burner12
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Posts posted by burner12
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Richard: what I said is YOU'LL need to decide if you think you need to wash them. Personally, I don't. However, from the other replies you've gotten, it seems more people DO. If you like to do things on the "safe side", you'll want to scrub the resin or plastic parts to be sure to avoid painting problems.
GIL
IS there a way to test on one of the pieces of sprue by painting it to see if it needs washing before, or the paint will hold? Or is it just a decision?
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Many builders do scrub or soak their resin parts before painting. Stuff called "mold release" is used when casting resin parts that allows them to be removed from their rubber molds easier. This same mold release may be still on the parts. If so, it can affect whether or not your paint adheres to the parts properly, or cause "fish-eyes" and other paint finish problems. It's up to you whether you want to wash them, or take your chances and skip the step. I very seldom wash my resin goodies, and have had very few problems. But then again may have just been lucky!
It's a good idea to submerge them in warm soapy water, scrub them gently with an old toothbrush, rinse them, and allow them to air dry overnight. By the way, regular plastic kits can also have this same problem! Hope this helps.
GIL
So from what you have said you would recommend to not soak them but just use them as is?
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I recently got an F-4J resin cockpit, and either read or somebody told me that the way they make resin pieces yo have to soak them in soapy water before you can put any paint on. Is this true? If so for how long?
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Looking Good Gil! Love the cockpit
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Richard: The only thing I can think of is to ask: did you cut the decal out as close to the outline as possible? If so, THAT may be the problem.
Most aftermarket decals are designed with either minimal clear around the decal (Invisaclear); or the clear actually thins out and tapers down as it goes out from the edges of the printed colors. If you look at Microscale, Superscale, and other decals they tell you to cut out the ENTIRE decal, including its surrounding clear carrier. This allows the last gloss coats to cover the thinnest outer edges easier. If you cut right up to the color printing, you're actually applying a decal with a thicker edge, and the gloss will have a harder time covering it and blending it in.
Of course, the quality of your decals will make a difference! That's why you see frequent complaints about thick kit decals that are next to impossible to make disappear. Hope this helps!
GIL
No I left some clear carrier on. So I didn't cut to the edge. But I like what somebody told me and that is use fine sand paper to sand them. The problem is it may make these pop off which I don't want. So I wodner should I do that or not?
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Decals have a thickness and lay on the surface of the paint. Clear coat over them applies a layer to both paint and decal. This does nothing to balance the surface difference between the two. That is where polishing comes in. You will want a thick enough clear coat to be able to polish away those edges feathering them in. I have used the detail masters polishing cloths and pads. I use the snot out of them. They are great. I have had mixes results with polishing Future however. It does not dry as hard as a true paint and clogs up the sanding medium even wet sanding but it can be done.
How exactly do you polish them with out ripping them or peeling them up, and what do you use? I have never heard another modeler tell me about polishing. This is new to me Jay.
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Did you gloss coat the surface before the decals were applied? Nick Filippone
i believe so
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You did not indicate what brand of decals nor how you prepared the surface before applying the decals. These considerations are also important. Regards, Nick Filippone
Well i agree with Ron, I'll give it a few more coats and see how it looks.
But to answer your questions I don't know the brand, and I coated the areas of where the decals were going with micro set then added micro sol after they were on the, 1/72 scale, aircraft. And still just 1 light coat of gloss really can't answer the question just yet IMO. But after 2-4 then I'd start to try and think why it isn't working. We shall see.
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I don't know why but I have used future and a gloss coat, and I can still see the outline of the decals. So I'm wondering how can that go away, with lots of little coats? Or something else?
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Ok, Let's clear this up. As a former Catapult crew chief it basically is a west coast vs east coast thing. East coast were painted White, west coast were painted grey. Why? I haven't a clue, but that was how it was done. Also they are not called tie downs in the Navy, that is an Air Force term. They are called PAD EYES.
So you're saying on east coast carriers pad eyes were painted white, and west coast they were grey?Well what color grey is the flight deck?
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Gray. I don't recall seeing white under the tiedown locations on the current carriers.
Well with the Constellation and Kitty Hawk, with the plan views I've seen of them the tie downs were white. But of the Nimitz class I've only seen grey.
But do you know what color grey? I would say panzer grey.
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I'm trying to design a 1/72 nimitz class carrier deck. But I don't know if the gap below a tie down is either white or grey as the tie down itself.
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But there aren't any programs geared specifically for model decals?
None that I know of. Any computer art program can be used to produce artwork for decals, so decal-specific software is really not necessary. What you need is a vector program with a large selection of color libraries, including the Pantone colors used by just about every printer, if you intend to produce decals commercially. Adobe Illustrator is my recommendation.
I'm not trying to do it commercially but just so that I can resize it without having the problem of the image being distorted.
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Non pixalated programs like Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator are ones I'm trying to find. But there aren't any programs geared specifically for model decals?
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I currently don't have any program that will create custom decals for me. So i'm wondering what is the best that is easy to use and afford?
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I had a very similar issue with kit decals a couple of years ago...since the kit was being built as a review for a magazine article, I called the editor to explain the problem. Less than an hour later, the kit distributor's Director of Marketing called me.
He explained the decal manufacturing process to me...first time that I'd ever heard it. I had no idea that there are only two or three companies in the world that make decal paper. Anyway, toward the end of a paper run, he said the adhesive container could get low and then too little adhesive gets on the last sheets of paper (think an inkjet printer cartridge running out in the middle of printing a large document). If the paper manufacturer doesn't catch the error, that particular paper might be sold to a decal company, which (also not knowing about the adhesive) prints decals and carrier film on the faulty paper. Those decals essentially don't have any adhesive under them, and won't stick.
I don't believe it is the paper because most of them are sticking very well. I t5hink I just haven't had practice with using Micro Sol very much and never applied it to some, and instead it went with the water. But I won't do that any more, I'll wait till I can see the decal fully and not any drop of water then apply the micro sol.
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One other thought.....do not use tap water. Use distilled water. That is an issue here in Central Texas. Our tap water is loaded with calcium carbonate and it affects decals to an extent that I would not have thought possible. I find a gallon of distilled water lasts about a year. I use it for decals and also mixing with acrylic paints for figure painting.
Thanks for the tip Dick will try.
I thought of 1 thing though, and that is maybe the Micro-Sol was never applied to some decals, and those are the ones coming off. My theory is that I use a too much water to move the decal into position or I don't absorb the excess water after it's in position.
So what has really been happening is when I put the decal in the general area it then still has more than enough water needed, and once it's ready to have the micro sol put on I haven't absorbed enough water away to let the Micro Sol get on the decal, instead it is "painted" into the water. I thought that you had to see the water to know there was enough to apply micro sol. But I realized that the decal is wet so absorb excess water and when you can see just the decal then apply the micro sol.
Does this sound logical?
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Is the model gloss coated prior to placing the decals? Decals stick much better to a glossy surface.
I did put a gloss coat on prior, and have 2 of the same sheets. So if 1 pops off then I use the other sheet to replace it and hope it sticks. But yes I do use my hands a little to put the decal on, but then once on I use a razor knife to move it. Is there any way to keep them from popping off?
Weird thing is when I use ones from the 2nd sheet they stay on along with ones from the first sheet.
Like a minute ago a yellow one was coming off so I decided to experiment and see if putting some Micro-Sol would keep it on, so I put that back on and the decal layed flat to the surface and is drying.
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I don't know why but I am in the middle of putting the decals on a 1/72 Tomcat. And every once and a while I'll be putting some decals on after letting the others dry and then my finger bumps one and it pops off. It has happened to me probably 5 times.
The technique I use is soak it put it on the plane and then apply Micro Sol to let it set. But I have no clue as to why they keep popping off.
Will a clear coat of gloss lock them in place when I'm done?
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Great job Michael, looks great.
You know I've always wanted to see the Goblin as an eggplane, like companies do with hornets, mustangs,eagles, phantoms, etc. I wonder how small the Goblin would be if it was an eggplane.
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From what I can see in the F-4 picture in your link, the 211 is simply a black #211 with a yellow 211 "shadow". This can be done with those 2 colored numbers. If you can't find regular water slide decals of sheets of numbers (from Superscale, or whoever) in black and yellow, then check out the Woodland Scenics turnstile of decals at the local hobbyshop (in the train section, most likely). These will be dry-transfer decals (rub in place), but they usually have a supply of lettering and numbers in various sizes, colors, and fonts.
All you need to do is find some black and yellow numbers of the same size that are also the right size for the model. Apply the yellow 211 first. Next, OFFSET the black 211 a little forward (towards the nose) and a little bit higher and apply them. The black 211 will cover most of the yellow 211, leaving just enough exposed to create the "shadow". The procedure is the same whether using dry-transfers or waterslide decals (though more tedious and difficult with dry-transfers!). Also, if you use dry-transfers, they need to be sealed with a clear coat to permanently set them in place. Of course, you'll also need to do all of this this for the "VF-92" on both sides too!
If all else fails, put ads in the "looking for/for sale" spaces on this forum and other forums asking for either those numbers and colors, or (if real lucky) the actual decal sheet that provides them. Hope this helps!
GIL
Thanks for the help Gil, :)
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I called them and listed on the site are items they don't even have in stock.
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Thanks for the help Dave, but I don't have that kind of experience in modeling to completely redo a Phantom and turn it into another version. So I decided to go ahead and buy Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4J.
But now I'm trying to find all the reference pictures I can to create decals just by copying the images of Silver Kite 211, and making them into decals. And a problem I'm facing is trying to find a way to put the black 211 on top of the yellow 211 on nose . And I can only figure out that in order to do so you need to just use black stencil lettering, or is there a way to put 2 colors on top?
Such as on this site
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/PMojzisek/P.../f4J%20VF92.htm
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Has anybody order from a site like this? And gotten their items, or do they just take your info?
F-4J resin cockpit question
in Tools, Tips & Techniques
Posted
Well the main reason i'm reluctant to do the washing is because i'm afraid I'd ruin it. I've never done that before and don't know how hard to press down or what to use to wash the parts with. Or how much soap and water to use and should they soak or be taken out immediately?