Decal in the cockpit

I did it not long ago on a model-- I believe it was my Tuskegee Thunderbolt...from Tamiya. Not sure if I still have the digital pic I took of it at home-- but it turned out pretty well!

I've done it too recently, I believe on a Tamiya P-47 as well and it turned out fine! in fact it only took one or two applications of Microset to get it down.


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I found a progress pic from when I was working on it: you can see one decal didn't settle quite in the bezel at the lower right of the IP but overall a very pleasing instrument panel to me, and I think I will continue to use the decal when provided!

I've done that before, works great - as long as the decal sheet matches exactly!

Thanks for the input! Doc, thanks for the pic; cockpit looks really good. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

My Fujimi F-14 is set up like that -- decals over raised detail. I have yet to build the kit, but I'm heartened to know that the results can be really good.

Regards,

yeah just get you some kinda decal softener like Microset and I dont think you should have too much prob depending on who made the decal... and if it doesnt work out do the white enamel on the IP, paint over it with black acrylic and use a fine needle to scratch out the dials! I'll see if I can find my pic of the one I did like that.. not as clear as raised detail or the decals but a lot better than dry brushing over the bezels and not having anything inside of them!

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just thought I should add.. make sure the instrument panel is already wet when you slide the decal on. you want to provide plenty of lubricant for the decal to be able to be worked into the right position without drying and sticking too early. Once you get it close to where it needs to be, I found it helps to put on the magnifier and work with that till it is lined up.

once in place let it sit until the majority of the liquid is gone (i.e. decal touching paint) then you might want to hit it again with microset to be sure then check it right before it is totally dry to see if it needs another shot of it. This one went down with the original microset for the decal to slide on then one more coat for good luck.

QUOTE: Originally posted by waikong I've done that before, works great - as long as the decal sheet matches exactly!

know what ya mean! I finally had to settle on one IP... the three dials in the center lined up fine, the ones on the edges were way off... I just kinda eyeballed them till they almost matched!

Tom that is a gorgeous cockpit!! I have a Mosquito I am building right now with a decal sheet. My plan was to sand the back of the panel until I could fit a thin piece of clear styrene to the back, then glue the decal on to that, and then a white piece of styrene in the back. Sounds like a lot of work....

After seeing your awesom panel, I am going to go ahead and give the decal a go and see what I come up with....will flash a pic in a week or so when I get it done!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Tom,

The kits I plan on using this technique on are Tamiya and Hasegawa. Thanks for the tips!

Carl

Kik - thanks! good luck and would love to see pics!!! I used to do things like that instead of using a decal. Then I saw an online build and this guys cockpit looked like the real thing!!! So I tried it and now am in love with the idea! Oh yeah I forgot to add, I future the IP too. The microset turns the IP gray but most of it clears up after drying, I brushed a bit of black with a brush barely moistened in paint (a tad more than drybrushing) over any areas that were a little light.

Dragonfire - you should have no prob then... I haven't done Hasegawa instrument panels with the decal yet. Their decals on the exterior lay down pretty good, I would be cautious about using microsol on them though as I've had a few fall apart on me with too much handling... Probably just Microset would be fine... I would definitely like to see a modern cockpit with the decal.. post some pics when you get around to the build!