarding CA gluing and It's a less frustrating experience now. I'm still learning new stuff and improving so these processes become as enjoyable as possible.
Other Union member posts on this topic ;
That's all, hope you enjoyed it.
Kind regards, Sven.
Hi Sven you may want to try using a hair dryer to help get the decals down. I use it for decals over curves etc and with good effect, I have not used any Microsol for quite awhile. Good read mate.
ReplyDelete"I've managed to learn some new tricks regarding CA gluing ..."
ReplyDelete--> I'd be interested to know more. Care to elaborate on your "tricks"?
One thing I learned very early is never dispense the CA glue directly from the bottle to the model or part, because one slight error can cover a whole area with very hard to remove glue.
Agreed, decaling and sanding are the worst. Maybe I'll take Shayne's advice and try the hair dryer
ReplyDeleteApologies for not answering earlier but I have lots of School work to do.
ReplyDeleteI actually used hair dryer on some of these decals and they came out better than the ones where I didn't use it. I'll have another go and test this method on some spare parts. Thanks Shayne!
Jeroen, you'll have to wait another day or two and I'll describe the methods I've learnt in a separate post.
Kind regards, Sven.