Southwest Airlines decals.....how in the world...?

Hogan

Thank you for the info.  The decals are Scaleliners, available from joydecals; here is the link.

http://store.joydecals.com/sl2-40.htmlo

It will be a challenge to get them correct, but, like you've said, if they're made correctly, it shouldn't be too bad.

You have some very nice work.  Very impressive models!!

Bob

Bob, I know you're just the messenger here, but what a truly-horrid website!  You have to know _who_ makes the decals, as opposed to what livery and scale you are wanting to search.  I'd _never_ find a decal set that way.

But I digress.  How about using a photocopy of the decals, as others mention to define the demarcation between the blue and yellow, mask the yellow section, shoot that, then mask the blue and paint the bottom portion yellow.  Then, you can use thin tape to mask off the yellow stripes and lay down the orange colors.  Just another possible method.

Can't wait to see the finished kit.  I'm a fan of 'Cattle Car Airlines' as friends refer to them.

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

As a current employee, but new member here, ATW is still headquarters.  We no longer fly for UAL, but US Airways.  Your model was still in ATW last time I was there.  It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure they still have it on display with other models.  

Here is the simple solution.  Photocopy the decal.  Or scan it 100%. Then cut out the photocopy cheat lines and place them on the modl, mask and paint.   Can't believe I'm the first to suggest this!

HawkeyeHobbies

...I wish I had this model, its sat in their corporate offices at Appleton for years, then they closed up shop here consolidating operations in Milwaukee. They also stopped flying the aircraft. Not sure where the models ended up. Probably in a warehouse somewhere in their shipping containers,

Hi Hawkeye, I was an airline employee for 20+ years who went thru several changes in aircraft/company logo and paint scheme changes (haha), and every time those changes occurred the old display models were offered to the employees for nominal fees or thru auctions. I would imagine chances are good that is what occurred in this case, so the news may not be as bad as you feared.

Nice job, btw.

What I do sometimes when I have to paint a curve of complicated boundary to match decals is make a template to guide my masking.  I make a copy of the decal on regular paper. I then cut along the subject boundary, and use the portion opposite to the boundary. I temporarily tape it in place and then mask up to the edge.  This gets the boundary in the proper position and the curve should match the decal curve.

I would photo copy the lines and then use the copy as a masking guide.  I have that same set and IIRC, it includes a copy of the lines for just that purpose

Thank you for the info.  The decals are Scaleliners, available from joydecals; here is the link.

http://store.joydecals.com/sl2-40.htmlo

It will be a challenge to get them correct, but, like you've said, if they're made correctly, it shouldn't be too bad.

You have some very nice work.  Very impressive models!!

Bob

Who's decals are you using?

If the decals were done and designed correctly, you shouldn't have any problems. You need to have your reference materials in hand and mark your model with placement marks so you get them in the correct spots.

You could mask and paint each of the colors including the yellow line between colors. I would unless the decals included them and they weren't too translucent.

You ought have seen the fun I had getting those tiny lines in this United scheme. Besides the four colors separating the blue from the gray it also had lighter blue lines inside the dark blue areas on the tail too.

Air Wisconsin back in the early '90s approached me with this project, they had just started flying aircraft with this new livery. I wish I had this model, its sat in their corporate offices at Appleton for years, then they closed up shop here consolidating operations in Milwaukee. They also stopped flying the aircraft. Not sure where the models ended up. Probably in a warehouse somewhere in their shipping containers.

I started with one using the same livery as the one on the left.

On a smaller scale model these lines might not have been as noticeable, but on a scale as large as these...its a requirement and a challenge too as there are no panel lines to use as references...you have to measure carefully and make sure both sides match exactly!

For this project I used an automotive type paint gun...an airbrush would have take far too long!