I am considering purchasing the Monogram P-47 Razorback Thunderbolt Do 335 Arrow Model Kit, Air Combat Series 1987. Does anyone have any feed back on the quality on the decals on a older kit? Thank you in advance.
Jim
Depends on how they were stored. There are plenty of aftermarket decals for the T-bolt
Previous decade up till 2014 I’d purchased hundreds of airplane kits all manufactured before 1975, decals mostly were in good condition but until dipped in water y’all can’t be sure they won’t pull apart or disintegrate.
Matt carrier decals don’t hold up good as glossies over time by my experience, 45 year-old matt ETRL-ESCI sets I have are right at the point of being unusable whilst the 52-54 year-old glossies in my Air Lines (FROG) airplane model kit collection are still useable.
If y’all can, computer scan-copy decals y’all want to keep, inkjet print them on white decal paper & clear seal. Number of folks posting here know how to go about doing this way better than I.
You may be better off using aftermarket decals in any case, as the ones provided in the kit are extremely basic. In the case of the P47, there is little more than national markings, kill markings (sans swastikas) and side letters. No stencilling, though IIRC, a decal is provided for the instrument panel.
If you do go with the kit decals, I’d recommend a decal bonding agent such as Microscale’s Liquid Decal Film or Testors decal bonder as insurance
Good advice so far Jim. I agree with all. I’d have a set of aftermarket decals ready to go. I’m one to go to shows and buy all the “cheap” older kits and my average on older decals is not good. If they are yellowed, you can try leaving them in a window with lots of sun to try and bleach them out…but I have not had luck with that. I’ve had some that looked perfect, put them in water and they all but dissolved! I’ve heard of some spraying a set of decals with a coat of clear coat. Never tried that. I have the kit you are considering and they are nice models, so don’t let the fear of bad decals stop you from getting them. Plenty of aftermarket decals for all the planes you’d have and they are reasonable prices. If you do go the aftermarket route, be sure to check out Amazon…sometimes they have better prices. Hope all this helps.
Thanks for the advice, Eagle 90. I had this kit as a young boy and I would try it as an adult. Just getting back into the hobby, the price is very good for two interesting subjects.
Thanks for the advice Phil! I am going to be exploring aftermarket decals.
Retired in Kali, I hadn’t considered scanning the decals. Thanks for the advice.
TempestJohnny, I think aftermarket is the route to go. Thank you!
Whenever I build an old kit, I scan the decals before I start cutting up the sheet. That way, if Decal Film doesn’t solve the problem, I can duplicate some of the decals with inkjet decal paper. Dark decals are easy to make, light colored ones problematic.
Thanks, Don! I am going to get that kit and scan the decals. Also, I will begin searching for aftermarket decals.