Hello all! I just joined, and posted this same question in the “new to the forums” section, so I hope I don’t get busted on my first day for cross posting! LOL
My question has to do with old decals, and is two fold. First, I have 3 old Aurora kits, 2 747s, Continental and Braniff, and a Western 720. The decals all appear to be in good shape, but are they ok to use, or might they just fall apart after being soaked and applied? Can they be copied, and if so, how?
Second, Aurora couldn’t do things the easy way, thy had to go with oddball scales, the 747s in 1/156, and the 720 in 1/104. Is there any source for window and other detail decals in these scales, or is there a way scale and copy some currently available decals to those sizes?
Here is what I do with decals of old kits. First, I scan the decals before I ever tear into the sheet- if I destroy anything I may be able to recreate the decals on an inkjet printer. This has saved my bacon on several occasions.
Then, when ready to use the first decal, I first try a decal I will not use. Many decal mfgs apply decal film to any printed area of decal sheet, including brand name and sheet identification. This is a test to see if decals will shatter when wet. If they do, I coat the sheet with decal film, available from several mfgs (I use the Micro Scale stuff). These steps will avoid many headaches in working with old kits.