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1/48 CF-104 Starfighter LEM Decals #48.26


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Evening,

Was placing the final two arrows on the Starfighter. i placed in luke warm water and walked away to grab a coffee. I figured by the time I came back will be ready to be placed on the kit.

 

Boxart Canadair CF-104 Starfighter: 421 Sqn "Red Indian" 48.26 Leading Edge

 

BUT NO!

 

They shattered/splintered. Has anyone else had this happen to them, and what was your solution?

 

PS - Looking for a new decal sheet. Found another set in my spare pile.

Edited by AlienFrogModeller
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I built the 1/32 Revell kit with these kit provided markings circa 1998.  As I remember, I scanned the white parts and created my own white decals to place underneath to prevent bleed through of the red paint. Turned out real well.  Good luck and let us see some pics!   

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Over the years, I have had several problems like this with Dave's decals. The problem is uneven expansion/contraction between the paper and ink.This often results in fracturing of the images on the paper. The solution is really pretty simple. Just overcoat the decals with a couple coats of Microscale liquid decal film. Of course this means you now have to trim around each item, but the decal thickness will be minimal.

The Microscale liquid decal film is alcohol based and you can literally slop it on, smooth it out a bit with a broad brush and it will dry flawlessly in about two minutes. Great stuff!

This is not unique to Dave's stuff. Older decals that have been around for a while and maybe were exposed to a range of humidity and temperatures often have this happen.

Norm

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I don't have any Leading Edge decals left because of this.

 

I have tried spraying liquid decal film although the decals still explode. I have older decals from other manufacturers that don't fail in the way my Leading Edge decals have. It appears they have a short shelf life.

 

Dave is aware this has been occurring, I think it is the reason he has scaled back.

 

Too bad, I love his product and I have invested a lot of money into it.

Edited by Scooby
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One thing I don't do is leave decals in the water.   I dip them with tweezers for 10 seconds, pull them out,  then let the water soak in them while they stay on the bench.  Cuts down on rogue decals floating away and breakage.  YMMV.

 

Cheers, Tony

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Tony,

If the bond between the paper and images has been broken, it won't make any difference what you do with them. The only solution is to rebond with something in the way of a clear coat. The advantage of the Microscale Clear Decal coating is it is quick, easy to apply and dries almost instantly.

Yes, I think Dave (Leading Edge) was aware of the problem. I also am pretty sure he solved it with later products. But I don't think anybody but him knows which are good and which are not.

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I seem to have pretty good luck with Dave's stuff.  The only exception was the 2001 CF-18 demo (410 Anniversary jet).  I know he had switched something up and that was causing the decals to disintegrate, but he changed the ink or something else with the printing and stuff that came out after that was awesome.  Some of the best decals he had was the 441 D-Day Hornet.  The invasion stripes went on flawlessly.  They were nice and thin and they looked painted on after an application of Super Sol.

 

Best way to tell sheets that may potentially give you problems are sheets that, when you look at them in the light, you can actually see a series of horizontal lines, going across the sheet.  The one sheet I mentioned, plus the original release of the AETE Hornet and maybe one other sheet, were like this.  So, just something to look out for.  YMMV.

 

But, the majority of stuff I have used has been good and I still have a healthy stash of Leading Edge stuff.  I do miss the days when a decal sheet for a CF-18 demo jet was pretty much a fore gone conclusion.  More than a few schemes have been missed.  Hopefully they will get printed by someone.

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Well I tried for the 2nd time with all the tricks mentioned here. Failed. Colin and Logan thank you for your offers. I'm not sure what to do next. I'm thinking of just repainting black, then Alclad Silver then go with a set of Japanese Aggressor markings....while I contemplate, I'll be assy'ing my Kinetic Hornet.

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4 hours ago, AlienFrogModeller said:

Well I tried for the 2nd time with all the tricks mentioned here. Failed. Colin and Logan thank you for your offers. I'm not sure what to do next. I'm thinking of just repainting black, then Alclad Silver then go with a set of Japanese Aggressor markings....while I contemplate, I'll be assy'ing my Kinetic Hornet.

I have this decal set and I won't be using it. If you would like it I will send it to you gratis. But I want to keep the resin ECM blisters that came with the decals. Just PM me and they are on their way.

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Well guys, I am very impressed at the willingness to help of the fellow modellers here. Truly appreciated.

 

I decided to give the LEM Decals another chance, Colin K. offered up first so I'll PM him to send a spare set. Thank you Colin K. However, I am very gun shy, LoganTLR, I'll PM you for  the Cutting edge set only after I give the LEM Decals another shot.

Tom, much appreciated again. If you need an extra set of lumps n bumps, I have a spare set if you want, saves you from breaking up a LEM Decal set.

 

Cheers

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Morning all, Collin I just recvd your decal this morning. I also looked very carefully like you mentioned of the splinters on the sheet. Found that one sheet had some on the tail end of the white arrow. the other sheet looked great. But...I a m not taking chances. I laid extra film of decal film on the sheets and cut them out by hand on one set. the other set will be for scanning to make a template if the first sets fails. then I will paint the arrows on my the painstaking method of layered masking.

 

Wish me luck, I should have results by noon. Have to get me a coffee....

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