Tamiya Lotus 107B

[joelw]

Kyle,
From what I can see you're doing a 1st rate job on a really difficult F1 body shell with equally difficult decals.

Not sure why decals would vary as to how they react to the decaling solutions, as this issue is usually related to the decal film. As a suggestion try really warm water, like almost hot to see if that softens up the decal. If it seems to work but not quite there yet, try a hair dryer on the lowest setting and keep it moving.

joel

[brandonk]

Man, I hate it when they stick to your fingers. GHAW !!!! I recently bought a used printer and decal paper just to scan new decals, or old and have a spare ready to go if needed. Only white can't be printed, so there's that.

[adrian29341]

Interesting the issues with these decals - I feel like with these 90's Tamiya kits I only feel 
comfortable picking up an aftermarket set from either Decalpool or Museum/Studio 27. You are
doing a bang up job though correcting these issues mate - keep up the good work

I only use a diluted bottle of Solvaset on all my decals - never went with th2 step solvaset and don't
seem to have any issues with newer decals - the old ones however are a very different story indeed.

[joelw]

My Printer died and I'm getting just a B&W Brothers printer. Never thought of looking for a used color printer for back up decals.

I needed 2 additional Saudi decals for the sides of the rear wing as Indy Cal only gives you 2 and you need 4, just no room on the sheet. So I went with the Tamiya decals that were printed in 1981, still sealed, as was the box. No issues with either of them. Guess I lucked out.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Aug 5, 2024 9:15:50 GMT -5 joelw said:

Kyle,
From what I can see you're doing a 1st rate job on a really difficult F1 body shell with equally difficult decals.

Not sure why decals would vary as to how they react to the decaling solutions, as this issue is usually related to the decal film. As a suggestion try really warm water, like almost hot to see if that softens up the decal. If it seems to work but not quite there yet, try a hair dryer on the lowest setting and keep it moving.

joel

Joel, the decals are on multiple sheets and the bright green sheet seems to be a lot glossier as if the film is entirely different on that sheet. I already use very warm water and mostly rely on decal solution and the hot water to help my decals conform. It has to be a stubborn set of decals for me to break out the hair dryer. 

thank you very much for the encouraging words and the tips. We’ll see how the rest goes. 

Aug 5, 2024 9:41:18 GMT -5 brandonk said:

Man, I hate it when they stick to your fingers. GHAW !!!! I recently bought a used printer and decal paper just to scan new decals, or old and have a spare ready to go if needed. Only white can't be printed, so there's that.

I also scan my decals of old kits. Haven’t tried printing any yet as I’m not entirely sure how to get around some of the white issues. Luckily with this car I have two sets so I have some leeway. Hoping the rest goes smooth. 

Aug 5, 2024 9:51:22 GMT -5 adrian29341 said:

Interesting the issues with these decals - I feel like with these 90's Tamiya kits I only feel 
comfortable picking up an aftermarket set from either Decalpool or Museum/Studio 27. You are
doing a bang up job though correcting these issues mate - keep up the good work

I only use a diluted bottle of Solvaset on all my decals - never went with th2 step solvaset and don't
seem to have any issues with newer decals - the old ones however are a very different story indeed.

Alas, I could not find any aftermarket decals for this kit from studio 27, museum collections, Indycals or decalpool. I absolutely love high quality aftermarket decals though and replace kit decals anytime possible. Lol. We’re getting through it though and thank you!

Aug 5, 2024 12:36:58 GMT -5 joelw said:

My Printer died and I'm getting just a B&W Brothers printer. Never thought of looking for a used color printer for back up decals.

I needed 2 additional Saudi decals for the sides of the rear wing as Indy Cal only gives you 2 and you need 4, just no room on the sheet. So I went with the Tamiya decals that were printed in 1981, still sealed, as was the box. No issues with either of them. Guess I lucked out.

joel

Glad the original sheet cooperated with you there Joel!

[2whl]

The decals you got on are looking great so far, Kyle.

[kyledehart5]

Aug 5, 2024 20:48:22 GMT -5 2whl said:

The decals you got on are looking great so far, Kyle.

Thanks Paul. Always my own worst enemy but we’re mostly headed the right direction so far!!

[406 Silverado]

I never knew that about Zanardi but you're right. Anyone who endures those life challenges has GOT to have determination and grit. SHEESH!!!

Speaking of determination and grit in the modeling world.....you've definitely got both of those attributes in dealing with all of these tough decals. I've gotta hand it to ya Kyle.....you've got some staying power man.

[joelw]

Kyle,
Now I understand your issues with the green decals. And having multiple sheets in this case is a must. Now I've gotta convince the wife that we need a color printer rather then just a B&W one as for years all we've printed out is legal documents.

Kyle, since you use a hair dryer, which I've never done, exactly what and how does it do? I keep thinking that the heat will soften the decal to conform to a compound surface, but doesn't the heat dry the decal out at the same time, causing it to loose the elasticity? A true Catch 22.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Aug 6, 2024 7:35:11 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

I never knew that about Zanardi but you're right. Anyone who endures those life challenges has GOT to have determination and grit. SHEESH!!!

Speaking of determination and grit in the modeling world.....you've definitely got both of those attributes in dealing with all of these tough decals. I've gotta hand it to ya Kyle.....you've got some staying power man.

Decals are fun!! Lol. Thanks Joe. I’ll get through them. 

Aug 6, 2024 8:13:37 GMT -5 joelw said:

Kyle,
Now I understand your issues with the green decals. And having multiple sheets in this case is a must. Now I've gotta convince the wife that we need a color printer rather then just a B&W one as for years all we've printed out is legal documents.

Kyle, since you use a hair dryer, which I've never done, exactly what and how does it do? I keep thinking that the heat will soften the decal to conform to a compound surface, but doesn't the heat dry the decal out at the same time, causing it to loose the elasticity? A true Catch 22.

joel

Joel, I’ve only used one a couple times but while using it I kept the decal solvent coming if it started to dry out. I think really warm water helps more than anything in getting decals to go where they should. 

[joelw]

Kyle,
agreed on the warm water as the best medicine for decals to conform. My brand new coffee cup warmer has 3 temps, which 135 F being the lowest. Going to see what happens if I use water that warm. Hopefully, it works especially on Indy Cal decals, as I'm a major user of them.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Told you guys my decaling on this was glacial. lol. Basically done now. Just a couple more to do across the nose that connect the red together. Had a few issues here and there but it resembles a 107b. Another thing. I do hate early 90s OZ F1 wheels. lol. Started with the fronts thinking they’d be easier but they were almost too shallow and the yellow rings didn’t want to go to their home. Rears were a bit better. Still many more tiny decals to go on those. Engine got some finishing pieces and is essentially ready for headers and to be installed on the chassis. 

[handiabled]

Your getting there Kyle! The decals are looking great!

[kyledehart5]

Aug 11, 2024 3:39:21 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your getting there Kyle! The decals are looking great!

Thanks!! I am trying. These are trying the patience a bit but we’ll get there.

[kyledehart5]

I’ll let these dry and then do the backs of the tires later

[joelw]

Kyle,
Give yourself a A+ for the decaling. Looks fantastic in the picture. Wheels and Tires are outstanding with all that extra decal detailing. Between you and Adrian, I've ordered some tire marking decals to busy mine up some.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Aug 11, 2024 8:24:53 GMT -5 joelw said:

Kyle,
Give yourself a A+ for the decaling. Looks fantastic in the picture. Wheels and Tires are outstanding with all that extra decal detailing. Between you and Adrian, I've ordered some tire marking decals to busy mine up some.

joel

thank you Joel!! Much appreciated.

[kyledehart5]

Well I have been slowly decaling away and got to the end a couple days ago. Sealed it with a mist of clear. I’m not a guy that goes for super glossy but with all these decals I wanted to protect them. After that the final assembly was nothing. It isn’t quite finished yet but we are very close. So that darker half of one red decal was the fault of me overworking that one to get the pin striping lined up after I should’ve been leaving it alone. So I cut and removed the damage portion before realizing that the reds on my 2 sheets were different. Oh well. It’s at least the same shape and matched up nicely. 

 

[joelw]

Kyle,
The completed decaling and gloss coat really looks good. If you didn't mention the issue with the two different pcs of Red decals I'd never have seen any issues. And honestly, they're pretty close on my monitor where it's a very, very small issue at best.

joel

[brandonk]

That looks great. As far as the 2 tone reds; I'd say that the panel was replaced sometime during the season and the colors are not a spot match, but good enough to race with.

[kyledehart5]

Aug 18, 2024 8:57:26 GMT -5 joelw said:

Kyle,
The completed decaling and gloss coat really looks good. If you didn't mention the issue with the two different pcs of Red decals I'd never have seen any issues. And honestly, they're pretty close on my monitor where it's a very, very small issue at best.

joel

Thank you kindly Joel!! I plan on putting the final touches on after work this evening. 

Aug 18, 2024 10:42:08 GMT -5 brandonk said:

That looks great. As far as the 2 tone reds; I'd say that the panel was replaced sometime during the season and the colors are not a spot match, but good enough to race with.

Thanks Brandon!! That was sort of where my kind went when I saw the two reds weren’t quite the same. “Oh well, they’ve repaired the sidepods at some point”. It makes sense too because the lotus F1 team wasn’t exactly in funds when this car raced

[project510]

Man that looks fantastic! I need to find a way to get some serious bench time. Been struggling just to get the 30 odd minutes here and there. That job must have taken a bit of time. Well done!

[moparman18064]

Some astounding work going on here. Bravo!

[keavdog]

Looking good Kyle!

[handiabled]

Fantastic work with the decals Kyle! Wonderful save with the torn decal fix.

[kyledehart5]

Aug 18, 2024 22:18:47 GMT -5 project510 said:

Man that looks fantastic! I need to find a way to get some serious bench time. Been struggling just to get the 30 odd minutes here and there. That job must have taken a bit of time. Well done!

Bench time has just been coming back around for me so I understand that. James , I was essentially doing 1 or maybe 2 decals per day for fear of fat fingering an already positioned decal. Part of the reason for all my other updates recently. lol. 

Aug 18, 2024 22:51:29 GMT -5 moparman18064 said:

Some astounding work going on here. Bravo!

Thank you very much, my friend. 

Aug 18, 2024 23:10:16 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Looking good Kyle!

Thanks John!!

Aug 19, 2024 2:14:18 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Fantastic work with the decals Kyle! Wonderful save with the torn decal fix.

Thank you Brent. She’s done now. Final photos incoming. 

[kyledehart5]

And this one rolls across the finish line. An absolutely beautiful kit. Even the engine cover nearly fits exactly how it should. One of Tamiya's best efforts, I have to say. I may have to pick up another and build the 107 in Lotus green instead of Castrol colors. I didn't do anything extra here as it will be displayed with the engine cover on anyways. Had a blast with this one and I'm sure I'll be back with more open wheel builds. 

[brandonk]

Awesome work!! This is one to be proud of; she looks stunning.

[joelw]

Kyle,
I'm just super impressed with your Lotus 107b. An excellent build with a really eye catching paint/decal job. Just might be the new star of your car display.

joel

[keavdog]

She looks just awesome. Great pics as well. Great looking livery and just a very cool car overall. Outstanding sir!