Decals
Last task prior to decaling is the application of a gloss clear coat (in my case Future). I’ll give this a couple of days to dry and then apply the Microscale printed, TwoBobs decals.
The decaling has commenced. One unexpected event occurred which had to do with the white decals. Because these decals will be placed on a black background, Microscale has printed them very thickly (to ensure good coverage). This means they do not respond as well to decal softening solution to allow them to pull down into the panel lines etc. I tried a couple of techniques to get them down into the panel lines and I am happy with the result. I also used some Daco Strong Decal softener, which certainly helped get them to co-operate.
The model does not really have a lot of decals. As the scheme I chose does not have walkway outlines, this makes the decaling task even easier.
The engine exhaust petals need to be masked up, to allow a couple of different colors to be applied. I tried to think of a quicker way than cutting out all that tape, but decided that as a rule, “quicker is not always better”.
With the decaling complete and the decals sealed down with Future, it’s time to apply a panel wash. Because of the large contrast from one color to the next (Black to White) I could not use a single wash color. In the end I used Medium Gray on the black and white and Extra Dark Gray on the gray camo color.
The excess wash has been cleaned away using a cotton cloth and for the tricky areas, lots of cotton buds.
An increasing number of photos I see of F-16s have very visible “screws” on the canopy edge. All the Artic Vipers have this “feature”. To reproduce it, I took a sharp needle (held in a knife handle) and accentuated the shallow holes that Tamiya provide on the canopy frame. I then applied a couple of washes of white Humbrol paint into the holes. After 10 mins, I cleaned away the excess and am happy that the result looks realistic.