Airfix Kit decals - How are they really?

From a purely functional point of view, Airfix decals are perfectly satisfactory, if a little thick. I find that they react well to Micro Set/Sol.

I have other reservations about them, however. I find that the registration can be poor at the best of times. At the worst it is so bad as to make the decals unusable. I have also seen sheets that use a strange dot-matrix effect to produce colours. In such cases the smaller decals may be marginally acceptable but such things as national markings are wholly unacceptable. Single colour markings in black or white - such as serials - are usually fine.

It may be worth your while to use serials, stencils and other small markings from the kit sheet and source national markings and codes from general sheets.

Incidentally, Hannants list two sheets for this aircraft from Carpena.

If you're looking for aftermarket decals in addition to the Decals Carpena releases, this may be of interest to you:

I would agree with everything Enzo said. I just finished a couple of Airfix 1:32 race car kits. They were old, from a collector. I was afraid of them coming apart, but they were fine and went on fine. They were, however, a bit thick and the art work was a bit fuzzy. I assume when they were made they used a lower pitch silkscreen than what folks now use.

Thanks everyone for your input. My main concern is that the decals settle down with SOL. The detail on the new moldings looks nice and the PR version I want to build has a striped decal that covers the entire vertical stabilizer. (SAAF 60 sqn) This is a new kit and the decals register seems to be ok as far as I can tell.

Thanks for the heads up on the Freightdog sheet. I may look into it. I don't think its a stretch to make the B/PR 16 to masquerade as a B35/ PR34?

Pete

Damn them, I say!

Have ya *seen* the interesting sheets that they turn out? Brits Abroad, parts 1 & 2. Weekend Warriors. Brits at Sea. All jam packed with interesting schemes.

And now they've come up with this post-war Mosquitos one...

hey enzo, did you ever hear anything about the mexican mossie that was next to the mexico city airport and was part of a chicken coup? no, no joke, i saw it in 79.....it looke saveable because only the rear quarter was off and laying eggs.

Well, we need as many Mosquitos as we can salvage. The last airworthy one crashed a few years ago. :-(

really, there isn't a single airworthy one? that is really depressing. sad to think they burned some surplus ones as movie props. was that the costal command movie? i just remembered the scene when a line was in flames. that was a long time ago and i only saw it once. i do want to dig it up and watch again. another lost childhood like those lindberg kits i'm bulding.

They trashed a horrid number during the filming of "633 Squadron" and "Mosquito Squadron". Mind you, at the time those movies were made, there were probably a hundred airworthy examples awaiting scrapping...

There are currently plenty of superb static restorations but sadly no more flying restorations.

sre any of the statics capable of being airworthy. without a total rebuild? mosquito squadron was it. duh.

I'd think between dry rot and termites we'll never see another more-or- less original mossie in the air.

Don't forget the new build Mosquito fuselage (and wings?) that is happening here in New Zealand. Have a look at

- some of the photos under the gallery are amazing. Quite heart warming, I would love to see one of these babies at a Warbirds over Wanaka airshow. ;-)

Brian G