Poor Quality Decals

[Plutus]

Does anyone have any recommendations for dealing with low quality decals. I am currently building an Academy Benetton B195 and the quality of the decals is awful - well below a basic Tamiya kit. I've bought some Humbrol Decalfix which does help bond the decal to the plastic as well as conceal the carrier film but they are still WAY too fragile when being handled. Any good advice or sites would be great. I have seen that there are some pretty accomplished kit builders around here!

[henk4]

Older decals can become fragile and the Benetton kit is may be 8 years old, but it should not really be a problem if they were good ones. Actually I have not heard about this specific problem, and if you are desparate you might want to try to buy some replacement decals from Hobby Link Japan (www.hlj.com) or search the F1 modelling site (www.f1m.com). They have a fourm and you could ask the question there as well. Have you tried microsol or microset? I am not sure how they would react on brittle decals, but they are intended to soften the decals considerably, which may also reduce their brittleness. Microset is the least agressive of the two. Try it on a concealed decal first and see how it reacts. Keeping the decals as soaked as possible may also help. (I had a Fiat 131 Rallye 1/20, and yes by Tamiya, which had the same problem of decals just crumbling under my fingers, and by carefully adjusting the resulting pieces I could bring them together again but the result was not pretty. There is a replacement car in my "to do" pile, but the size thereof has reached astronomical proportions so it might not be on for a while.

[Plutus]

Thanks Henk. I've not yet tried Microsol, it was going to be next on my list if Decalfix didn't help. And I have managed to re-align the remaining pieces of the decals after they have torn but you are correct, the results are never perfect - although the Decalfix helps blend the effect quite a lot.

You're right, the "to do" pile always seems to mount up quicker than the kits get built. I've only just got back into making kits (used to make them as a kid, but not very well). Have to get my skill level up by making a few plastic kits before I embark on my metal Tameo B194. Don't want to mess that one up and some of the pieces are miniscule. f1m.com should prove a useful resource when I finally get round to that kit!!

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Plutus

You're right, the "to do" pile always seems to mount up quicker than the kits get built. I've only just got back into making kits (used to make them as a kid, but not very well).

I have gone through that process, and the most problematic point is that you now can afford to buy all the kit you wanted as a kid . I presume you are living close enough to Hannant's to get all the right stuff.

[Plutus]

I guess I do live reasonably close - they have a store in London. But I have yet to go. Girlfriend wasn't so keen on a trip to the other side of the city to go to a model shop and the RAF museum

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Plutus

I guess I do live reasonably close - they have a store in London. But I have yet to go. Girlfriend wasn't so keen on a trip to the other side of the city to go to a model shop and the RAF museum

I have been there a number of times, but they are more and more concentrating on military. Saw the museum, but did not go in.

[Esperante]

I can kind of help you. I went through hell to get my decals for my 911 RS clean, seeing as 20 years of sitting in a dusty box left them brown. let them sit out in the sun for a day or so, it may fade somewhat, but the brown gunk should be gone. I can't help you with the sticking of them , as long as I've used the tip of an XACTO knife to apply them i've never had any problems.

[crisis]

Originally Posted by Plutus

Does anyone have any recommendations for dealing with low quality decals. I am currently building an Academy Benetton B195 and the quality of the decals is awful - well below a basic Tamiya kit. I've bought some Humbrol Decalfix which does help bond the decal to the plastic as well as conceal the carrier film but they are still WAY too fragile when being handled. Any good advice or sites would be great. I have seen that there are some pretty accomplished kit builders around here!

Dont let the decals sit in water for too long. You will remove the adhesive. I presume you are not handling the decals with your fingers. When they are ready to come off of the backing they should slide easily enough, unless they are so brittle they are disintegrating on the backing. Try to slide them directly from the paper to the model with a failry stiff paintbrush. I have only ever had decals disintegrate on the backing once on a failry old kit. Academy sheets should really be ok. Generally though aftermarket sheets are better and are better detailed and accurate.

[Plutus]

Thanks Crisis. I'm not handling the decals with my fingers, I tend to use a wet brush to slide them over. And Henk is right that the kit is quite old. I bought it a few years ago and it had probably been sitting in the store for quite a while.

I haven't yet go around to trying Microsol or Microset as work travel has kept me busy... (flying around the world for free is a tough life ) But I have just received a delivery from F1Specialties.com which should help me in my quest for perfection.