A220
After almost three months, my decal order finally arrived. It included photo real windows for the 737 - too late to be used - but also included a new set of decals for the A220. I wasn’t happy with how the kit decals had worked out, mainly the cockpit windows and the red maple leaves on the tail and belly. I was looking forward to getting the kit restarted now that the decals had arrived.
The decal instructions noted that they needed to be used on a white background (picture 1). They lacked a dense colour backing, meaning they would disappear against a dark colour. That mean stripping the cockpit windows and the tail back to plastic, and repainting with white. Out came the Scotch tape to remove the previously placed decals. I was previously having trouble with some of the decals sticking. Naturally, the ones I wanted to remove stuck fast. I eventually used isopropyl alcohol to strip the paint, sand everything smooth, and then repainted the white background (Picture 3).
I wasn’t happy with how the new decals went on. The cockpit windows seemed too large, even though they were designed for this specific kit. I eventually got them close enough (Picture 4). Next up was the Air Canada wording along the front of the fuselage. Once again the decals refused to come off, and I again resorted to sanding them. The white paint on the starboard side needed touch up, so I used a piece of Parafilm. Parafilm is a low tack stretchy plastic that is perfect to mask over decals. Unfortunately, an errant piece of tape crossed the fuselage window decals, pulling them up when the tape was removed. The new decals included windows, but naturally the spacing was slightly different. It meant that the windows didn’t look quite right after the new Air Canada wording and windows were placed. I ended up adding an extra window to fill in a space. It isn’t prototypical but it looks better (Picture 4).
The tail was next, and this also proved challenging. The decal included the full black tail and red emblem, but was too big. I decided to try it anyway, figuring I could trim the excess after. The first tail decal torn just above the leaf emblem, but that allowed me to slide the top of the decal down enough that the tail number was actually sitting on the tail. I cut the other side, just above the leaf, so I could do the same thing. Sadly, the decals looked terrible after they had dried. The decals didn’t set well, with lots of bubbles, and the decal overlap was glaringly obvious.
I had just finished cutting masks for the Avenger, and was impressed with how well the roundels turned out. Taking a deep breath, I decided to strip the tail decals, create masks, and paint the emblem. Picture 4 shows red applied in prep for the mask. The cut mask is shown applied in picture 5. I then sprayed the tail black, let the paint dry a little, then nervously removed the mask. I was really pleased how it turned out, as shown in Picture 6.
The A220 has a red leaf emblem on the belly. The new decals included a white decal that was to be applied first, then the red version applied over top. The kit decals used the same method, and I wasn’t happy with how that had turned out. Thrilled with my success on the tail masks, I created a mask for the belly emblem. Rather than cover a red area, I created a direct mask that I placed on to the black, then sprayed red. The mask worked really well, as shown in picture 7.
Things are getting close to finished now. I still need to add the red leaves on the winglets, and restore the wing walkway decals that peeled off. The gear is ready to attach, as are the engines. I will let everything sit for a bit to dry, then apply a clear coat to seal the decals.
Avenger
Things have been coming along nicely with the Avenger. I decided previously that I would try and paint the markings - a first for me. I created masks for the large letters and numbers on the fuselage and the wings. Creating masks provided similar to a CAD drawing, and the process was fairly easy. I started by scanning the decals, importing the scan into my cutter design software, and then tracing the image. It took about an hour to complete the lettering, and another hour to create the roundels. Thank God for copy and paste, and being able resize an image. Screenshots are shown in pictures 1 and 2 below.
I started with the wing lettering, thinking it would be easiest. I quickly figured out that you need to put guide marks on the masks to help line them up with details on the plane. Picture 3 shows the wing underside masks in place. The masks are removed in picture 4, giving a clean, sharply defined letter. This was my first attempt at painting markings, and I was thrilled by how it had turned out.
Next up was the fuselage. I had initially placed the roundel mask, thinking it would allow the lettering masks to be properly spaced. That didn’t work well, as the three masks overlapped too much. My next attempt was to carefully line up the lettering, spray it, and then place the roundels. The letters are placed against the colour demarcation, making it easy to set the vertical. The decal placement instructions included panel line references, making it possible to accurately place in the horizontal. Picture 5 shows the masks in place. Picture 6 shows the masks removed. Continued success!
My first effort placing the roundels didn’t go well. I set the masks onto the wing, and for whatever reason, then removed the outer part of the masks. Staring at the round mask, proud of getting it on the right spot, I realized that I needed the outside to paint the blue ring. Try as I might, I could not get the outer part of the mask back in place. I eventually gave up and created a new rounded mask.
The second attempt went better. The mask needs a transfer tape applied on top to keep the various parts together when removed from the backing paper. I was using leftover vinyl pieces for transfer tape. The vinyl is translucent, but not clear enough to easily see the mask underneath. I figured out that it was beneficial to mark vertical and horizontal lines on the mask with a black marker. After struggling to get the first mask placed in the right spot, I used the marker to create hash marks at the top, each side, and bottom of the roundel. Now I could see where the edges and center were, and it was easier to place the mask. Picture 7 shows a roundel in place, with the white center painted. Picture 8 shows the white part covered and the red leaf sprayed.
CRJ200
The CRJ is a simple kit. The test fit showed no issues, meaning it was time to commit glue. The fuselage is moulded in clear plastic, making it surprisingly difficult to see the joints. It didn’t take much effort to get the fuselage together, and the joints cleaned up. The fuselage to wing joint was quite good, and soon enough the wings were on as well. A little filler was needed to clean up some of the joints. A little sanding will be needed to blend some of the joints, but it shouldn’t be long before its ready for primer.
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