Using electrical tape as a guide will help line up large letters and numbers as you lay them down individually to form a large graphic. Carefully measure where you want the decal to be placed. Place a small pencil mark onto the surface, then stretch tape beyond marks as if to "shoot a line" between them. When placing the decals onto the surface, do not butt them against the tape as this could cause a decal edge to ride up against tape. When tape is removed, you certainly don't want to have the decal edge disturbed.

Utilize documentation to determine the decal composition. All too often a modeler is willing to accept something less than what would be considered "required" to look exactly like a photograph or drawing of the aircraft they are modeling. A good example would be the artwork found in illustrations or photos of aircraft nose art. Using this detailed process, you should be able to replicate the image with a copier, and move it to the surface of your prized model. I'll never forget seeing a Pontiac Firebird® decal used on a scale model when the builder desired to replicate a phoenix emblem found on a bomber photograph. This is entirely unnecessary!!!

Today, you have little excuse for not being able to replicate a desired graphic image found on documentation. You obviously can use a computer to access this website. You probably know that you can lift literally anything you see on these screens and print them. You can easily import these captured images into either Window's Paint®, Corel Draw®, Arts & Letters Graphics Editor®, or Microsoft Image Editor® to name but a few of the many graphics editors available today.

Playing around with one of these editors will quickly bolster your confidence and skills to produce phenominal results...Now, isn't that special? Try it, you'll like it!!!

In the near future, we will publish a fucused look into these inexpensive and easy to use graphics editors. We will quickly show how any individual can recreate or reproduce artwork and images which appear on full size aircraft used for documentation. If you would like to contribute to this future Details © article, contact the publisher via email at: wmclayman@comcast.net