AAF Decal - A2

[mclmm]

Hi Fellows,

I'm presently waiting on a MASH water transfer AAF decal for my A2.

I had previously tried two iron-on ones from That Auction Site seller "US Country Store". Both failed dismally. The last one I put on a few days ago I was sure was going to work. I applied it with a little more heat than receommended and the plastic came off nice and smoothly. The decal looked like it was almost melted into the leather. I then applied a coat of matte artist's seal over the whole decal and allowed it to dry. So far so good.

I vaguely remember having read a post here on the Fedora Lounge about rubbing a light smear of brown oil paints over the decal to "antique" it. I did this as well. It looked brilliant! I was very, very happy with the outcome.

Until yesterday - the decal is peeling off. It is a real shame because it looked so good.

When I receive my MASH water transfer decal, I will document the process and report back. It is a complicated process, but hopefully the result will be worth it.

 

[fix8ed]

AAF Decal

I do not know if you've attempted to apply the Mash decal to your jacket yet, and I hope I am not too late. I bought that kit not long ago and not only are the instructions quite tedious, but if you are not careful, you won't make it past the early step in which you wet the decal and transfer it to the jacket.
Apparently, the decal is unbelievably thin. Having soaked it for the required length of fifteen seconds, I removed it from the backing and with the barest amount of pressure, attempted to slide it forward. As I did so, I watched awestruck as the top of the decal broke into two pieces. Now the mistake I made may well have been that I did not place my thumbs together at the center of the decal before exerting that ever so slight upward pressure. The decal, if even possible to apply ( I am not sure of that), would look quite nice. The funny thing is, I was more worried about the later steps than getting the decal onto the jacket. OH well, live and learn. Hope this was in time. Mike

 

[DutchIndo]

Reminds me of my Airplane Modeling days. I used to have lots of water, a puddle really on the area I would transfer to. I would make sure that the decal was detached from the backing. I would then float the decal on to the puddle. I would then carefully blot the excess water and air bubbles out. If there was a stubborn air bubble I would get a needle and pierce it.

 

[cmk-2]

I have the AAF kit as well. I have not tried to apply it yet but it sure looks the part. Another trick to use when applying is to have a bowl of clean water with a few drops of Dawn Dish washing soap or like product. The soap will allow you to move the decal around with a lot less pressure. I have 4 of the decals and only 2 jackets to apply so I have some back- ups. Robin

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Sounds pretty scary guys. You could always hire a skilled artist such as myself, (or a handful of others here) to hand paint the logo for you. guaranteed to please. PM me if you desire my services.

[/IMG]

 

[DutchIndo]

Wow that's beautiful ! Makes a guy not want to wear a Seat Pack. I read some where they sewed the " Blood Chits " inside the jackets instead of the back.

 

[Tally Ho!]

NIIIIICCCCE job Nick!

I used to do the same stuff - aeons ago...

Lived beside a Canadian airbase in Southern Germany and the boys just loved painted leathers. Unfortunatetly I mostly worked for tankers and artillery people but as a 16-year-old kid you don't ask questions who's paying for your beers...but beside tanks and crosssed axes or emblems of Amsterdam (another classic...) I did quite a few Vargas girls over the time.

Nick - without trying to sound too nosy: what kind of paints do you use nowadays? I threw mine away, years ago and wondered about getting back into (very small scale) business. I remember using "FIBINGS" (or something like that) paints.

They were water based and impossible to buy in Europe. Mind you, it was loooong before the internet and I somehow managed to order them in the US. Cost me an arm and a leg and I had to wait for weeks to have them shipped surface mail as I couldn't afford airmail.

Boy, wild times...

Tally Ho!

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Nick - without trying to sound too nosy: what kind of paints do you use nowadays? I threw mine away, years ago and wondered about getting back into (very small scale) business. I remember using "FIBINGS" (or something like that) paints.

I use acrylics, Liquitex specifically. It comes in jars and is about the right consistency right out of the jar and doesn't require much thinning to make it workable. Any good artist's quality acrylics would do I suppose. Has to be acrylic as it's the only paint flexible enough to last any length of time without cracking and flaking off.

 

[Tally Ho!]

Thanks for giving me a hint there Buddy - I appreciate it!

Tally Ho!

 

[cmk-2]

I tried the MASH decal last night... GREAT product. I bought 3 decals just in case of a tear/rip. Did not need them. I used a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap in the water I put the decal in and left the decal in the water for 45-60 secs. No problems at all. Looks the part much better then the iron on decal. It's also the correct way to apply. Iron on and painting was not the offical method of the AAF. Robin

 

[CBI]

I have seen this thread topic many times but for some reason never read it until now. In re painting, consider enamels as acrylics just don't look 1940's. Sorry guys but in WWII it was mostly all lead based enamels. Acrylics are a post WWII invention and have a plactic/rubbery look on jackets. I have been using enamels for some time now and have been "pushing " the paint into the leather and it looks very authentic - period era lead based smoothness instead of a modern repro paint job. Lots of talk about this on VLJ. I was lucky enough to have made a large order of painted 15th AF theater patches of many types for the new George Lucas "Redtails" movie that has just started filming. They needed them to look completely authentic. Getting back to enamels, I have never had problems with them coming off and have actually added cracking to have them look the period. The only thing that ever gave me some cracking problems were acrylic overcoats! Either type of paint, keep it thin with as little pile as you can. Amazing how many folks dabble with this artwork, its very cool, almost folk art. Sometimes, pianters really get the 40's look with acrylics but its pretty rare. The pin-ups often turn out but not the insignia or aircraft. Some exceptions but pretty rare. In any case, there is some excellent artwork out there as is seen above. Some artists used leather dyes in WWII but I don't think it was very often. Sometimes one can find oil painted work, mostly from the Med.

 

[DustMite]

Water Decals

Can anybody tell me where to get these water slide USAAF decals from? I have seen some on ebay, what is best......

Do they fit on cloth jackets ie B-10s as well as A2s :eusa_doh:

 

[cmk-2]

Hey, I ordered mine from MASH Japan..took 3 days to receive them in the USA. No the same decal will not work on cloth. But they do sell the type that will. Robin

 

[DustMite]

Translat !

I found the Mash M.O.C web site, but it is all in Japenese and Yen, is there one in English ? :eusa_doh:

 

[DustMite]

SOKAY

Found the one in English !

 

[442RCT]

MASH Decals on eBay

Bartender Edit: No Live Auctions, please.

 

[raulm1961]

Can anybody help me. I just got my ATF B10 which do not come with the AAF emblem printed on them. I'm thinking of buying iron on decals from MASH. Will they really stick to a cloth jacket? Or would it be better to have someone paint it and how expendive is that. Any input or info will be appreciated. Thx.