scalloped trailing edge decals

[GrahamB]

Hi,

just thinking about my next project and wanting to be aware of a potential problem. How does one attach edging-tape decals to a scalloped trailing edge? I can't see how this can be achieved with straight strip.
Any pointers gratefully received.

Cheers
GrahamB

WNW Fokker E.IV nearing completion - a lot of fun with this.
 

[GrahamB]

Thanks Richard. Probably the technique I would try to use now (damned tedious though) on decal-covered types (e.g., lozenge) but I'll probably mask/paint strips on painted surfaces (just as tedious).
Cheers
Graham

[GrahamB]

Thanks Justin - just the way my thoughts were going now. Got to be really careful with the blade to not cut into the plastic, and to do the strip in smallish lengths.
Cheers
Graham

[aircare84]

Had the same issue with a WNW Albatros I'm working on. I gave up trying to use the rib tape strips. I mixed a batch of paint to match (close anyway) the rib tapes & painted the scalloped training edge. Pleased on how it turned out, but the match is not exact. Luckily, the area is so small it doesn't stand out.

[GrahamB]

Excellent!
Many thanks for this.
Cheers
GrahamB

[Vickers]

I found that laying down lengthy, narrow decals along leading and trailing edges was a bit fiddly on previous builds, so on this Albatros I cheated.  I mixed up paint to match the tapes, spray it along the edges that will have tape, apply the lozenge and tape decals, then use a brand new #11 blade to slice around the periphery. I made a tool for this procedure by gluing a piece of plastic-card the same thickness as the tapes to the blade itself and then glued a piece of 1/8th" Evergreen plastic tube to the other side of the spacer, parallel to the blade in line with the point. The weight of the blade handle was enough to slice the decal, you just have to be smooth about it to ensure that the tubing stays in contact with the edges of the wing all the way around.

[RAGIII]

Awesome work on those Alabatros tapes. Would it be possible to photograph the blade, strip and tube set up you described?
RAGIII

[Vickers]

Sure thing, my friend!  I've pasted together a little collage showing these DIY beasties from different angles. The plastic wedges are just plastic card selected for the thickness of whatever I'm trying to cut and cut to shape using an old dull blade as a template. The straight tape & decal cutter is handheld and has extra plastic sticking out to provide a control points top and rear for your fingertips, whereas the edge trimmer fits in a standard handle.

The Tamiya tape serves two functions- it gives the CA glue some backup and it covers the part of the #11 blade edge that isn't doing the cutting. The "Y"-shaped scar on my right pointer finger is what inspired the wrap. I was using my prototype un-taped version to cut lengths of tape to mask off the thin white trim parts of a Sturmstaffel 1 RVT tail band and lost my situational awareness- good think I'd already clear-coated the model for decaling or it would've been covered in inaccurate red stained mottling!

Making these cutters is easy-peasy. If it takes more than 10 -15 minutes then you're overthinking it.

[GrahamB]

Another good method. One thing bothers me though - OK, you slice the lozenge decal along the wing margins, but how is it removed if already applied and dried?
Cheers
GrahamB

[Vickers]

I've used this method on Aeromaster, CSM, Eagle Strike, and Pheon Lozenge Decals over a clear coat 2:1 Future & 70% Isopropyl Alcohol followed by normal decal application w/Micro Decal Set & Sol. I've never waited longer than overnight to trim away the excess and I don't recall encountering any difficulty pulling away that outer part of the decals. However, if it should adhere too much, teasing it along the edge with a small, stiff bristle paintbrush doused with Micro Set should do the trick without loosening the adjacent fabric on the "keeper side" of the cut. It's kind of a standard pre-panic tactic for decaling whenever you have to adjust a decal that's set up, but hasn't been sealed with a top coat.

[GrahamB]

OK, make sense. Some trial/practice runs would be a good idea for me too.
Cheers,
Graham