1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

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Medicman71
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Medicman71 »

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.
Mike

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Stuart
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Stuart »

So both best avoided them!

Looking forward to seeing this - those decals look... lovely :lashed:
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Stikpusher
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Stikpusher »

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.

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speedgraflex
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by speedgraflex »

I actually am going to address using the low end of Academy decals with the Corsair build. I am sorry the paint disintegrated, Mike. That just hurts! One thing working with a lot of garage kit decals and these lower end Academy versions is they are not compatible with setting solutions, really. At least that’s been the case for me and from two of the fellas who create decals for model cars and science fiction kits. I also find that due to age, a decal setting solution and an older decal do not really work together either! I usually do a small paint-decal compatibility test using warm water no setting solution first and I do it off the project on plastic scrap. What do you do?
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Duke Maddog
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Duke Maddog »

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.
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Stikpusher
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Stikpusher »

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.
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Medicman71
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Medicman71 »

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.
Mike

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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by jelliott523 »

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.
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by Floki »

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.
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Re: 1/72 Academy B-17F Memphis Belle

Post by speedgraflex »

:P1:

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.
Bruce / SPEEDGRAFLEX
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