Watch out for those Spada decals. They need to be coated with something while they are still on the backing. I coated some with Microscale decal film and couldn't get them to lay down on a flat surface.
Right you are, Rob! After the debacle with the roundels (transluscence), I thought I would be okay with the white thistle emblem on the fuselage. Wrong!
They are perfectly opaque, but the outline of the thistle is printed on white decal paper, meaning that you must cut out a fairly intricate and complex shape with a sharp #11 blade. I did this. However, the decals are so thin that it was impossible to slide the intricate pattern of the decal off the backing paper and onto the fuselage. The decal disintegrated as I tried to slide the backing from underneath!
I quickly removed the debris, cleaned up the fuselage surface, and headed to the LHS for some wide kabuki tape from which I will cut a mask and paint the squadron emblem---just like the roundels!
I could try coating the second set of thisle emblems to strengthen the decal, but since I would have to cut the decals out with a blade anyway, I might as well just cut a mask and be done with it!
As others have noted here, painted-on markings usually look better anyway.
So, the Spada decal sheet was good only for inspiration and some reference material. Ah well, it served it's purpose nicely in that regard, and prompted me to learn some new techniques which will be helpful in the future.
More pix soon. The interplane struts are ready for light oil treatment tonight, so it will be a few days until I can proceed with those. I will spend the interval adding rigging points where I can and getting the thistle emblem painted onto the fuselage.
Cheers,
Bob
