Some airliner and larger civil aircraft kits feature openings in the fuselage for windows, to be filled with (poorly) cast transparent windows. Others (usually 1:144) have no openings in fuselage, but window graphics on a decal stripe to simulate windows.
Has anyone tried a middle ground here? I have a Lodestar kit that has window openings and the poor quality plastic windows. I am thinking of trying a strip of clear decal material applied after finishing, with the decal film simulating the window glazing. I am even thinking of trying gray outlines for each window to add a little more detail, as in a different shade of aluminum in an window framing structure. I am going for a natural aluminum finish (Alclad) so the decal strips would be over that.
I was wondering if anyone has tried this technique. Or is there some fatal flaw?
Hmm. Yes, that is pretty much what I intend to try. However, in that method, the masking or scotch tape has to have some area to hold onto, so it seems like there would be an unpainted, bare plastic area around each window.
I intend to put a strip of masking tape on the INSIDE to prevent spraying the interior with the exterior color. I find I can usually push such a strip of tape in, grab it with tweezers, and pull it out of the fuselage.
“Depending on how big the window is, how about Microscale Krystal Kleer?”
These windows are too big for that. Such clear windows work fine on 1:144- this is a 1:72 model with reasonably big passenger windows. Else I would just use such a glaze.
Don, another method I’ve seen for bigger windows is to put tape on the inside and then fill the openings a little too full of clear casting epoxy, and then polish that down to flush with the surface of the fuselage. Yet another is to insert thick clear styrene in from the inside and then polish those down. I think the decal film idea is just too fragile for windows too big for crystal clear.
Don, I didn’t build too many airliners, but on the ones I did, I found it looks best when you fill the windows in - all the way down if you have decals for the windows, or just a little if you don’t, and then you can paint the windows black and fill them with white glue to simulate the glass. In small scale painted cockpit windows also usually look better than that glass most kits supply, which is really bad sometimes. What scale is that Lodestar? If it’s smaller than 1:72 I wouldn’t bother with any glass. Hope it helps, have a nice day
"Sounds like the Special Hobby Lodestar. That is a horrible kit. Just horrible.
At the least, the windows are rectangles.
Twer me, I’d put the glazing in and paint it black.
I didn’t and my model is pretty bad. "
I have not glued any big parts together yet, but so far I am thrilled with the kit. Lots of internal detail, PE seat belts, and such. And, although the kit is a military model, there are full civil seats, though they are not shown on the plans. Even the engines are not bad, though I have already bought Engines and Things replacements. We’ll see how good the fit is, however, in a day or so. I had intended to build a civil version and thought I’d have to scratch seats. Glad to see I won’t have to.
So, Don, I guess it’s 1:72 or bigger - and if the interior is in, you probably want to show it, so filling in windows is not for you. In that case you have to come up with some kind of “glass” - maybe a foil of some kind (but thicker than a decal foil) would be good for you. How about that self-adhesive transparent foil? Good luck with your project and have a nice day
I am afraid normal transparent tapes would be too thick and stand out too far, making it apparent that it is applied on the outside. Decal film is the thinnest stuff I could think of- that is why I am going to try it. I will be making a test before I close up the fuselage, so in case it doesn’t work, I can glue in the kit-supplied windows. They are not too bad as kit windows go, but would like something that looks a bit better.
Okay, here is the latest. I tried an experiment yesterday. I want to see if this will work before I close the fuselage on my Lodestar. I tried doing all the main windows on one side from a single strip of decal paper, and did the lavatory window with a small rectangle. I applied them to the left fuselage side in its unpainted condition. I found that a narrow strip of decal film like the windows strip curled terribly- only the rearmost window came out okay. The small rectangle I used for the lavatory window came out best.
Now, this was the raw film- nothing at all on top of it. I think maybe an overcoat would stiffen the decal sheet a bit, so am trying another strip with a few coats of Testors Glosscoat on it. Worst comes to worst, I can cut individual rectangles- one for each window. The two windows that worked well, the rearmost passenger compartment and the lavatory window, looked fine. I guess I will close up the fuselage today, assuming I can make the decal window idea work.
