When manufacturers screw up, you better step up...

[pons399]

So a while back, JFox/Inflight200 put up a Korean Air A330-300 for pre-order. Given my objective of collecting every KE widebody in 1:200 and having recently flown on their A333, I of course pulled the trigger.


Final product images surfaced just recently, and I was instantly enamored with the impeccable mould and lovely metallic sheen; one lucky blogger who got his last week was raving on about how gorgeous the colors were in-person.

All was good, until I (and many other KE collectors) noticed a glaring flaw: the registration number on the right wing was missing. I've no clue how JFox/Inflight200 missed this after nailing everything else, but this unfortunately seems to be the norm in 1:200 these days - QC is non-existent. Since I was neither going to cancel my order nor willing to accept a subpar model, I decided to take matters into my own hands.


I considered two ways of applying the reg. number myself: sticker and waterslide decal. I ended up going with the decal option, as stickers tend to look horribly tacked-on.

The first step was to make the decal sheet itself. It took me a while to figure out the exact font and color of KE's reg. numbers, but I did get there eventually.


Then, I ordered a stack of inkjet-printable waterslide decal sheets online, along with the associated tools.


The next step was to print and cut the decals - note how shiny the paper is, just like the decals that come with plastic model kits.




I then immersed the decal in water for 30 seconds...


... to separate the printed layer from the backing paper.


The last step (for now) was to test it out, so I applied the decal to a broken NG 747SP. It looked perfectly good and fit nicely - no bubbles or sliding around whatsoever.


And as you can see, the decal sits perfectly flush with the wing surface. Indistinguishable from factory-applied printing!


That's all for now. I'll update this post once the actual A333 arrives, hopefully sometime in the next two weeks.

 

[B767Avia]

Yikes! As a fellow KE collector, model companies forgetting the overwing registration is always a deal-breaker for me. Phoenix does this a lot in 1/400, no wonder why I have zero Phoenix aircraft in my fleet! Really hoping that NG will do HL8002 with the proper reg marks on it.

Unfortunately the fonts vary ever so slightly depending on aircraft types even within KE. I've also put in a lot of time trying to figure this out in the past, and the closest one I found for the A330 was Tomkin font (although the number "1" is quite different, rest is pretty close).

 

[pons399]

Yikes! As a fellow KE collector, model companies forgetting the overwing registration is always a deal-breaker for me. Phoenix does this a lot in 1/400, no wonder why I have zero Phoenix aircraft in my fleet! Really hoping that NG will do HL8002 with the proper reg marks on it.

Unfortunately the fonts vary ever so slightly depending on aircraft types even within KE. I've also put in a lot of time trying to figure this out in the past, and the closest one I found for the A330 was Tomkin font (although the number "1" is quite different, rest is pretty close).

Yep, I've noticed that as well - most of, if not all the difference seems to be with the "1." It's especially apparent in their 748 and A380.

 

[OscarBravo992]

Jeez.. That is bad. How they miss that on a 1:200 model I have no idea… Looking forward to seeing how the fix goes!

 

[Adrian]

Well done! With such a large number of decals, you could sell them to any purchasers of this model. Manufacturers often guess wing markings as they use photos taken on the ground as reference and can't see the position of the wing registrations.

 

[Jazajia]

Well done! With such a large number of decals, you could sell them to any purchasers of this model. Manufacturers often guess wing markings as they use photos taken on the ground as reference and can't see the position of the wing registrations.

Ditto! Overwing markings seem to be largely guesswork. It doesn't have to, and shouldn't be.

 

[Jazajia]

@pons399 Great job! being resourceful and creative pays a lot in this hobby. My decals also look "cracked" like yours when looked closely (they look fine once applied), I'm glad to see that it is normal, and there is nothing particularly wrong with my technique.

.... but this unfortunately seems to be the norm in 1:200 these days - QC is non-existent ....

Fixed it for you

 

[pons399]

@pons399 Great job! being resourceful and creative pays a lot in this hobby. My decals also look "cracked" like yours when looked closely (they look fine once applied), I'm glad to see that it is normal, and there is nothing particularly wrong with my technique.


Fixed it for you

Mine do look a little cracked, but it's probably because my printer is brand new. I bought it last week just for this purpose .

And it's a real shame about the QC. Every brand released some howlers during the height of Covid, but I haven't had any issues with recent 1:400s. 1:200 on the other hand... out of the 10 I have, only 4 came without QC issues. I'll probably transition fully to 1:400 once I snag a 1:200 KE 77W, NGs are just as detailed at half the price.

 

[Phantom]

Mine do look a little cracked, but it's probably because my printer is brand new.

What you see is caused by the decal being unable to absorb (all) the ink.
The excess ink "floats" on the decal surface and cracks as it dries off.
You might try different printer settings that use less ink or maybe a thicker decal sheet though I'm not sure if the latter is an option because of sheet availability or the general characteristics of water based inks.

But all this isn't much of an issue when viewed with the naked eye.

 

[pons399]

The A333 is due to arrive sometime tomorrow (along with 3 AV400 A380s), so I made some last-minute refinements to the decals.

1. Color was tweaked to perfectly match the reg. in this pic, taken on my most recent KE A333 flight.


2. I trialed a new font, since the old one's "1" wasn't entirely correct. Two decal sheets were made with the revised color, one with the original font and another with the new one; new is left, old is right.

The reference image I used was from an old JC Wings model, as I couldn't for the life of me find an overhead shot of KE's A333. Notice how the font is slightly squared-off, compared to the one I originally used?


And here are the decals, fully applied as a final test; new font is left, old font is right. Both fonts look great so I'm somewhat conflicted, but I'm slightly leaning toward the new one atm.


Anyhow, that wraps up the prep work. Only thing left is to finish the job when the real thing arrives tomorrow.

 

[LeoMuse747]

Fantastic work! When I had just started reading your thread, I immediately thought "This could be easily fixed by using decals"... and that's exactely what you've done hahahaha great job!

 

[pons399]

The model arrived today, and it didn't have the reg. number as expected. Here's the right wing before decal application.


And here it is after. Perfect!


Overall, I'm hugely satisfied with the results. Color, font and size are all impeccable, and the decal blends in perfectly with the rest of the aircraft. Zero crinkling or sliding around. And it's all for the best, since this is hands down my favorite 1:200.

 

[OscarBravo992]

The model arrived today, and it didn't have the reg. number as expected. Here's the right wing before decal application.
View attachment 10099

And here it is after. Perfect!
View attachment 10100

Overall, I'm hugely satisfied with the results. Color, font and size are all impeccable, and the decal blends in perfectly with the rest of the aircraft. Zero crinkling or sliding around. And it's all for the best, since this is hands down my favorite 1:200.
View attachment 10101

Congratulations! I am glad the outcome was so good, it honestly looks like the reg was tampo printed! A stunning model that I am sure will be displayed at the heart of your collection for many years to come.