Final painting then moving on to clear coat and Decals.... it finally got me!! If you would like to contribute to the channel.. please look here.. / nigelsmodellingbench
Hi Nigel. I have found a solution to the decal problem . You may not like it. But it works. My solution goes against the grain of the aircraft decal application. So I will start off with a question for you.. In Takoms history, how many aircraft kits have they ever produced besidels these Apaches and had over 100 decals? The answer is none. They are used to making decals for Armor with only a few decals you can count on one hand. Those were always on flat carrier films. So, my approach to the application is the same way as Armor. The model should be sprayed with a flat dull coat instead of gloss. The only disadvantage to this is decal placement. You only get one shot at it because of the surface tension. So, to help with this. Cover the area where the decal is to be placed with a mixture of water and dishsoap. To help with surface tention. Once placed, you can use the micro sol/set as normal. Then, once the decals are dry, recoat with a clear flat. The carrier film disappears. You can experiment with this.
Oh that's terrible! I purchased this kit right when it was released in hopes of this being a good kit. Really glad I didn't start it! Bummed to see you spend so much time only to be stopped at the very end. Good decision to wait, I must say. Consider me one who's looking forward to seeing how you rectify this problem.
Dear Nigel, Let’s hope that you find a set of decals that are a little better. The paint job looked really good sir- would be a shame to spoil that… Regards, Z
I've been following this from go, at this point my own take away is a total nix on Takom. I would rather an old 1/72 scale Airfix with soft detail and clear instructions. I know what I'm getting and that it's up to my own skills and creativity to get something that looks good. And I have fun. Unbuggering someone else's work is my day job, not my hobby.
Hi Nigel. I believe you’ve made the right decision. You’ve done so much great work putting the model together it wouldn’t be worth it to risk plodding on with wonky decals. The fact that non-existent decals are showing up on the instruction sheet would be enough justification to stop work, in my book, let alone them not going down properly on the surfaces. You mentioned the decal sheet for the Meng Apache before, maybe that could be an option when it gets released? 🍀
On camera the decals look like Italeri’s decals since some of their decals also are flat looking but Takoms look more thicker I was planning on buying this helicopter but I’ll think on getting a Hasagawa kit or Academy’s 1:72 Apache.
I feel your pain , my decals were atrocious , I got an E of world one to build but going to wait and see if someone like 1ManArmy comes up with stencils for it as I want to do it in Qatar camo colours and the decals will be a lot more prominent on that colour scheme . Great series from you though nige just a shame about instructions and decals .
Nigel have you checked under your canopy masks since all the painting that's gone on? Reason I ask is that I recently 'completed' the Revell 1/35 EC-135 and really put a lot of effort into getting all the cockpit glass installed and sealed up neatly and super clear.. all to find out after paint that there was enough of a gap somewhere from the rotor mast area to allow just the fumes of over-spray to completely cover the interior of the cockpit glass. Would be super easy to clean with IPA but unfortunately no way of getting in without removing one or more side windows and I had committed to gluing all the clear parts in with extra thin.
The decals are shocking. I'll make my own masks for the generic markings, serials and my own decals for the black stencilling. Eagerly waiting to see what schemes Caracal and or Werners Wings come up with. Nigel how did you make your Helo Drab mix?
Shame about the decals on this one. On a separate note have you considered bringing the Titanic model off the shelf and restarting it at all? I know you lost your mojo with it so I understand if it will remain there!
It's hard to believe that a well liked and reputable company like Takom would sign-off on such garbage decals! I guess they approached someone who was cheap! They look terrible! Even worse than 1970s/80s Revell decals...😂 Shame about their instructions too.... They seem to be great at designing and producing the plastic, but when it comes to instructions and decals, nah! I'm sure a Das Werk King Tiger that I built a year ago was with Takom and the instructions were OK, and the decals were very nice; thin, and went down with no silvering - even over the Zimmerit finish, so it's a shame that with this kit, the decals are so thick and so bad, given the rivet detail that has been lovingly recreated; you'd think they'd want the thinnest and best decals available.... 😳 It's such a shame; you've got a lovely model, but no markings for it, and we, as viewers, have enjoyed a terrific build series of videos, but sadly with no resolution either! Let's hope the third party companies come to the rescue soon! 😉 Thanks anyway Nigel, these have been fun! 👍
I thought that I uploaded a video link to you of a modeler removing the transfer film from some takom decal. Did you delete it, or didn’t it post. Let me know if you didn’t delete it yourself, and I’ll repost it.
@@NigelsModellingBenchThat’s unfortunate. If you have a public email I can send you the link. Otherwise in a nutshell. He set it with normal methods. Let it set for a day or two. Rubbed the decal film with a q-tip soaked with tamiya thinner until it softened, then removed it with a cocktail stick. Certainly not trying to tell you how to model, as your work is top notch. Just passing along anything to try to help you finish your build.
Hey Nige. Something that I just read,but cannot confirm, since I don’t have the kit. Somebody in the 1/35 apache Facebook group was also commenting about how insanely thick the decals were on the Takom, when someone piped in to say that these are the type of decals that you have to remove the carrier film once installed. I’ve never worked with these types of decals, but have seen them on RU-vid, I believe with an Eduard kit. That would be insane if they were actually awesome decals that they didn’t heads up the end user. Hope this is useful,(and true). Here’s a demo video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tXjyRn0ScCQ.html
The decals are so thick they will not lay down. I'm sure they are not the same as eduard, but... I tried to remove it with enamel thinner, alcohol, lighter fluid and even levelling thinner. I cant even get them off now. They are awful!!
