1:48 Early Allied Jet Instruments Decals

What the set is for

The instrument panel is the first thing anybody notices in a cockpit. In kits it tends to be handled with a single decal across the whole area or merely with molded relief that has to be laboriously colored in. This set brings decals of the individual instruments for early Allied jet aircraft, that is for machines of the end of the Second World War and the first postwar years, in 1:48 scale.

What the set contains

On the sheet there are instrument dials intended to be applied one by one. A modeler can thus lay them out according to the real panel of a particular machine, which one large decal does not allow. The exact number and composition of the dials are given in the enclosed instructions.

Building and painting tips

These are waterslide decals. Paint the instrument panel first and varnish it with a gloss varnish, so that no air bubbles are left under the decal. Cut the dial out close to its edge with a sharp blade, dip it for a few seconds into lukewarm water and let it rest on the paper until it can be slid off. Seat it with tweezers and a wooden stick, soak the excess water away and add a drop of decal softener, so that the decal settles into the recess. Once it has dried, go over the whole panel with a matte varnish and put a little gloss varnish or cyanoacrylate glue on each dial; that imitates the glass of the instrument.

Who it is for

For modelers who build a cockpit in detail and are not satisfied with one decal across the whole panel. Working with the small dials calls for tweezers and patience. The model, paints and varnishes are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.