1/200 hasegawa B-737-800 Gol - Draw decals - finished

[homerojr]

I´m having a lot of trouble applying the Draw decals, even following strictly the instructions (application of sol and setter, decals in hot water before application, etc.). On the fuselage there were no problems, however on tail and winglets it´s become a real nightmare, I ended wrecking tail and winglets decals, had to order another set.

I must say the decals are beautifully reproduced and easy to apply to fuselages or flat surfaces, but to conform them to curved or bent surfaces is a pain. I´ll avoid these kind of decals as hell in the future ( the sets that have decals to be conformed over highly curved or irregular surfaces).

I ordered Solvaset, a stronger solvent/setter solution, my last hope!

Any help would be appreciated, maybe I let pass something..

Edited September 22, 2010 by homerojr

[homerojr]

Decals applied over gloss white gunze; the paint is going to be clear coated later, that´s why I wasn´t concerned about supersmooth white finish. I oil washed panel lines before painting. Wings already painted testors enamel voodoo gray (masked).

Slight weathered engines, not yet finished. Pylons are still masked, they´re painted voodoo gray.

I tried initially to decal winglets, but it soon started to become a disaster (decals don´t cover all winglets as in real planes and besides not conforming to curved surfaces, it started to crack when drying). I didn´t bother to shot tail and rudder decal, it turned real bad ( I lost my patience as a matter of fact, almost made it fly from 4th floor).

Edited May 4, 2010 by homerojr

[Living Legend]

Nice livery! Ive also had some struggles with Draw decals. Did you use a hair dryer to help them conform?

[homerojr]

Nice livery! Ive also had some struggles with Draw decals. Did you use a hair dryer to help them conform?

Great!! Didn´t think about it! I´ll give it a try and just let you know if it went ok.

Thanks! :D :D

Edited May 5, 2010 by homerojr

[Living Legend]

Well did it help?

[homerojr]

Well, so far so good! I ordered another decal from airline-hobby (thanks for ultra fast delivery!) and with much patience, v ery hot water, microsol e holding in place with fingers I managed to get the decal in place. Now for gloss clear coats!

The pic is dark because it was shot from a cell phone. I´ll take more pics soon.

Edited May 12, 2010 by homerojr

[Living Legend]

Looking good! Im glad you were able to get the decals to work.

[homerojr]

I used gunze acrylic gloss coat, sprayed 4 four coats. I must wait at least 4 days for polishing (usually tamiya compound and cotton are needed; if the surface hasn´t got smooth enough I initially use tamyia sandpapers, 1000-1200-1500-2000 grades and then compound).

The panel lines were oil washed before painting. Thanks hasegawa for doing engraved panel lines airliners!

Edited May 15, 2010 by homerojr

[homerojr]

Well, it´s almost finished. It only lacks an antena over the top. This project gave me a lot of bugs to work out. A wing came unglued when decaling, among other things. It´s weird when some builds face every kind of mishap, while others come smoothly to an end. The Draw decals are really tricky to work with, however pretty fine on printed details and unusual paint schemes. Unfortunately whenever possible I will avoid these decals though, regular decals are so much easy to apply in these scarce free moments we have to build..in the end it strangely yellowed to some degree on clear film left.

[ojsguilty]

Just a quick heads up.

For those finding that Microscale MicroSol or MicroSet isn't strong enough - but Walthers Solvaset is TOO strong (which it is!) - try Champs Decal Set:

http://www.minot.com/champ/other.htm

I've used this in the model railroading world - and it works like a charm for decals printed on thicker paper, and for decals on thinner paper - makes it blend really nice.

David

[homerojr]

Thanks David, I´ll keep that in mind.

[Living Legend]

Sorry about the yellowing. Your a much better modeller then I am so Im hesitant to offer advice. I have found that when using Draw decals dont put setting solution (microset) under them. Every time Ive used a setting solution Ive had yellowing or staining. Just apply the decals with maybe a tad of water. Then when in place use a hair dryer to conform the decal. The hair dryer also reduces the amount of time needed to apply the decals to near regular decal level. Lastly coat decal with a solvent I use Microsol. I have a 732 that Im almost finished with and so far using the above method theres no yellowing or staining. Ill post pics when its finished.

[homerojr]

Sorry about the yellowing. Your a much better modeller then I am so Im hesitant to offer advice. I have found that when using Draw decals dont put setting solution (microset) under them. Every time Ive used a setting solution Ive had yellowing or staining. Just apply the decals with maybe a tad of water. Then when in place use a hair dryer to conform the decal. The hair dryer also reduces the amount of time needed to apply the decals to near regular decal level. Lastly coat decal with a solvent I use Microsol. I have a 732 that Im almost finished with and so far using the above method theres no yellowing or staining. Ill post pics when its finished.

Thanks for the advice, never thought about that . I apreciate your coment about my skills, but I´m no better modeller than anyone else, I´m just in a learning curve as every modeler and the proof is I learned something new today.

Indeed the pics show the models better than they really are..