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Post by pje on Aug 6, 2018 23:29:25 GMT -5
My local model club, IPMS Boise, has 4 theme contests every year and the one coming up in a couple of weeks is Movies/TV. So, I’m building the AMT 1/2500 scale U.S.S. Defiant from the TV show Star Trek Deep Space Nine and the movie First Contact.  I’ve got the category covered so let’s see what I can do with the kit. There is a total of 6 pieces is this very simple little kit. It was designed to be a snap kit, but snap kits rarely look good without some help with cement. This photo shows the kit glued together and most of the seam work done. Hopefully a little bit more of Tamiya Surface Primer on the seams and it will be ready for primer.  Paul Erlendson |
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Post by Calvin on Aug 7, 2018 0:37:19 GMT -5
Im more of a 1/2400 person, when it comes to TV theme kits, but thats just me  .....a scale snob.  |
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Post by harveythedog2 on Aug 7, 2018 8:31:26 GMT -5
Man, that's tiny Paul! Good luck!
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Post by pje on Aug 8, 2018 0:57:22 GMT -5
Primed and two coats of Tamiya Light Grey. Since this photo was taken I decided to add a couple of coats of clear gloss. The grey came out rather semi-gloss so I decided that additional gloss will hopefully help the decal process. I’m wanting to make sure it’s good and dry but I’ll be starting laying down the decals in the next day or so.  Calvin, I’m surprised at you with this 1/2400 scale talk. Our most popular scales, both with Indy cars and Federation star ships, use factors of 25. Paul Erlendson |
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Post by pje on Aug 8, 2018 23:38:36 GMT -5
I’m having to put a lot of thought into the sequence of applying the decals as almost the entire model will be covered. It’s also beginning to look to me like the instructions for some of the decals are wrong.  Paul Erlendson |
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Post by pje on Aug 9, 2018 22:34:52 GMT -5
I know that I’ve been spoiled working on kits that supply decals of the quality of Cartograf and the like, or being able to get decals the quality of Indycals. And, when I do screw up, and that’s happened more than once, it’s easy to get another sheet from Michael. So with all that said, the decals supplied with this kit are the absolute most challenging I’ve ever used. They make the old Tamiya decals look great. They are so thick they remind me more of stickers than decals. I started with Mr. Mark Softer as someone on Facebook suggested it for these decals. Might as well just used water. Finally in frustration, I got out my Tameo solution that is meant for tire decals. It worked but I still have some silvering and I got a little melting at the aft end of the ship.  Paul Erlendson |
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Joel
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Post by Joel on Aug 10, 2018 12:32:46 GMT -5
Paul,
And I thought that my aircraft modeling in 1/72 & 1/48 scale was small, but you've certainly changed my mind. You're doing a superb job especially when it's 1/2500 scale. From where I seat, those decals look like you got the best of them.
Joel
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Post by pje on Aug 10, 2018 22:27:46 GMT -5
Thanks for your kind words Joel. I’ve finished the decals on the top for the most part. A couple wrinkles and some silvering I hope I can improve. Quite disappointed in myself as the most important decal to get centered is off just a little bit. Either I moved it after I got it in place or it floated off a bit. By the time I discovered the movement it was too late. Fortunately I don’t have a lot of emotional attachment to this vessel so this whole building experience will be used to hopefully do a better job with the bigger starships. I have found that the best decal fluid to use with these AMT decals is the Tamiya Mark Fit Strong solvent.  Paul Erlendson |
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Post by pje on Aug 12, 2018 22:19:21 GMT -5
Final decals are down. I’ve had quite a learning experience with these decals that I can apply to the rest of my AMT Star Trek kits. I’ve found that the best way to apply these decals is to just lay them down, without any fluid underneath them. Once they are in perfect place, brush on the Tamiya Mark Fit Strong solvent. Then leave them alone. More solvent can be applied after a few minutes where needed, after they have dried enough where they are not going to float. Next step is to decide how best to seal all these decals. What clear coat to use……  Paul Erlendson |
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Post by harveythedog2 on Aug 13, 2018 6:38:20 GMT -5
Paul, I would use a laquer clear like Testors. (Flat?) I want to see some fiber optic lights on this puppy!
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Post by pje on Aug 13, 2018 22:50:22 GMT -5
I decided to stick with Tamiya products as I had mostly be using on this build. So today I sprayed on a light coat of TS-79 Semi-Gloss Clear. I thought that if it still looked too glossy, I could still spray a coat of flat over it. Turns out that TS-79 looks pretty good over the decals. While I’ve been waiting for it to dry I’ve been working on the base which I’m quite pleased with.
Tomorrow starts the detail painting and washes.
Paul Erlendson
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Post by pje on Aug 14, 2018 23:07:00 GMT -5
Now if I can keep my old hands steady I can finish this off. Oh, and Stu. Sorry, no fiber optics. I am NOT that nuts. Funny thing though, early on I did a little research via Google and I did find a guy adding lighting to his!  Paul Erlendson |
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Joel
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Post by Joel on Aug 15, 2018 7:27:42 GMT -5
Paul,
The decaling came out fine. As for the one decal that floated out of place, if you didn't mention it, I wouldn't have noticed it.
I've never used the Tamiya decal solution. My go to system is Micro Set, Sol, and then Solvaset. For the really tough decals that seam to come with Chinese kits, the Mr. Mark system is even stronger then Solvaset, and really sucks the decals down so that they look like paint.
Joel
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Post by pje on Aug 15, 2018 22:58:22 GMT -5
Paul, The decaling came out fine. As for the one decal that floated out of place, if you didn't mention it, I wouldn't have noticed it. I've never used the Tamiya decal solution. My go to system is Micro Set, Sol, and then Solvaset. For the really tough decals that seam to come with Chinese kits, the Mr. Mark system is even stronger then Solvaset, and really sucks the decals down so that they look like paint. Joel Thanks Joel. As I showed, I started with my favorite solution, Mr. Mark Setter. That would not touch these decals. I then went too far with the Tameo solution. I would have given Solvaset a go, but I think my bottle is 30 years old.  And, I didn't trust it. The last solution I had to go with in my supply was the new Tamiya strong solution and that's what worked the best on these particular decals. If I had to list popular decals solutions from weakest to strongest I think I would go this way: Micro Scale Mr. Mark System the Tamiya System Solvaset Tameo I certainly will order a new bottle of Solvaset before I start work on my next Star Trek model with these same decals. Paul Erlendson |
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Post by pje on Aug 15, 2018 23:02:52 GMT -5
And, the finished model.  Paul Erlendson |
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Post by Calvin on Aug 15, 2018 23:31:25 GMT -5
That's cool! Nice!
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Joel
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Post by Joel on Aug 16, 2018 14:43:54 GMT -5
Paul,
Your decal solution list from weakest to strongest, took me by surprise. At least in my experience, the Mr. Mark system seemed stronger then Solvaset, and really made those Chinese kit decals settle down into all the nooks and crannies.
Joel
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.....a scale snob. 
And, I didn't trust it. The last solution I had to go with in my supply was the new Tamiya strong solution and that's what worked the best on these particular decals.