Roden Albie rolling off the assembly line

[Dirigible-Al]

I did not know such a thing existed, Nail Head Decals. I am loving this thread so far, although it is all good the stand out feature is the wood effect. You have now just made that better by adding the nail head detail. Way to go Kensar.
Alan.

[gedmundson]

Ken, those nail heads look really nice. I definitely need to acquire some for my Albatros D.V build. And seriously, a blind man on a galloping horse would not notice the colour of them...it's the effect that works well.
Cheers,
Gary

[Gutzer]

ah, but what about the horse? Eh? 

Superb build and nail heads!

I have just purchased this kit for my first Roden build, so this thread will definitely will be valuable to me.

Peter

[RAGIII]

The nails look fantastic Ken! Something I will need to try someday. Very inspiring build. I see another Albatros in My future now 
RAGIII

[KiwiZac]

Those nail heads really make it pop! Wow!

[Alexis]

Yea , thumbs up Ken . In hope now thumbs got harmed 


Alexis

[kensar]

Thank you, everyone for the positive comments.  No thumbs were harmed but there were burning ears from the experience!   

I'm sealing in the nail head decals now with a couple coats of Future.  A few more comments about them.  They are an HGW product printed on (under) a continuous sheet of decal film, so the strips have to be cut individually.  They are covered with another sheet of paper material.  The instructions would have you cut and apply like any other decals and then after 6 - 8 hours of drying, remove the top paper layer.  I found this top layer completely useless.  When you cut strips of the nail heads, the top layer just separates and falls away.  I used both scissors and a sharp hobby knife to cut the strips.  It also hinders placement of the nail heads because it is difficult to see through it. 
As I mentioned earlier, the nail heads are printed on the bottom of the decal film, not on the top.  If you don't wait long enough after wetting the decal and before applying them, the nail heads just come off the decal film when you move the decal off the backing paper, so you have missing or out of place nail heads.  This was the most frustrating part of using this product. 
The nail heads make a visually interesting detail, but they should be a different color, other than all black.  On close examination of Kolon Mayerhofer's Albatros D.III, it looks like the nail pattern is a brass screw followed by 2 steel nails, then another brass screw, and two steel nails, and so on.  One positive thing is that the heads are a round shape and consistent in size and spacing, and the decal film is very thin.  I used decal softening fluid only in the most curved areas.
If anyone else uses this product, it would be interesting to know what their experience is.  I'm not sure why they didn't just produce this product like any other decal - printed on top of the film with a fixing layer on top.
So, that's my experience.  I hope this information is of help to others.  I am not recommending to not use this product, just that it has some unusual aspects to it.

[KiwiZac]

As I mentioned earlier, the nail heads are printed on the bottom of the decal film, not on the top.  [...] I am not recommending to not use this product, just that it has some unusual aspects to it.

It sounds a bit like the new Eduard decals, albeit without the option to retain the film. I can only guess this approach is to avoid silvering and have only the individual heads for a more accurate rendition, but it does sound like the instructions could be clearer! I wonder if the top layer of paper is actually a protective cover as seen on most kits, and the instructions' "top layer" is the film itself?

On close examination of Koloman Mayrhofer's Albatros D.III, it looks like the nail pattern is a brass screw followed by 2 steel nails, then another brass screw, and two steel nails, and so on.

Spelling corrected  I know some folk are wary of using modern reproductions as modelling references but I believe with Koloman (and TVAL) we can trust what he and his team come up with. Are the heads too small to repaint to suggest a brass screw? And I mean just painting them brass, not etching a screw head pattern!!

[kensar]

Hi, Zac.

I may have misunderstood the instructions, but they seemed very clear.

It would be impractical to paint the nail heads.  There are so many of them and they are very small.

I think next time I would try using a riveting tool on the plastic before painting, and then using a wash technique to color them.  It would require some testing before doing it.
Apologies to Koloman for massacring his name.

Update:  I found a forum post on another forum from 2013.  Apparently, the clear decal film is supposed to be removed from the surface after drying, leaving only the nail heads!

[Bughunter]

Wow Ken, the nail lines looks great!
 

They are also printed under the carrier film instead of on the top.

Apparently, the clear decal film is supposed to be removed from the surface after drying, leaving only the nail heads!

That was also my guess, as the HGW surface decals.
And I have it done on my Camel, the latest Eduard (normal) decals has the carrier also on top, so it can be removed but don't need to.

Not sure about the newest surface structure decal line by Eduard, which are printed with a 3D printer on decal sheet (a bit the the SPACE instrument panel series). I touched those on the Euro Model Expo and the details are fantastic. The new product line is called "Eddie the riveter".

Cheers,
Frank

[KiwiZac]

It would be impractical to paint the nail heads.  There are so many of them and they are very small.

I didn't even think about the size and number! That's a very valid point - I wonder if they'd consider doing Albi-specific versions of their decals?

Apparently, the clear decal film is supposed to be removed from the surface after drying, leaving only the nail heads!

Aha! That's what I thought too. An interesting approach to me - and a little more scary than doing the same for a roundel due to the size of the decals.

[Alexis]

Hey Ken ,

I haven't tried these decals yet but have used other products form them and I will say that using their product has a learning curve but once you get the hang of it the results are super . I think I would have done the nail heads using a riveting tool and wash to highly light them .


Alexis

[kensar]

Just a small update before I go on a vacation for a couple of weeks.

I've put on the last of the decals, added the rudder, and the second machine gun.
I didn't want to risk masking and then pulling up the decaling on the fuse to paint the crosses on, so I used the decal crosses from my Meng Tripe kit.



Nice Gaspatch MGs.


The Meng decals were quite stiff and brittle and didn't soften much when Microsol was applied.

[Bughunter]

What a beautiful Albatros You are an artist!

Cheers,
Frank

[gedmundson]

I really like the look of this one, Ken. Probably a safe call to use the decals for the crosses.

Safe travels on your vacation!
Cheers,
Gary