Troubled decals are partially on 917LH

After long hiatus, while I was building my courage to attempt UMI decals application, I have returned to this build. My fears were fully realized. I have ruined big side decals with Martini stripes. Decals were stiff and brittle at the same time. They did not respond well to decal softeners initially. I had to used Solvaset. However at some point Solvaset affected them so much, that they turned into small blobs in places, while still been stiff in others. And they did not fit well at all.

I had to switch to plan B and attempted to apply MFH decals from similar kit. MFH decals are also brittle and obviously don't fit well, as they were designed for different kit. But with plenty of MicroSet/Sol, heat and some cuts, I was able to mostly persuade them to get over Fisher's kit body. Lots of wrinkles and tears, many patches as well. I guess from the distance they will look Ok. Clear coat should help a bit as well. I think colors of UMI decals were closer to original car, but MFH decals will have to do it for this build.

Many decals are still left to apply, but main and most difficult ones are on. More patching will be required as well.

Here is how is looks at present.

Decals are done for main body of MP4/30

Over past weekend and this week, I have completed decals on main body of MP4/30 model. Started with stripes, which were more difficult. However with quite a bit of Micro-set I got them mostly in place and then using Micro-Sol I've got them to conform to curves. I like quality of decals Ebbro provided. Alcohol company decals are aftermarket. Next went on logos, which were easier and they went over more flat surfaces. There is not that many over all. I like end result quite a bit. I think this car really looks cool. Pity it didn't perform very well. Few decals for wings remain to be added. Hopefully will do them over the weekend.

Back to bare metal and resin

Parts spent last 4 days in isopropyl alcohol. In the end I had to use my finder nails and wooden sicks to get remaining primer off of it. Will mount parts back on sticks and prime this week or next weekend. Big set back, but I could not accept wrong colour on this model. Correct colour makes or brakes this build.

Red applied, but failed

Applied red last weekend, but not successfully. I guess I had to go trough my own trial and error cycle. In a bid to get even coverage, I've pre-assembled body items into pretty much full shell. It would have helped with paint consistency, but it did not make painting easier. Ended up with too many layers of red trying to cover everything. Besides had a blemish on the nose tip in very visible place. Tried to touch it up using brush and ruined paint job on the nose. Not the first time I've made this same mistake, but I keep repeating it :( Anyway all parts are in the bath of isopropyl alcohol. Will have to start from scratch again, when more Zero red paint arrives. Fortunately I've only used quarter of the silver paint from the bottle and don't have to order more of silver base.

On my next attempt I will not have to worry about running out of red paint (going to get 60ml), will go with lighter coats and will paint parts separately. On some of the parts I did end up with lighter coverage and they give me idea of what kind of coverage I will need to strive for to get proper candy effect. Basic idea is to leave red light enough to see silver underneath. We'll see how it works next time. But first I will have to get it all prepped once again.

Here are some photos from failed attempt, before stripping.