responding to worr
posted by worr:
BTW...you think the decals are too thick? Do you use acid to settle them into the engraved panel lines? They seemed thick in the pictures...and that it typical for tamiya.
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As a matter of fact, yes I do think that they are too thick. I'm a very inexperienced modeler, so I did not know about the acid technique. Sure I've glued some together when I was 10-12, but this is my second serious model. I've done a Hasegawa Tomcat eight years ago, and now your Tamiya post awoke my interests in this hobby.
I tried to do this model right. I've set up my workplace, did not rush, but still I've commited a number of mistakes that I regret now. I'm seriously thinking about getting another kit to do it right this time. After the first one I think I know how to change a sequence of painting/assembly to get an optimal results. Unfortunatelly, the instructions are not optimal in this regard. They do not indicate which side of the element need a paint, they just indicate the color. I did not try to think ahead to figure our which side to paint and which to leave alone, so as a result many elements are not painted right. Also, very often it is better to glud a bunch of parts together and then paint them.
Another example of a screw up on my part. I was able to make an almost perfect coat of paint on the underside. Very even, very thin and thus showing all the panels and rivets. I was very happy with it. But then I taped only the edges 1/2 inch or so, before applying the top coat of paint. Big mistake! The top coat was great as well, again I was very happy with it, but guess what... the bottom was misted over. My perfect bottom coat was ruined. No problem I said, I'll just fix it. To make a long story short, by the time I was done fixing the top layer looked horrible.
Another obvious and horrible looking screw up are the yellow leading edges of the wing decals. For some reason they've designed it as three pieces per wing. Bad design. Should have been a single piece. Maybe someone can align them perfectly, I obviously could not. I'm thinking about ripping it off and just painting the yellow edges over.
This time I'm going to tape over the entire model real well.
Anyway, I have not decided whetehr I'll build another kit soon yet, but if I decide not to do it, anyone interested in a paint set? Most of them hardly used, and I don't want them to dry up in my garage. Whoever wants them, they can have them.
