Applying the decals

I FOUND THE VINTAGE FLYER DECALS to be extremely thin and they needed very warm water to separate from the backing paper. I quickly determined that a square, flat brush worked better than a rounded one to slide the decals off. Gentle pressure moved the decals, too much pressure seemed to reattach the markings to the backing paper. Microscale Micro Set brushed onto the surface helped the decals float onto the surface and Solvaset settled them.

I cut the cheatline on the Matson livery into four segments and sliced the long Braniff International Airways titles into three to ease application. Getting those on the models helped align the separate windows. Similarly, bisecting the vertical tail striping for the Braniff DC-4 made it easier to apply. Having started with two different releases of the Minicraft DC-4, the kits had different wing walkways on the decals. I used poetic license to show different ones on each model. The Matson Lines sheet had prop-tip decals that were difficult to apply, but I won that battle with the aid of Solvaset. Tiny manufacturer logos for the propellers were also provided, and they were tedious to align. I had a choice of kit or Vintage Flyer decals for the deicer boots, but, after running into problems wrapping them around the leading edges, I hand-painted them instead. I punched out black decal circles for the base of the astrodomes to make them look open to the interior before attaching the clear parts. The antennas were the last parts added; a photo of the Braniff DC-4 showed a ring antenna aft of the astrodome, so I added one from my spares box.