1:32 RAF SEAC ROUNDELS

The insignia that had to give up red

In the fighting over Burma and Malaya it turned out that the red disc in the middle of the British circle for a moment recalls the Japanese sun. In poor visibility and during a fast run-in that was enough for a mix-up, and so the command for Southeast Asia ordered red to be left out of the marking altogether. A two-color circle came about made up of a dark blue circumference and a light blue center, supplemented by a similarly modified stripe on the rudder. It was carried by Spitfires, Hurricanes, Thunderbolts and Beaufighters from 1943 until the end of the fighting in the Pacific.

Box contents

Three cut self-adhesive pieces for spraying in 1:32 size, with no tie to a particular model. The modeler prepares the paints himself and plastic components are naturally not to be looked for here. The sheet will serve just as well on a fighter as on a twin-engine attack aircraft; only the size of the model decides.

The craft: when to take the film off and how

Do not wait for the paint to harden. The best moment comes as soon as the surface stops being tacky, that is roughly a quarter of an hour after the last pass; until then the film is still pliable and tears away cleanly along the edge. Pull the film at the smallest possible angle, practically parallel with the surface, and in the direction of the painted area. Lifting square upward strains the bond between the paint and the base and the thinnest edge peels away with it. If the film has already hardened, it helps to run the edge of a scalpel along the edge and so break the continuous layer before you put pressure on it.