You can print white decals on white label paper with sticky back.Letters white, outline of letters black (thin black line) and cut them(letters) out with a sharp razor knife. for the windows, you can cut them out and replace them with clear acetate or colored. In my bell222 below, I removed the solid windows and replaced them with a clear plastic. I found some old clear product packaging and used it. Thats when I learned that the stuff that they used to package things like toys, batteries, memory cards etc... was made out of PETG. If you need some Pieces of PETG for your windows, shoot me an email. The windshield I just paint black.

Originally Posted by darthdrk

Letters white, outline of letters black (thin black line) and cut them(letters) out with a sharp razor knife.

That's what I wanted to avoid. Every tiny letter in every pece of text - Holly Molly, I wouldn't finish before Christmas For small text I was thinking (what Hoverup suggested) to match the text background with the paint as close as possible and cut out the entire text in one piece. For bigger graphics and letters use the trace outline method as you wrote. Under the clear coat it might blend (I need to verify, if printer ink doesn't flow when sprayed with clear latex).

Originally Posted by darthdrk

for the windows, you can cut them out and replace them with clear acetate or colored.

I don't want clear transparent windows as there is nothing interesting inside the heli to show (the interior is crowded with cables and electronics). I came out with clear acrylic idea over white styrene so it will look like tinted glass. Much better result would be if I have a clear plastic for all the windows and painted with clear paint from the inside - this would look like a true tinted glass.

Originally Posted by darthdrk

In my bell222 below, I removed the solid windows and replaced them with a clear plastic. I found some old clear product packaging and used it.

I'm affraid of cutitng out the windows because of two reasons:

1. I may not be able to fit the replacement clear plastic as accurate as I'd like. If it doesn't fit perfect, the whole job will be ruined.

2. The integrity of the body will be affected and the front body may flex to much. This is the part I wil be removing and it's held only by 5 magnets. I want to keep it as stiff as possible.

Originally Posted by darthdrk

If you need some Pieces of PETG for your windows, shoot me an email. The windshield I just paint black.

Thanks. I need to do more tests. Sorry for dragging this project for so long but it is quite new experience for me and I want it PERFECT If all other (simple) solutions fail I will ask you to make me a PETG window parts. But hold on. I think the clear paint over styrene windows migh work. Only if I find the right color .

RysiuM

For the clear (Tinted) windows, you cut out the soild windows. Cut you some clear windows slightly larger than the cut out original windows. glue the windows in from the inside of the fuselage. You can tint the plastic with a dye or you can use acetate found at the office supply stores.PETG windows will actually make the
fuselage stronger and even more rigid in this area. As you stated, you can even paint the PETG windows if you like.

I did this with my micro Cobra and its about three times more rigid than if I had not dont this.

Thanks again darthdrk.

I will hold on for now. I found nice paint I need to try. I like the color - it's kind of dark (almost black) blue. The color is called "Midnight". Should be cool for windows.

In the meantime I'm almost done with the body. I finished it yesterday late night, so pictures to come. I put the dummy shft cover, I screwed the back of the body to the derlin ring I have for the tail support struts (it holds quite well, so I think it will be enough) and I cut the tail cone for the rotor assembly. Now it looks cool

So there are the things left on my list before I paint it:
1. finish the tail cone mount (screw it to the main body)
2. cut openings for lights
3. make wheel a LG covers (my son told me that there is a different name for that, but I don't remember how it's called)

I played a little with decals on Adobe Photo Shop Elements. I spent over an hour and a couple pages printed in all kinds of blue. I finished really depressed. I can't match the paint. The main thing that pissed me off is that the color on my prointer (CANON S500) is absolutely different than I see on the screen, and totally differenf from the picture I'm scanning

I think I need to research the setup on my PC to adjust colors on my scaner, printer and monitor first. Or anyone can help me with white decals over transparent foil. Help??? Please???

RysiuM

Yesterday I played a little with molding styrene. I don't have any (read: nada, zero, null ) experience with that. I couldn't find styrene sheets in local shop so I bought a celing light shade (is it, how it's called?) - a big flat square box of styrene. It is a little thinner than augusta body, but stiff enough for small parts. The same material I used for horizontal fin.

I made a simple mold and plug and playing a little I was able to make kind of square box. Cut out the box transforms to landing gear covers. Even they are not in smooth aerodynamic shape, still look OK and what is the most important, they fit.

The last thing left is the structure for mounting lights. I need some kind of structure, that will hold LEDs in the position, so they will easy fit onto openings in the fuselage. I don't see a problem with landing lights, but I need to design something for the strobe on tail

Pictures:
1. Mold, plug and formed boxes
2. Almost ready to paint helicopter.

RysiuM

wow!!! That is really coming on!
Keep up the good work!!!

Duane

Here is the update. The white decals problem is still not solved. I'm exploring possible options and after contacting a couple shops I'm still at the same point, when I started.
In the meantime I painted windows. They came out quite good. You can't see it on the poicture, but it's not black paint - it's very dark blue. It will show itself when I paint the metalic black and blue on the rest of the body. Now I need to wait at least one day for the paint to cure, otherwise the paint will come off with the masking tape.

I will have time to finish patching the seam between tail and mid part. I'm trying to use balsa filler. It hold but I need to put it on the stress test to see if it sticks to styrene good enough.

RysiuM

You will find that you have more of a chance of the paint comming off if you let the paint dry with the masking tape still on. Its best to remove the masking tape as soon as youre finish painting. trust me, I know this from experience.

Originally Posted by darthdrk

You will find that you have more of a chance of the paint comming off if you let the paint dry with the masking tape still on. Its best to remove the masking tape as soon as youre finish painting. trust me, I know this from experience.

I know, the masking tape is gone long time ago. What I ment is I need to mask just painted windows when I spray metalic paint. It takes time till acrylic paint fully cures. It must cure, not only dry. And there is no way to spped it up When the paint on the windows i hard, I can put a mask on it.

I will give me some time to polish the tail and make computer graphics.

Stay tuned.

RysiuM

Rysium, "I'm trying to use balsa filler"
use "micro ballons" and CA, or another glue that bonds well to styrene, all balsa fillers i've tryed are useless with styrene... atleast in the long run
There might also be someone in the fourm that has an Alps Printer, alps printers can print white. if your not having any luck in this forum , check out www.finescale.com It's a plastic modelers magazine with a great online forum aswell, im sure that you will find atleast one person there who can help you.
Good luck!

I would not suggest using CA on the body.CA can cause the body to become brittle. Ive found some putty that Testors make for plastic models I dont know how easy it is to find but I found some.

Originally Posted by Trekki

all balsa fillers i've tryed are useless with styrene... atleast in the long run

I will give it a real rough test run. As balsa filler and pain is water based, os in case of problems I'm not risking having a sh#$% that I can't remove.

Originally Posted by Trekki

There might also be someone in the fourm that has an Alps Printer, alps printers can print white.

I will also try the method of hand cut a bigger one and contur cut of the small one (printed on the white sticky paper). I hope on the small I will be able to find the color that will blend with the background. I found very nice poliacrylic clear coat in the spray can (in Joan's fabric) but It needs to be sprayed into the bottle and then airbrushed on the model. Utherwise it's running and bubling. This clear coat does fantastic job of blending colors under it.

RysiuM

the regular putty weights more, but i agree, its great on styrene.

Now the first part of paint job is done on tail. Painting with acrylic is so easy - I love this paint. The real PITA is the whole masking job. It took me about an hour to mask the tail section and 15 minutes to paint it. Now it will take 2 days to have the paint cured. I don't wan't to risk to put a masking tape on the "fresh" paint. I checked a sample that I painted a couple days ago. Paint holds very well and it doesn't come off even when I scratch it with my nail. So its fine, it just needs some time to become hard.

RysiuM

The missing is final clear coat. But I have all colors painted and decals are in place. I turned to different shops for custom decals - many didn't answer my e-mail at all, some refused to make it, as it will be impossible. So I decided to use "poor man decals" - printed on the white sticki paper trying to mach the background color with the paint. It turned out quite good and I hope the clear coat will cover all differnced in the structure (paint vs paper).

I know you have been waiting long for pictures so here they are. I just slided the body in the shogun so no main blades installed and the tail rotor assembly is still in the box.

1. Compare the model with the original.
2. Nose detail. You didn't see this on the pictures, but the Duke logo and text is also under the belly.

RysiuM