Sunday, March 3, 2013

Estes Plasma Probe Build Part 19 Decals

Even before the decals were put applied, this is a sharp design.

It's a practical size and feels strong with that BT-55 lower body.
BT-55 and BT-60 models always felt like they would last longer.
It's the perfect LPR wall thickness to body tube diameter.

Keep track of time when soaking the decals. They will release from the backing paper at 30 seconds!
These decals were thin! Look close at the orange strip at the right and you can see how it broke up when positioning the decal.

The upper body wrap fit well and the edges matched up.
The lower BT-55 decal wrap had some overhang and the black squares looked a little long.
TIP: Try to start a wrap decal at the launch lug location.
If the decal wrap doesn't make it all the way around the body tube (or if it overlaps) the mismatched graphic will be hidden when the model is slid down the rod for a prelaunch photo.


After the decal had dried, some careful cutting with a new razor blade got rid of the overlap.
It's fairly easy to remove a overlapped decal area before any clear coats are applied.
I'll probably just seal the edges with Future/Pledge on a Q-tip.




I don't normally add the Estes name to a kit, but they overlapped the logo onto the "Plasma Probe" name.

TIP: When centering a decal like this, don't pay attention to the small Estes name. Center the larger kit name between the root edges of two fins, preferably opposite the launch lug. Again - for photos on the launcher.

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