Tamiya Spitfire MK XVIe

[Peterpools]

Thanks John, making some progress today and getting ready for decaling. I can seer the finish line not too far down the road.

 

[Peterpools]

DECALS AND MARKINGS

NOT GOING WELL

Right from the outset my intentions were to use masks for the very first time and I read and re-read Carl’s excellent tutorial on how use paint masks. Things didn’t go well and I discovered I need to spend a lot of time practicing before attempting to actually mask and paint the markings on without making a mess of things.

The three and four color roundels and fin flash were way beyond what a rookie could manage. I needed a lot of practice and the Spitfire was not the place to practice, makes mistakes and learn. The kit decals would be used for the roundels and stencils and I would try and use the masks for the lettering.

The Spitfire was glosses with Mr Color Clear Gloss and dried super smooth. I was surprised at how thin the decals were and as soon as I removed the blue/white roundel from the soak water (warm water, a few drops of Dawn and Micro Set) the decal was slipping and sliding on the wing and started to chip and break. Once in place and fixed, the red center decal did the same, broke, shattered and was a goner. A second red center decal was used and went on OK. The other side roundel had the same issues as well. All the stencil data was applied for the lower wing as provided my Tamiya, without breaking.

I decided to try the fuselage roundels and both had cracking issues – I was lucky to repair them, using a combination of Micro Set and Sol and Mr Setter and Softer. I sent an email to Tamiya customer service, requesting a new set of decals and am waiting for a reply. I’ve built many Tamiya kits and this is the second time I’ve had this issue in all these years. The other kit with this type of decal issues was their 1/32 F-16. Tamiya replaced those decals after I was asked to return the original kit decals. I’m hoping the decals will be replaced without first having to send the kit decals back.

Except for painting the three cowl panels, there isn’t much else I can do on the Spitfire until the decal issue is resolved. I don’t have any photos of the actual cracked decals as I did manage to repair them. I'm not going to proceed any further with the decals as I know I'm just pushing my luck.

Time to start a new project until the decal issues are resolved.

The right hand roundel still has a few nice sized chunks missing that I need to still fix. The left hand side has a chunk missing as well

 

Stencil data is fine

Both fuselage roundels cracked badly but came out OK  - not perfect as there are crack lines.

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Peter, that's an odd reaction you've had with the kit decals. 

If you don't hear from Tamiya, let me know. I have lots of Spitfire roundel decals and can drop some in the mail for you. 

As for masking the roundels, let me know what issues you were having and I'll see if I can help you out. 

Carl

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl, greatly appreciated. I'm just waiting to hear back from Tamiya and see what they will do. I'll send a PM with the issues I'm having with masking.

[Spitfire]

What a pain that is, the fun part gone wrong, as to painted roundels I cheated at the start and used plastic sheet to practice on before commiting to painting on my latest "masterpiece".

The three colour roundels took a bit more practice and the four colour ones called for "cheating", I airbrush the position of the 4 colour roundel yellow and then place the mask on the yellow.

1. Paint the camouflage colours.

2. Remove the white and red sections of the mask

3. Airbrush white

4. Replace the white section of mask and airbrush the red, when dry mask off the red.

5. Remove the blue section of mask and airbrush the blue.

6. Remove the yellow section of mask, and all done.

Upper wing roundel practice

Mask in place, red airbrushed.

Red section replaced and blue section removed

Blue airbrushed and all done

Cheers

Dennis

[The Dude]

Don't feel bad, the spitfire kits were about the time frame i noticed Tamiya had problems with their decals. I went through 2 different sets of Spitfire decals that were disintegrating until I got a good set. I also had  bad sets from a few 1/32 f-15 from them as well. I now try a unused decal from the sheet an see how it goes.

[mark31]

sad to hear about the decals

I hope tamiya send you replacement set.

 

Mark

[DocRob]

Sorry to hear about these issues Peter. Decaling is one of my most feared tasks in modelling for a reason, but I never had issues like this with Tamiya decals. I sometimes used masks, only because I found the decal colors not fitting and used Maketar masks, which worked great. They are Kabuki masks, precise cut and they have a dedicated set for your Spitfire.
1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIe for Tamiya kit 60321 (maketar.com)

I hope you will solve the issues of this trouble riddled build and have a satisfying result in the end.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

You really have to go the long way Peter. Sad to hear about the troubles with the decals. 
But I’m sure you will overcome all the trouble and - like Rob said - turn it into an awesome model in the end.

[Peterpools]

5 hours ago, Spitfire said:

What a pain that is, the fun part gone wrong, as to painted roundels I cheated at the start and used plastic sheet to practice on before commiting to painting on my latest "masterpiece".

The three colour roundels took a bit more practice and the four colour ones called for "cheating", I airbrush the position of the 4 colour roundel yellow and then place the mask on the yellow.

1. Paint the camouflage colours.

2. Remove the white and red sections of the mask

3. Airbrush white

4. Replace the white section of mask and airbrush the red, when dry mask off the red.

5. Remove the blue section of mask and airbrush the blue.

6. Remove the yellow section of mask, and all done.

Upper wing roundel practice

Mask in place, red airbrushed.

Red section replaced and blue section removed

Blue airbrushed and all done

Cheers

Dennis

Dennis, that is what I should have done before starting the build - practice, learn and work out a procedure (following Carl's tutorial) that I can use and go slow, one step at a time. Very much appreciate the tutorial and photos as I am going to be doing at least the large, ID numbers and the fin flash and see how that goes. Just never occurred to me masking was such a delicate art and skill - but one I need to learn how to do.

 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Dude

I'm starting to feel the same as Tamiya might have had decal issues for a certain period of time. I've never tested Tamiya decals in the past before using them, but next time around, absolutely will.

 

. 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark, it's always something

Still waiting to hear back from Tamia and I'll try calling customer service in a little while and see if I can get through. 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob, I just need to hear back from Tamiya and then formulate a plan. It's looking as if I'll be doing a combo of decals and masks (Maketar) and work my way through it. 

Funny thing is and I know we have talked about this, as decaling is one of my most favorite parts of a build - could be changing.

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kai, I'm just going to keep plugging along, use a combination of masks and decals and roll the Spit across the line. What I should have done, is practiced and practice masking until I had it down and then started the kit. But I jumped in and this is the price I paid. Could have been worse

 

 

[Jbert27]

2 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks Rob, I just need to hear back from Tamiya and then formulate a plan. It's looking as if I'll be doing a combo of decals and masks (Maketar) and work my way through it. 

Funny thing is and I know we have talked about this, as decaling is one of my most favorite parts of a build - could be changing.

 

So I give you a ton of cree meatballs all cracked and look like crap.  Meanwhile,  give up and weather it in.  Okay, could've would've  and should've... go get them, as I just immediately wen to plan B.  And that's why love this site.

[GazzaS]

Sorry to hear about your decal problems, Peter.  Hopefully you can get some replacements quickly.  I have found the best way to remove decals is to mask over them and then lift the tape.  Much safer than scraping.

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz, Tamiya has the photos they requested and should be sending new decals. Luckly, what I have on the Spit looks pretty good as the repairs seemed to work and doesn't need to be removed.  

 

[Bomber_County]

Peter , the woes just keep on coming……..fingers crossed for the new decals and it will turn out pristine as ever…..

[Peterpools]

Thanks Phil

I'm plugging away and with some luck, will be making progress as all that I have left to do is the three cowling panels (cammo paint work), tail wheel (painting) and all the small parts. I'm going to try using masks for the ID codes and fin flash and see what happens.

  

[Peterpools]

14 hours ago, Jbert27 said:

So I give you a ton of cree meatballs all cracked and look like crap.  Meanwhile,  give up and weather it in.  Okay, could've would've  and should've... go get them, as I just immediately wen to plan B.  And that's why love this site.

Jbert

Thank you for the comments and my progress and the decaling issues. I'm plugging ahead and using some of the decals, patching them together if possible. For the balance, I'll wait for the replacement decals.

 

[Peterpools]

DECALING – DONE

 From the outset, I should have taken the time to learn how to correctly use masks following Carl’s tutorials and Dennis’s masking post. I’ll be practicing so I can actually use mask on future builds.

Tamiya USA is going to be replacing both decal sheets as mine were deemed defective but customer service has been closed for covid and will not be open and running until August 15^th and then will ship my decals as soon as possible. Knowing new decals will be coming, I broke into another Tamiya Spitfire kit, finished up the decaling using a combination of both Spitfire kits decal sheets where patching the original decals wouldn’t work. I went very slowly and all the markings have finally been applied.

What I have noticed, is the kit decals seem to be somewhat thinner – but who knows for sure.

Time for the panel line washes and at first, I used Tamiya Black Panel Line Wash for the upper wings and fuselage. After drying overnight, I carefully cleaned up the PLW with a Q-tip lightly moistened with White Mineral Spirits and the results weren’t that good, as the PLW had issues settling into the panel lines.

Changing tactics, I used UMP Dark Dirt Weathering Wash on the undersides, let dry for about 45 minutes and removed the excess wash with a water dampened paper tower. The results were much better. Needless to say, I redid the upper portion of the Spitfire with the UMP Wash.

What jumped out when done, the thin panels lines were susceptible to being overwhelmed by: primer, paint and the clear gloss. Tamiya decals still have a hard time sinking into panel lines and that’s after using Mr Setter and Mr Softer.

At this point, the Spitfire is decaled and ready for the decals and washes to be sealed with another round of Mr Color Clear Gloss and the finish clear with Alclad Clear Semi Matte or Light Sheen – still haven’t decided yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KevinM]

She's looking good Peter.

[Spitfire]

It's amazing the difference it makes when the "uniform" has been put on, looks great.

Cheers

Dennis

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kev

Making progress and hopefully there will be no more issues to deal with. Fingers crossed

 

[Peterpools]

Much appreciated Dennis and it sure does.