Tiny decal day! (And test fit of TLAR kit 226 decals.) These are some of the smallest decals I ever tried to apply. Sometimes, they lay down pretty well, and then sometimes they curl up and make a teensy useless tube. The silver 314 became NC 18603, The (damn) Yankee Clipper. The Navy-colored Clipper became the NC 18605, Dixie Clipper. The temptation to add the Stars and Bars was strong! Black NC codes on the flat sea blue paint are almost invisible. On the white underside, quite nice, actually.
What to do about the curling decals. Hmm.
TOM BLY!!
Tom Bly, God rest him, built airliners. He built STUNNING airline models. He contended that a guy could set his decals in Future, walk away (so the Future can cure) for a few minutes and have stunning results. He did not say Future can keep microscopic decals from curling. It DO! I mixed Tamiya thinner and Future 50/50, put 1/2 a drop on the model while the decal was soaking, and dropped the decal and film on to the drop of Future. A few minutes to cure........
See Yankee Clipper's vertical stabilizer? The NC and the 18603 are separate decals. A successful test! Thanks Tommy! Pan Am Clippers are Airliners after all.
Old Skywave WWII US insignia benefited from a coat of Microscale decal film. The inside of the open hatches got a dot of ZNCR, since they open outward. No new lessons on the waterline Mariner model. Decals bring the model to life.
After action report;
The original decal sheet, although efficient, is a pain in the buttcheek! Larger (?!) wing NC numbers need to be one decal. Smaller NC and serials need to be more numerous. (wuht.) I eliminated Honolulu Clipper and Atlantic Clipper from the kit 226 production decal sheet, fixed the NC #'s and added a few nose serials for possible US Coast Guard HU-16E models.
I don't know how many guys will attempt applying such markings to flying boats this scale, but it IS possible if one remembers Tom Bly.
