1:48 Douglas A-4C Skyhawk - Space Set for HobbyBoss

Three-dimensional decals for the cockpit of the Skyhawk

Instead of a classic flat decal you get a thin layered film on backing paper which has a relief of its own. Once seated it follows the shape of the surface beneath and to the eye it behaves like a molded panel. Beside the panel the package also holds a set of side consoles and metal harness straps for the seat.

Douglas A-4C, a small attacker with a long reach

Ed Heinemann designed the Skyhawk as a deliberately small carrier bomber which would fit onto the elevator of an aircraft carrier without folding its wing. The C version added a radar for flight in poor visibility and became a routine machine of the carrier squadrons in the nineteen sixties; it flew thousands of hours over southeast Asia.

What carrier service does to a cockpit

The environment of an aircraft carrier is raw on finishes. Salt damp bites into the edges, a white bloom flowers around the screws and the black frame of the windscreen abrades to gray. The firing handle above the pilot's head tends to be worn by gloves, a shiny area arises on the seat cushion from the flight suit, and the side console by the throttle loses its lettering so far that only the remains of letters are legible. The floor carries the prints of boots mixed with dust and with drops of hydraulic fluid.

The procedure and a final piece of advice

Smooth the surface and free it of grease before gluing. With a damp sponge and a drop of detergent moisten only the backing paper, lift the item off with tweezers and fix it with white PVA glue; the manufacturer does not recommend cyanoacrylate glue on these. Do not use a decal softener, as its chemistry attacks the printed layer. Suggest the wear only once it is dry, best with a soft pencil, because the metallic sheen then stays exactly on the edges.