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Decal Catastrophe - Emergency Action Plan Needed!

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  • Member since
    December 2003
Decal Catastrophe - Emergency Action Plan Needed!
Posted by rich750us on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 10:53 AM

Well there I was, almost finished, decals set on gloss coat, topped off with dull coat lacquer.  Three days latter I notice that the large national insignia balkenkruez  was chipped and missing some small  white and black sections.  No worries I thought, masked for the black, boom... perfection. Now for the tiny almost insignificant white section. Here's where the calamity struck... when I pulled off the masking tape... to my horror... it pulled up 2/3 of the decal.  As the tears hit the floor, and thanks to my anger management skills not the model, I'm at a difficult and unfortunate crossroad to finish my beloved 1/32 Early Bf 109 G-6 << Anton Hackl masterpiece. My options (so far):

  1. Overlay another Nation Marking (Cross) on top of the fragmented one
  2. Sand, repaint, and start over in the area of the disaster
  3. Concoct some wild historical theory about the subject that justifies the partially missing balkenkruez
Does anyone have any wisdom to address this unfortunate tragedy ?
  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: England
Posted by P mitch on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 11:00 AM

rich

I'd just overlay another if the broken one looks smooth and you have one. You could try sanding with 2000 grit or more and not go past the first gloss coat but you will need to be very gentle

Phil

"If anybody ever tells you anything about an aeroplane which is so bloody complicated you can't understand it, take it from me: it's all balls." R J Mitchell


  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 11:51 AM

Tape and decals do  not mix- that being said, my suggestion is to remove the remains of the balkenkreuz, using tape, and put a replacement decal there in its place.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Massachusetts
Posted by ajlafleche on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 12:19 PM

What Stikpusher said. Tape is a great way to remove decals you want to get rid of.

Remember, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 12:30 PM

This also recently happened to me on my little Hansa Brandenburg. I tried patching the holes in with little scraps of extra decal and it looks pretty bad. I'm about ready to put a mechanic sitting on the wing!

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Longmont, Colorado
Posted by Cadet Chuck on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 1:47 PM

I vote for solution #1.  Leave what's there, and overlay it with a new decal.  This happened to me recently- I wrecked the big number decal on the starboard side of my Tamiya 1/32 P-51.  Tamiya didn't have replacement decals in their stock system yet, and couldn't help me.  I put out a call for help on this forum, and shortly someone contacted me and said he would be happy to send me a replacement from his kit, since he was building a different version of the model and didn't need this decal.  The operation was a complete success, too.  You can't see any sign of the repair!

That's why I like this forum- great bunch of guys always ready to help when they can!

Gimme a pigfoot, and a bottle of beer...

  • Member since
    March 2005
Posted by philo426 on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 7:12 PM

Yes overlay it with another decal.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Thursday, August 29, 2013 9:03 AM

There is also the "decals" forum, so if you don't find what you are looking for here, I'd raise the question in that forum.  Some very good decal application people hang there.

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Friday, August 30, 2013 4:03 PM

You shouldn't be sealing decals with ANY lacquer in the firs place, unless you're misting it on veeerrrrrry lightly with an airbrush. That's a good way to eat many decals. Better to finish your model, and then use Lemon Pledge as a finisher/protector on gloss finishes, or use a dedicated acrylic flat over the decal. NOTE: "Acrylic", meaning like Model Master or something. A lot of on-the-shelf flat finishes that you get at places lke Michaels or AC Moore's are called "acrylic" in a spray can, but they are lacquer-based too.

  • Member since
    April 2013
  • From: Minnesota City, Minnesota, U.S.A.
Posted by FlyItLikeYouStoleIt on Friday, August 30, 2013 10:57 PM

i agree with stik! Tape caused your pull-up to begin with, right? Either that or do some HEAVY weathering. Then coat it all with future, man. I use Future to apply AND set my decals

Bill.

On the bench:  Lindberg 1/32 scale 1934 Ford Coupe and a few rescue projects.

In queue:  Tamiya 1/35 Quad Tractor or a scratch build project.

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