AAAARGH!
The decal solvent ate everything!
I added the wheels. I painted them off the vehicle and used the little plastic thingy with all the different sized circles as the mask. Wheels came out perfectly and in less than half the time of painting the rubber by hand. (Thanks to whoever suggested that method here on this forum!)
Then I did the tracks. Melted the ends but was not happy with the results, so I sewed them together for added strength. They went on with no trouble.
Then decal time. And here is where my rookie status begins to be apparent.
On my 2 recent models I put a heavy coat of gloss on to protect the paint and give the decals a nice smooth surface. But then it took 6 coats of matte to get the shine back down.
So I thought I would put a light coat of gloss on and use some decal solvent to ensure a good tight fit.
Well, things went well until the very end when I tried to touch up a number decal and destroyed it. So i scraped the remains off and put another number in its place. But then I tried to make the other side match by changing its number when trouble began.
The decal was on tight, and it turned to sludge, with the solvent eating right through the decal, the clear coat, and the paint.
Now I have big brown smudge mark surrounding a 1/2 inch square patch of bare plastic on the upper hull side.
Aargh! So I did what any self respecting man would do. I went straight to bed.
So now I am faced with a repair job. I am planning to sand down the entire panel and re-paint.
The chemicals involved in this debacle are as follows:
Tamiya Acrylic Paint; Testors GlossCote Lacquer; Polly S Decal Softening solution
I would post a picture, but my camera battery is dead.
So much for all that progress!!!