1:48 French Air Forces registrations & serials 1995 - 2010 (white)

White characters for dark airframes

This sheet handles no particular machine. It is a set of letters and figures in a white form of the kind the French Air Force used for registrations and serial numbers in the span from 1995 to 2010. It comes into its own everywhere the markings are to contrast with a dark finish, that is above all on machines with dark gray or green camouflage and on anniversary finishes with a dark base.

How a white print differs

White is the most demanding color for coverage on a transparent film. A quality sheet prints it in a thicker layer, so the characters tend to be somewhat stiffer than the black ones and bend over edges less willingly. Reckon with that at the transition onto the rounding of the fin or onto a leading edge: let the film soften for longer and do not press on it.

The base has to be really glossy, otherwise the edge of a white character will be visible as a light shadow around the artwork itself. It is precisely with white decals that silvering shows most markedly.

Assembling the markings

Choose the characters you need according to your real subject and cut them out individually with a small margin. Mark the base line lightly on the model beforehand so that the row does not waver. Let each character settle for a moment and only then bring up the next one; when a whole row is shifted at once, the small pieces easily crease. Store the rest of the sheet flat; bent film cracks in time and the characters then break in half. The last step belongs to varnishing: under a semi-matte layer the white characters soften optically and stop looking like stuck-on paper, which is exactly the impression that is wanted.