Chronic's Research and Aeronautics Project (C.R.A.P.)

[TheChronicOne]

One extreme to the other, I tell ya!!!   The last ones shattered at the slightest touch and these can barely be pry off with crowbars and chisels!!! The thing just did not want to come off the backing paper and I had to soak it for over 5 minutes to the point the backing paper was starting to de-layer...  (I'm sure there's a proper word for that  ). I had to press down and pul really hard and and it ripped in half but I still managed to get it off the backing paper then positioned and now.... it looks pretty good!! So, in the least, I have my windows problem situated and even if the NEXT set of transfers go bad at least I can go back to the drawing board and try some more.



Makes for a nice looking generic airliner!  I have half a mind to slap an N number on it, paint the wings, and call it done.    But, I'd rather see AIR CALIFORNIA instead. . .. .

[PR19_Kit]

With all those old decal sheets, and the ATP ones really are old by now, it's always a good idea to give them a coat of Klear/Future before you use them. As they're almost always going to be applied over white it's not too much of problem trimming them before you use them, a few mm here and there won't be too visible.

[TheChronicOne]

Nice, thanks!!! I'll give it a whirl next time I use old-timey decals.  I'll need to go and buy the proper stuff, however.  I tried it once using generic dollar store brand and all it did was soak the sheet and turn it into a mess. Watered down perhaps??  Next time I will buy the Pledge stuff, the REAL stuff.   

[zenrat]

Than looks good Brad C. 

I have some (and I forget the correct name - blame the cold & flu drugs although my memory is never that good anyway) liquid decal film.  It's in a bottle the same as the Micro Sol/Set bottles.  It's no good on home made decals as the ink runs when you brush it on but it's fine on factory ones.

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks! This in danger of becoming a really nice looking airplane model if I can keep steady and continue to not "force the issue." 

That "decal maker" or whatever they call it, by the same folks, is just the one I was thinking of earlier today. In fact, someone posted a picture of a bottle of it on Facebook and I said, " hey, I ought to pick up one of those to go with my set/sol."  Sure enough, a little while later I'm having shredded transfers. Yet another coincidence that I seem to keep having with model stuff.

Hell, I'm hoping the problem never arises again (At this point, I'm probably not going to buy any more older decals, period)  but I still have some "legacy" transfers so I'm definitely going to consider doing what Kit said and just treat the sheet ahead of time from now on if I happen to use them. Good Lord, I hope this same doesn't happen to my AIR CALIFORNIA transfers. I'm too broke at the moment to go buying things but I'm also not wanting to just sit around, either. I'll try a small, inconsequential decal first, this time, however, to see if the work and if not I still have the major decorations that I can hopefully save.

[DogfighterZen]

That plane is looking slick!

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks! That's the one I would like to work on today, in fact. It's going to take awhile ensuring the off scale, wrong airliner decals will work. I want to give myself all day to get it done. Whole project is taking forever. After they're on, I want them to dry up and also give the white paint a few more days to finish gassing out. It should be good now but I do NOT want any more crazing problems.

So, that's the plan for today I guess.


EDIT: I take that back!! I have to get me yellow paint first. Woops. lol   I guess I can go ahead and paint the fin but other than that I should wait until I can get that yellow stripe on.

Hustler time I guess? I have a somewhat funny story about that one I might tell. . ..   but that would be over in that thread. 

[TheChronicOne]

Stopping in real quick to log an idea I just had.

Turn the Seaview submarine into an airliner! Glue wings on it. Shouldn't be too difficult yeah?!?! 

 

Could make one into a bomber, too.

[PR19_Kit]

There's a hefty 'kit' of the Seaview around, there was one at Telford a year or so ago, but it was maybe 4-5 FEET long! 

[TheChronicOne]

Good Lord! That would have to wind up being like a .... 1/72 scale Galaxy or something.... in that size range.   

I found one that is I think 1/350 scale it said?? Measure 14 inches long which should be perfect to fit in line with 1/144 stuff.... I HOPE... because the thing is $30!



In other news, I've done a wee bit of work on the Hustler and finally put the Yak 53 outside for photo bleaching. Although, I didn't make a cradle for it. I'll have to keep an eye on the wind and if it gets too crazy I'll bring it inside.

Also, back to work on the ATR 72. I'm getting close to being done with fuselage PSR. Well, to the point where I'll need to prime it to see what else needs done. I've also finished PSR on the wings and have cleaned up the butting surfaces. There will need to be a moderate amount of filler on the roots but that's just how these kits are made.


Know what this reminds me of right at this moment? A C-141 Starlifter.


Anyway..... hey, here's a tip that some may find useful. This is how I slather, spread, and smooth my filler. I use the small little sticky not pads because you can contour them yet also get a perfectly flat edge by using the top:


It was very awkward taking this picture... 

So yeah, you can make it fit quite a few shapes and into quite a few nooks and crannies. Not all, but a lot. Then, all ya do is take of the top sheet and throw it away and clean-up is all done in less than 1 second!



Makes for nice smooth operation:


Prior to sanding and already nice and smooth! 

I stumbled onto this one in a pinch I guess and has wound up being one of my BEST "Tips and Tricks" methods.


So, I'm having fun with it right now so I'm going to try to do a little more work on this one but not too much. It's getting to the point where I need to work on engines, props, and other very wee, very tedious bits and I don't even want to think about that stuff right now. All I'm focused on is getting an airframe together. Once I have an actual plane put together and PSRed I'll move into the next phase.

Otherwise..... I think I will finally grab the F-52 and try to get some more work done on it. I have to admit, this kit is confusing. Lots of little weird parts, lots of strange instructions and options and none of it LOOKS like a normal airplane so it's all a bit confounding as I'm trying to figure out the best way to build it keeping in mind how I want to paint it and things like that... there has to be a certain order to do it all in lest I create myself additional work or added headache that could be avoided with proper planning.

[TheChronicOne]

Amazing stunning success with the Yak-53 yellow glue running problem. Photo Bleaching has worked astoundingly well. I figured it would take a series of days, but alas, at only 3 hours it's 98% gone. I have to stick my face right up on it to see any discoloration at all but it's so slight it can't be seen even under bright light more than just a few inches away. There's a wee bit left on the fin but that wasn't facing the sun. Wow! I could go ahead and finish it like this. Alas, I'm in no hurry so I'll stick it out in the sun for a couple more hours with it shining on the fin to get that last bit cleared up.

[DogfighterZen]

Amazing stunning success with the Yak-53 yellow glue running problem. Photo Bleaching has worked astoundingly well. I figured it would take a series of days, but alas, at only 3 hours it's 98% gone. I have to stick my face right up on it to see any discoloration at all but it's so slight it can't be seen even under bright light more than just a few inches away. There's a wee bit left on the fin but that wasn't facing the sun. Wow! I could go ahead and finish it like this. Alas, I'm in no hurry so I'll stick it out in the sun for a couple more hours with it shining on the fin to get that last bit cleared up.

Result!! I'll have to try that sun bleaching technique with some old decals, maybe even the sheet that i'm not using from the old Airfix Banshee. 

[TheChronicOne]

Hell yeah, Solar power is mighty strong! 


As an aside..  I have a 12v battery charger that works on car batteries and the like that is a solar panel and two leads. I've never tried it... but, it sure looks cool. 



Uhh..update...   ATR 72 has had quite a bit more work done on it. I've PSRed a lot more on the fuselage and it's pretty much good to go. I also did more PSR on the wings then I cut out 8 of these TINY (see, I didn't say "wee" for once) little triangle things. Actuators for the flaps or something...



I glued them all on, as well. So, the wings are complete.

Also, I forgot about the wheel well housing thing so I had to file and sand the hell out of it to get it to fit then glued it in:



This occurred just after I approached a Vaseline Claymore.

[DogfighterZen]

This occurred just after I approached a Vaseline Claymore.

 

[zenrat]

In order to remind myself what it looked like I googled Seaview and got this.

Just picture THAT with wings...