Roden's 1/48 Fokker D.VII (Late Fokker built): newbie questions.

[maxidad66]

Interesting. Well, I'll see how Roden's replacement decals perform. If they still misbehave, I'll try a coversion to an OAW.

Thanks all.

[StephenLawson]

For the best response use very warm water. Submerge the decal 4-5 seconds. Still on the paper let it lay flat on a sponge. Micro Set on the semigloss painted surface. Grey is fine. Apply decal to surface. Use a cotton swap to roll air out from under the decal. The liberal amounts of Micro Sol. after applications are made to the whole surface, it should be laid horizontal and left to dry.

[maxidad66]

Yes, thanks for that, Stephen. Normally I use just tepid water.

The only other time I saw such crummy decals was when I did a Spitfire Mk.IX from ICM - also a Ukranian company. I ended up having to buy another (lovely) set from Techmod.

[StephenLawson]

They're not so bad IF you give them a clear lacquer over coat first. Good luck in any event.

[Kalt]

Other option is to cut Roden's lozenge decals following the joint line provided by the decals, they will be much more easy to apply. I used this method with good results.

Cheers,

Claudio

[Kofoed]

Hello Maxida, and welcome to the 'Drome.

Rodens lozenge decals shouldn't be that tough to put on. They are printed as the real thing. So, when you want to apply, put them on as the real thing, i. e. chordwise.

First, paint the surface with some gloss paint. Cut the end of one strip at a slight angle to compensate for the taper of the wing, so that it fits the front edge middle and lies perpendicular down the wing. Cut it slightly longer than the wing is wide so that the aft part is going a little out from the wing trailing edge. Place the piece in warm water. After a little while, take it up to soak finish outside the water. Wet the surface of the wing with your finger. Carefully slide the decal in place, press out any air bubbles with a damp cloth and put some decal solvent on liberally. When almost dry, cut off the after part along the scalloped trailing edge with a very sharp knife.
Continue with the rest of the wing.

Worked for me. Some years ago I built some Roden OAW's. I used the lozenge supplied, though it's rather bluish (and I'm aware the rib tabes should probably have been blue.





Thanks,
Kofoed

[maxidad66]

Well, I have no excuse to cock it up now, after the advice I've received over the last couple of days!!

Apart from the warmer water, cutting the decal into manageable strips seems so obvious now, I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

I am just about to close the fuselage up - the cockpit has not been very easy either! I have to say after you've done a few Eduards and Tamiyas, Roden brings you back down to earth with a bump. I am sure it will look great in the end (to my eyes anyway), but it's a bit of a struggle.

Nice pics Stephen and Kofoed!

[StephenLawson]

Originally Posted by Kofoed

". . .Some years ago I built some Roden OAW's. I used the lozenge supplied, though it's rather bluish (and I'm aware the rib tabes should probably have been blue.





Thanks,
Kofoed"

Greetings Kofoed; Nicely done on that bird in the Jasta 50 marking from the Eagle Strike decals.

[Kofoed]

No Maxida, there are no more excuses!
Well, of course there are, you just wait. You're right about the Roden kits, but if you get yourself used to think and plan a little more beforehand, they are not that bad. Actually I think they are just as good as Eduard's when finished. An interesting thing is, when you build Roden's earlier builds, it's good to put on the engine side panels to the fuselage halves first. Then you can fill and sand the joint, as on earlier builds there is no joint there. Good luck.

Thank you for the comments on my old build, Stephen. Not much one can hide from your trained eye, is there? You're right, of course. Very nice decal sheets, by the way.

Thanks,
Kofoed

[maxidad66]

As you guys have been so helpful, I thought I would take advantage and continue to pick your brains.

I have put the two fuselage halves together now and also attached the horizontal tail surfaces. So far so good. On dry fitting the vertical tail surfaces, the locator pins come nowhere near fitting into the intended holes. They're about 1 mm out. I am sure I've put it together right so far. Is this a known fault with the kit? The only solution seems to be to sand away the pins and glue it flush to the surface.