SPA Modeler

Stikpusher wrote:I’ve built a few Academy kits myself. And their decals are far from tops. But how did that happen to the paint?

It was crappy Vallejo paint. It came up when I was trying to get the decal pieces off.

So both best avoided them!

Looking forward to seeing this - those decals look... lovely

Medicman71 wrote:

Stikpusher wrote:I’ve built a few Academy kits myself. And their decals are far from tops. But how did that happen to the paint?

It was crappy Vallejo paint. It came up when I was trying to get the decal pieces off.

Surefire cure... Humbrol Enamels.

Man, that bites that they lifted the paint. When I get an older Academy kit; I'll automatically add liquid decal film in a couple coats to Academy decals. That helps stop the shattering that invariably comes with those decals.

Looking forward to seeing more of this.

Medicman71 wrote:

Stikpusher wrote:I’ve built a few Academy kits myself. And their decals are far from tops. But how did that happen to the paint?

It was crappy Vallejo paint. It came up when I was trying to get the decal pieces off.

Was the kit primed? And if so, what sort of primer did you use? I have heard with Vallejo paints primer is a must when airbrushing. And if you used a primer here, I’ll avoid using it myself based off your hard earned experience here.

I’ve picked up a few Vallejo Model Air paint sets, and some upcoming projects will need them, so I am branching out and learning from others here.

Yes Stik it was primed but I can't remember with what. I'll have to go back and look.

I have a ton of Vallejo paints that are just sitting there collecting dust cause I can't figure out how to use them. Everytime I use them it's like rubber paint and will peal up if you're not careful.

I loathe crappy decals. I've been working on decals for two different Hasegawa kits, the ones I just posted. The decals in the F-104 were the notorious thick Hasegawa decals, the ones in the P-47 kit are actually quite thin and almost too transparent in some instances. On the F-104 I had to use Mr. Leveling thinner, applied lightly to some areas just to get them to settle in the spots, most of the other areas I used Solvaset. On the P-47, Micro Set/Sol has been sufficient to settle the decals. I did hit the stars and bars on the underside with solvaset and it wrinkled it up like you wouldn't believe, I had hoped they would settle down some, but when I checked last night, they were dry to the touch and still had wrinkles.


As for your B-17, looking forward to seeing it finished. I think I need to grab one at 1/72, I just got the HK kit and I have no idea where I'm going to put it and the old Revelogram B-17. Maybe I'll have to make the wife start parking outside and take her half of the garage.

Vallejo paints are a dream to brush paint with but a absolute nightmare to airbrush at least for me. You have to have a pretty big needle size for one or the stuff will keep clogging. Even the model air line made for airbrush is a no go for me.

I kept one white bottle from their military paint set which I will use to make console buttons. I thought their paint was based on cel animation paint, which would mean it brushes fluidly and covers completely. Instead I had the hardest time with even coverage, harder than brushing straight up Tamiya or Testors without thinning the mixture. I think this experience solidified my usage of Gunze and Testors enamel paints.