It reads like you manage to recover the situation with the decals quite well. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of the the little F4.
cheers
Michael
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Decal Disaster 2
After getting the decals on the model and being very happy with all but the fold I shot a coat of Tamiya rattlecan gloss over all to seal the decals and prepare for a pin wash. All looked great except for the wings with the roundels. Those erupted with little blister like deformations. None of the other decals, even those from the same sheet had the issue. They were so fragile that masking tape removed sections of them. I got as much off as I could with tape and Micro Set which calls itself a decal remover. It didn’t touch these!
I got as much off as I could with tape and rubbed the area smooth with fingers and a cloth. New decals (I have plenty now) were applied with Micro Set. After waiting a day, I washed them with plain water and a soft sponge.
I shot the wings with Tamiya semi gloss out of a rattlecan, this time with no issues.
Interesting issue – My reference book has large beuatiful pictures of many F4B details including factory shots showing the top & bottom wings. These pictures show how Boeing painted the surfaces.
The text below the picture of the top wing mentioned that ALL metal panels were painted the same light grey as the fuselage. I took that to mean the ailerons too and painted mine light grey. That looked odd to me as all models I have ever seen show them painted the same yellow as the top wing. After a bit, I came to like the contrast.
The Yellow Wings sheet mentioned that the ailerons were painted yellow both top & bottom. I had another close look at the pictures trying to sort out the tones of grey in the photos. Yes, the top wing & ailerons were yellow just as the decal maker says. They have now been repainted in the yellow.
Paul
4 Likes
Here is one last shot showing the damaged decals on the wings.
I was so impressed with the Yellow Wings sheets that I wanted to share pictures showing just how good the decals look and how much supporting information they included.
This project is well along now and will be ready to try out the new skill of rigging in just a week or two.
Paul
6 Likes
It seems I spoke too soon but I am glad you recovered it. The pictures look great.
Has anyone here built the Eduard DH-2? I see it is back in production now. I have wanted one for a long time but could only find it second hand ($$$). I noticed it is back as it is part of Sprue Brothers spring clearance. But now that the price is right, I am filled with self-doubt…
No, but it looks like the ultimate rigging challenge, even more in 1/48 scale. If the price is right, go for it!
The Wapiti survived surgery. The strut transplants were successful though not without its complications.
The struts are straight but the cabane struts suffered their own damage as the top wing instability during transplantation caused stress fractures to three of them. Still corrective surgery for them and all is well.
Except when as I reset the cabane struts I noticed that the top wing was now about 2mm off centre. So I used .25mm copper wire for the inside bay rigging to pull the top wing back into line.
That also worked so now I can finally get on with rigging and finishing the Wapiti. I had my doubts for this plane for a while but now there seems to be a runway ahead that I can bring this thing into land.
cheers
Michael
6 Likes
It looks a lot happier than before. Congrats on pulling that off. How did you anchor & tension the copper wire? That sounds tricky.
Paul
1 Like
Hi Paul,
For the copper wire I drilled a0.4mm hole through both the top and lower wing and fed the wire through. I glued the top wire and left for 24hrs to ensure the CA had set. Then using alligator clips I slowly wound the wire under the lower wing to pull the top wing left to gain the 2mm. Glued the wire there and left for another day. So far after a couple of days it seems to have held.
cheers
Michael
I tried a new technique of adding very small copper wire loops to string the rigging wires through. The idea is that you can do it after all painting, lozenge decalling, and weathering is done.
I had problems getting the loops the same size and some of the smaller ones got blocked by paint, so I had to drill them out. I cannot really recommend this approach to anybody. 
I am going back to my old method of drilling through the wing, super gluing and then sanding smooth before painting. 
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@hudson29 Paul, nice save on the decals. Looking forward to follow the rigging.
@cosimodo Michael, great job the rigging so far. Your rigging is not only for show, but actually holds the top wing in place 
I love it!
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Finally got the Wapiti to its correct stance, fitting the tail skid and rudder.
And the process of rigging began, fitting the flying wires guides.
The rigging is finished on the rear of the plane now.
Wings next and then the final fit out.
cheers
Michael
5 Likes
That looks properly good. I could never do this level of detail due to having tank crewman levels of dexterity and finesse. I really like the decals also. They look like they’re painted on.
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Thanks for that. The markings are a mix of decals for the numbers and finer details and the roundels and stripes are painted. On the rear of the fuselage the plane was half aluminium and half linen, so the lower half is cover with a transparent linen effect decal.
cheers
Michael
That Wapiti is looking great! You have put a lot into it and it shows. I can hardly wait to see it further along.
Paul
1 Like