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1:32 F-16 Build


StuartMont

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As an addendum to Ralph's excellent suggestion; I recommend for your oil paint thinner the Mona Lisa Thinner. It is the most inert thinner you can find anywhere and works as well as Turpenoid without being as 'hot'. It will not react to ANY dried paint; whether  oil, enamel, lacquer or acrylic.

 

And as Ralph said, there are no stupid questions so keep them coming.

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Good morning,

Thanks for the very detailed recommendations.  I went to Walmart yesterday and bought Revive It and will proceed with your directions on the decals on this F-16.

Since restarting model building I have used nothing but acrylic paints.  I assume using oils on top of acrylic paint is an issue - it was pointed out to me that water based washes are required in this case.  So if I go down the road with oils do I have to change my paint type?

Stuart

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Good morning again,

I followed the exacto/decal set solution method to get the decals on the fuel tank to settle down.  It worked great at the locations where I actually placed the decals in the right spot.  The photo shows these, one being a little off center but it still settled down nicely.  I am happy with the results, thanks!

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Oils, with Mona Lisa thinner, work fine on top of both enamels or acrylics. That thinner is mild enough to not attack the enamels as long as the paint has dried and cured. Usually that is at least 24 hours depending upon temperatures and humidity. You should have zero problems of bad interactions between oils as your washes and acrylics as the base coat.

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I've been using acrylics since the Dark Ages of the late 1970's.  Before I used Future as a gloss coat, I used Metalizer Sealer.  I found that if I left Future to cure for 48 hours, I could do oil washes over them, the same as I could over Sealer, without stinking the house up with lacquer fumes.

As I said, if you are unsure of a technique, find an old model that is nearing retirement and use it as a Test Mule.  Try to technique, and if it works, do it on the new model.  If it doesn't work, keep tweaking it until it either works or becomes obvious that you need to try something else.

Cheers!
Ralph

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On 5/6/2021 at 12:26 PM, Ralph Nardone said:

Apply a few coats of Future (I think it is called Pledge Revive-It these days) and allow to dry for at least 24 hours.

Quick question. Do I need to wait between coats of the gloss?  It’s going on tomorrow morning. 
 

thanks!

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If you apply multiple coats by airbrush, you can start the second coat almost as soon as the first is applied.  Just be careful not to apply it too heavily, since it will run.  You can airbrush it right from the bottle.  Clean the airbrush with Isopropyl Alcohol or Windex followed by a clean water rinse.   

If you are brushing, follow the instructions on the bottle.  To be hones, when I apply by brush, I only ever apply a single coat.

The important thing is to let the Future cure out at least overnight before trying to apply decals over it.  That will eliminate the potential for the Future to get "frosty" around the images from the decal solutions.  However, if this happens, another coat of Future will fix it.

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6 hours ago, Ralph Nardone said:

If you apply multiple coats by airbrush, you can start the second coat almost as soon as the first is applied.  Just be careful not to apply it too heavily, since it will run.  You can airbrush it right from the bottle.  Clean the airbrush with Isopropyl Alcohol or Windex followed by a clean water rinse.   

If you are brushing, follow the instructions on the bottle.  To be hones, when I apply by brush, I only ever apply a single coat.

The important thing is to let the Future cure out at least overnight before trying to apply decals over it.  That will eliminate the potential for the Future to get "frosty" around the images from the decal solutions.  However, if this happens, another coat of Future will fix it.

Alcohol? I thought ammonia was the prefered cleaner.  Just asking as I don't use that much future.  

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Answers: 

Yes, alcohol will clean Future our of your airbrush--the higher the percentage, the better (I use at least 91%).  Make sure you flush thoroughly and field strip the gun to get it really clean. 

Windex also works, but if you own certain brands of airbrushes that warn about using ammonia in their guns, you need to follow with a clean water rinse.  We all know that Windex is very, very dilute ammonia, but is says "ammonia" on the bottle, which is enough to throw the airbrush company that uses the bright green handles into a tizzy.  In all honesty, it probably is a good practice to flush with water anyway...

If you don't have an airbrush, you can use a soft brush to apply Future.  You can even use Q-Tips.  Brush it on in a thin coat and let it flow out before deciding whether you need a second coat or not.  Remember, for decals all you need is a smooth surface, it doesn't have to have a mirror shine to it.

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5AEBC6F2-34F1-4E1C-AF8E-7280635EBECB.thumb.jpeg.a8939afa4ef9172ee072f1a88a31de63.jpeg

Good morning,

Based on what I see it sure seems only one coat is required and I worry that I put too much on. can you tell by looking at the photos?

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24 hours will be up after lunch so it’s time for decals. The tail fin is chock full of them so I’ll start there and will post results. 

As always thanks for the help!

Stuart

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Thanks for the kind words and for providing your insight into successful model building.  I’m also going to buckle down and mix and apply a wash to the engine displayed on the dolly.  Someone earlier commented that it looked way too clean, I took that as a compliment 😀

Stuart

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Hey guys,

when you stack decals like this does the micro sol go on the bottom decal before you place the overlapping decal?

thanks!

Stuart

53CEB428-24E6-4CA2-9265-8859F289B480.jpeg

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Okay, so the sequence should be micro set, first decal, micro set, overlay decal, micro sol. 
 

Do I have it right?

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Well the placement of the tail decals was very good on one side and not so much on the other!  The first side went on great and I am very happy with the result.

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Unfortunately the tiger tore at several places on the other side.  It went down like a magnet and missed the outline on the lower decal by a lot.  My attempts to raise it off the surface and move it were a disaster but I couldn’t leave it where it was.  This is likely one of those questions that will elicit several answers but I would really like to know what any of you would do in this case.  Matching the colors with paint seems doubtful.  Of course the lazy answer is do nothing and display the model with the good side facing the viewer.😀

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Thanks to all for providing your insight into successful model building.

Stuart

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If you have not used a decal solvent in it yet, apply decal set, try refloating and repositioning the decals to minimize or correct the tears. The longer that the decal sits, the harder that is to do.

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Stik is correct--set the tail face-up and place a few drops of water on the image.  After a few minutes, you should be able to gently remove it and reposition it.

If you've used a solvent, though, you're probably stuck. The only possibilities are to try and re-float and re-position, touch up with paint, or remove it and apply a duplicate decal--you'll have to get another decal sheet.  Or, as you say, it can be the "away" side in the display case.

But whatever you do, use this as a learning experience.  As the oft quoted (and incorrectly used) Beckett line goes: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

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The colours are orange and black. The black is easy to touch up. Try mixing a few shades of orange and touch up ( as with the black) with a dry brush so the paint does’t run or pool. The orange on the decal is not uniform. Even if it is not a perfect match, it will still  look better than it is now. Touching up messed up decals is also part of the learning process. Nick

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