[WWI] Need help visualizing a decal

[Andy Bannister]

Neil: 

> If I was going to add the edges using black decal stripes, 
> I'd be worried about the risk of getting raised edges when 
> painting on the base stripe. 

I wouldn't. Unless you put on a thick coat of paint the raised lines will be
so slight that they won't interfere with decal strips at all and once bedded
down with a setting solution and oversprayed with clear coat they'll be
pretty much unnoticeable. I usually lightly sand masked edges as well to
eliminate any raised lines.

I'd also be worried about the 
> risk of overspray, underspray, intoxication, cat-hairs and a 
> host of other things. My experience of doing roundels and any 
> other kinds of trickiness is that good decal stock painted 
> thinly and cut to shape, beats masking and spraying. 

This seems to contradict your point above about raised lines. If you're
laying on painted decal stock then you have a layer of paint plus the
thickness of the decal to contend with. If you're painting decal and going
to a load of trouble laying out the shape you want you may just as well mask
it and spray it right on the model. It'll be quicker, less painful and a
proper masking job will eliminate any overspray. Or you could just hand
paint it like Tom Wictor did in Windsock.


In this 
> case you don't even have to cut completely accurately because 
> you'll be correcting the edges with black lines.

Same for masking and spraying. Then again I have an even better idea - pick
an easier subject!!

Andy