I have had problems with decals in my DML kits, both armor and aircraft, wrinkling and cracking prior to use. When I open the kit but don’t use the decals soon afterward this always happens. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Kit decals are usually of marginal quality, which is why I use AM decals whenever possible. Sounds like you got some exceptionally bad ones, or they are very old kits.
Regards, Rick
'Tis actually quite a common problem with ‘standard’ DML/Dragon, Hasegawa and Tamiya decals. It may have something to do with the surrounding environment, but I’ve opened kits which have been sealed and stored in stable conditions for years and seen the same thing.
So I can only recommend one course of action in dealing with decals made by these manufacturers… (and most other manufacturers!)
Fade to Black…
Steve, best suggestion I’ve seen [^][:D]
Regards, Rick
One repair you could do is to coat the decal sheet with clear nail polish or Microscale Liquid Decal Film. This will put a ‘carrier’ film on the top of the decals along with under them. You can still use your solvents of choice when applying them. I do this to all decals that I have had in my stockpiles for a long time. I have had no failures yet! (Knock on wood)