1/12 MFH Porsche 917 LH

[mvc]

Well thanks again, I appreciate you both thinking with me

The creases are actually triple layers of folded decal, that's why they won't disappear with heat or solvents. The good news is that after the first layers of clear (Tamiya TS) all irregularities easily disappear by sanding.

I think we're all on the same page -- with "sanding down the white circle" I meant removing all irregularities within in that circle area by sanding. Using white/black decal is a great idea (I could even print black on white), but it has some drawbacks:
1) the placement of the original decals (thus, the blue line surrounding the circle) is probably irregular, so it will be very hard to shape and align the new white circle decal with the blue line (these creases are folds in the decals, so they must have an effect on the shape of the circle).
2) I have no experience with home-made decals (the stuff I have turns sticky/slimey in contact with water, so I'll need a fixative, and then find out if setting/softening solutions are still effective).

Masking the white circle with flexible masking tape will probably be easier for me. Anyway, I probably shouldn't have applied the black 3 before fixing the creases, but I had more or less accepted them. Lessons for future builds...

[daniel]

Do the creases go up like wrinkles or are they more like scratches going down. If they go down I would simplyl add a good amount of clear, sand flush and polish.
If they are raised I would sand them flat. Carefully so there is enough of the black number to see for later masking. I would use your scans and plot my own masks. If you dont have a plotter I would hand mask the white...juuust carefully cover the blue line and use a very fine airbrush to cover the white first...BUT only so much that you can still see the numbers for later masking....this is easily doable with matt paint since you can perfectly control these. Next I would also handmask the number ans respray. I use super fine tape that is used for custom painting. Sounds hard but actually is pretty straightforward.

No matter what you do there is only one rule...don't use a brush for touch up ! ! ! It will built up to thick and won't look good. As you can see in your pictures the touch-up is clearly visible but the ridge is still there.

[f40]

I would take a fine brush and touch up the white sanded through line with come tamiya flat black acrylic paint . Then on the white area where you have dark cracks dry brush some tamiya flat white 0n that area. Try to get a white that matches closely to the decal color and go easy. build up
the layers of white. Try to feather in the white. When all is dry clear with 2K and everything should look good.

[gp-models]

It does not look that bad to get it fixed.
Maybe some tiny spot dotting with a brush can fix it in the black area, the white should be blended in with airbrush to get a smooth transition to the decal.
The other option would be repainting the white circle and putting on a new starting number. The starting number is maybe tricky when trying to print it on your own, a laser printer would be first choice for this as in jet printers don`t bring out a solid black which covers all. On the other hand i have some companies which can do the print for you in good quality, they even do the artwork when your not able to do that, the scan and some measurements would be enough for them.
On the other hand, why not calling MFH for a spare set of decals? Should be the easiest way to go finaly, i guess they know about the issue with those decals

[Shunter]

Stunning work, loving it.

[mvc]

Hi all,

I looked at all options and chose the one I'm most comfortable with. Thanks for all your advice nonetheless!

@Guido: if I would go get new decals, I'd rather find someone who could print my scanned decals in a professional way...

Masked first with 1mm flexible tape, then with 4mm flex tape

Sprayed a slightly toned down white. The number is still visible, which is probably benificial when masking. Of course there had to be at least one little stab in the back by one of the decals after removing the tape :(

Use my printed scan as a guide for the mask

Some careful cutting...

Practiced on the lower parts first, they need to have the same color after all

The visible number really helps when masking

Result! Will look pretty good when lightly sanded.

I think tomorrow I will proceed with respraying the blue circle line, then the white circle line. The blue line is full of silvering, chips missing, and is irregular in shape. And the green has so many pits and cracks and off-colored spot repairs, that it can use a respray as well...

Cheers, Marcus

[CK]

Hi Marcus,

Your repaired circle and number look great!

Good effort!

[sky1911]

Hey Marcus,

... and kids, that's why all my cars will be left raw see-through fibreglass shells .

Jesus, when I started reading your last line I was thinking one of several things "I think tomorrow I will proceed.... " a) ... to get a rope, b) take a sledge hammer to it, c) all of the above ... . I am somewhat awestruck by your soldiering on. Getting not one but a number of consecutive spanners thrown into the works surely would have put me off of that kit for a time for fear of not online shaking my fist at it repeatedly but escalating to option b). So you have my utmost respect for keeping on going. I would have moved to a different subject for a time to come back afresh at a later stage.
I have never tried my Brother scan and cut on masking tape plus I don't know if there is something like A4, A5 or similar sized sheets of masking tape to try for this as I'm not sure it would handle layers of masking tape on top of each other. But I can't try right now anyway as the scanner is currently buried under a bunch of MFH 917 kits - the irony. But for similar paintjobs I think such a device might be a smart option. Scan the decals first, maybe recreate them as vector artworks and then use that as a template to print / cut the stencils with the Scanner/cutter thing (can be had relatively cheap if you are patient - which it would seem you definitely are ).

Final question - not sure if related - wasn't the original white circle decal fluorescent (glow in the dark)? I think I read something about that somewhere and might have even tried the shine a light on the decal, put it in a dark box to see if you can still make it out. If not, doesn't matter and even if it does, who will ever see that? It's just one of those modeller things - knowing it's there, probably .

In any case, HOME STRETCH! so with this malarky out of the way, fingers crossed clear coating goes well.

[gp-models]

That`s a superb fix Marcus, well done!
In case you need a decal supplier for future projects i send you a PN
Maybe you should have painted everything
Can`t wait to see it going on the finish line, great job!

[racingkars]

Superb!