Hi Guys

Been popping on to the forums to check out guys build etc etc and thought it about time to register lol

Never built anything before , upto to issue 30 atm, but not built half of it after seeing the carbon effect builds .. thought Id have a go at doing it that way.

So far have front suspension built and carbon effect & painted, front wing assemble but not fully complete, rear end carbon only but not painted..

currently out of decal been waiting a few weeks for it, kinda wished I'd not started the carbon its real hard work, does look good but theres way more to carbon then I first thought ..

So Hey from me :)

Welcome to the forum mate! Make sure you post a build diary

Look forward to seein your progress!

I'm in the same boat, carbon decalling etc. we'll get through it!

A big warm welcome to the Forum Yeti What ever you need just ask, we have the experience in all the guys to help you

Hi Yeti- man,

A warm welcome to the forum and yes it is best to remove the moulded carbon effect from the wing parts beore applying the carbon decals. You need to get as smooth and shiny a surface as possible before applying them for best effect and also make sure to use a decal softener to get them to sit down nice and tight to the surface. Best person to ask or PM on the forum about this is 'Warthog' who seems to be leading the way on here with this kind of modification, or maybe check out his build diary here for more info :

http://forum.model-space...aspx?g=posts&t=2139

Regards the cracking on the edges, all I can think of is that when removing the paint/carbon effect, you are maybe sanding the wing edges too thinly and too aggressively as the wing parts are made of what looks like a kind of resin as opposed to plastic and resin can be quite hard and brittle and generally prone to splitting when it is very thin, so maybe you need to be more gentle with it when sanding ??

Kev

Oh, sorry mate, misunderstood what you were referring to !! I've not come across that problem of the decal splitting and the only thing I can think of is that you might not be applying the softener in an even manner, as in some areas are getting more than others so when it dries, it does so at different rates which causes tension across parts of the decal film and thus causes the splitting maybe ??

Are you making sure that any paint or subsurface is completely dry before adding the decal ?? I am an artist and do oil paintings as well as modelling and there is an old saying in art - "never paint thin over fat" - which means if you try to paint thin paint over thick paint which hasn't completely dried, the thin paint will crack as the thick continues to dry which causes that familiar 'crazing' effect that you see on old paintings, because the two layers are drying at different rates ??

Could also be that the sheet of carbon decal is old stock or has been creased slightly in the past which can manifest itself as a crack when the decal is used, as it is very thin stuff to start with ?? Really don't know mate so guessing really ?? Has anybody else come across this problem ??

Kev

Hi Yeti-man,

If you are finding it difficult to do the carbon decal mods and don't have very much modelling time, then why not just do a fourth wing in a standard way and keep the rest of your model standard from there on in ?? It will look perfectly good enough when finished and you will probably find that you will retain interest in it right until the end ?? A lot of people take on the modding route, find it more difficult than they thought and then get frustrated and end up losing interest in the model altogether and cancelling their subscription, which is sad in the end because it is a nice model even when standard and a waste of hard earned money!! Just a thought maybe ??

Kev

Hi Yeti Man modelling is a JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION you build your model for you, if it takes forever it does not matter, if you are happy with it thats the main thing!!!!

I have many builds on the go I have not started the Mclaren yet, I am watching the other builds, getting pointers here and ideas there from guys like Kev and Warty dont get frustrated, you are doing fine