Thanks, ajd. Good to hear. Be glad to have you join!
Alright, I’m having a hard time deciding if I should try the decals for the cowl stripes, or if I should just paint them. The decals would be more ideal, but I would hate to get them on there and the not fit correctly… Thoughts?
One thing I’ve done in the past with problematic decals is to photo copy it, then tape the copy on top of a piece of masking tape. You cut out the tape and try sticking it on the kit to see how it fits.
Sometimes you have to make a slit in the decal to get it to conform, and the masking tape pattern helps locate where to do this.
If you do try this, it helps to stick the masking tape to wax paper first, then lay out the pattern. You can cut off the pattern, then peel it from the wax paper. It makes the cutting a lot easier.
I use a wide roll of masking tape to make sure it’s big enough to accommodate the decal.
Good luck with it, anyway. I did some P-51’s years ago with red and yellow checkerboards on the nose, and these type markings are kind of fussy–as bad as trying to paint invasion stripes.
Got the decals on today (aside from the prop and cowling) and they went on amazing. My hats off to Xtradecal for such a neat subject, and the quality of their product. Layed down great and were SUPER thin (actually to thin to cover D-Day stripes sadly.) I’ll be on the look out for more of their sheets that might catch my eye. 
Very nice looking. Slick stripes!
Looking really nice there ajd. The only time I have put decals around a cowling was on an Fw 190 and the decals came in sections. But then they didn’t fit as the kit was to long so I ended up have to paint a lot of the black squares.
Good luck with it.
AJD: Those decals look great- good luck with the cowl stripes.
Ok I’m gonna try the route of the decal stripes. With the as good as the rest of the decals weny on, I’m feeling confident about it. Plus the sheet provides two sets of stripes, so the pressure of getting it right the first time OR ELSE isn’t there. Gave the cowling a spray base of testors rattle can white, then airbrushed a coat MM insignia red, and thats where I’m at now. Should have some results/pictures tonight.
Painted and prepped. Lets do this. 
Well that was real goat rope. Back to the drawing board… Have to decide if I should sand back down to the white base, or try to spray the white stripe back over the red…
Something went wrong? That would be disappointing, since it looks like the red went on flawlessly.
Yeah the decal wasn’t near being the right curvature so I’m painting the stripes, which in hind sight is what I should have done anyway. I’ve got them all painted, just the only dark blue I have is pretty glossy, so its taking longer to dry.
ajd, well, there’s no faulting your commitment to getting it right. Looking forward to seeing the final result.
Sorry to hear it, ajd. Lots of times generic after-market decals, not designed for any particular kit, don’t seem to fit very well.
Come to think of it, sometimes the kit-designed decals don’t either.
Yep, should have just painted it in the first pkace and saved a day. 
Looks great!!! Yes, masking for painting things of this sort can be a tedious time consuming process, but when done right, it beats decals any day of the week.
Now that looks really sharp! Good recovery! Good job!
Now that looks good aj.
Yeah, what you’ve got now looks really good!
Finally! The new decals arrived in the mail today from Hannant’s…
At least, I hope they did. [8-)]
I haven’t opened the box yet–got lawn to mow before it rains.