Despite earlier promises to myself to not use Tamiya decals ever again, I've found myself doing it again, as the aftermarket sheet I was going to use had some differences that meant I couldn't use them.
The main problems I have with Tamiya decals are bubbles and silvering, which are both symptons of air being trapped under the decal, I think. They are also thick and tend to obscure Tamiya's exceptional panel lines underneath.
For the first time, I'm using Johnson's Supershine (our Future equivalent) as the decal solving/setting agent.
So far I've got 75% of the decals on, some minor bubbles which I'll fix in one cross, but no silvering, the bane of my life. I should add that I'm trimming as much decal film as I can.
I'm really happy with the way it's gone so far, but now I arrive at the moment of truth.
I've got to put the kill markings, which are numerous, so I can't trim around them, on the rudder. The rudder is not a completely smooth surface, having a panelled effect, and some mottled paintwork over it already. I've also got to do the wing walk markings, which always seem to want to silver badly.
If I pork it up, I can't get the kill decals from aftermarket, as they are specific to this aircraft.
Hopefully my new technique will go Ok, but this will really test it.