This is a new decal
sheet from Cutting
Edge Modelworks. The 1/144 scale decal sheet includes decals for the
"heat resistant tiles" for
any one of the 6 different
Space Shuttles.
Ever since the first
thought of a reusable space vehicle was pondered......weight and heat resistant
issues had to be overcome. This reusable space vehicle would have to be
able to glide back to Earth un-powered, so weight was a serious
consideration. But this vehicle would have to reenter Earth's atmosphere and
withstand the extreme heat generated during the reentry process. Special
ceramic tiles were the solution. They are heat resistant, but also reasonably
light weight.
For all modelers
wanting to build a model of the Space Shuttle....they have always had to contend
with the lack of tile detail on the bottom of their Space Shuttle. Now
Cutting Edge has come out with a simple but extremely effective way to add this
tile detail.......decals!!!
When I first
heard about these decals I was more than a bit excited and
curious. Would this be possible without the decals being overly
complicated to install? Would these decals be able to clearly
capture the complex detail of the Space Shuttle tiles? To my
relief...these decals did in fact have the tiny detail and realistic
look at capturing the Shuttle Tile detail. Scans fail to do this
decal set justice....scans merely insult the ultra fine crisp
detail.....but to do a proper scan would mean a huge image that would be
almost impossible to download for modem users.
But it's not just the
darker underside decals that are included. You also get the tile
decals for the whole nose area...including the topside as well as the
top side for the wings and flying surfaces. The color of the
various shades used on these decals looks quite effective. Each
shuttle mission could possibly have slightly different tiles, so study
reference photos before you install the decals etc on your particular
shuttle model.
After you install your
decals you will have to weather them to match the particular shuttle and
mission you are modeling. Tiles looked weathered due to the
extreme temperatures they endured during re-entry and they were also replaced when
needed, so there are variations on these decals to try to reflect the
average shuttle.
The decals were flawlessly printed and the clear
carrier film is trimmed extremely close to the crisply printed colored
areas...sometimes right up to the edge of the colored portion of
the decals. |
Click on
image below to see larger image |
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The instructions
are clear and easy to follow. There is one page that deals with individual
decal placement.....I'm impressed how easy this one page lays out the
decal placement
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....the
term "idiot proof" comes to mind. There are 2
pages of text instructions dealing with water temperature
suggestions as well as different weathering techniques and ideas
you can consider when doing the final weathering on your Space
Shuttle.
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A very nice product
and highly recommended.
When building your
1/144 Space Shuttle consider the following products from Cutting Edge
Modelworks and Black
Magic pre-cut painting masks.....
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CELO44008
Space Shuttle Orbiter Engine Nozzles
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CELO44009
Space Shuttle Columbia Fin tip camera pod.
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CEBM44002
Black Magic paint masks for Space Shuttle
-
CED44001
Space Shuttle Decals
I would like to
thank Cutting Edge
Modelworks for providing me with this review sample.
Steve
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