I purchased a couple of academy 1/32 nieuport 17s, the decal instructions call for placing one decal over another? states.... 17+23 or 19+23, 23 being a white bird and 17/19 being darker colors of same..very strange,I have never worked with academy

Yes, the instructions are correct. Apply the base decal,let dry thoroughly, and then apply the top decal. It is the same for the roundels and rudder marks for that kit. you do not need a clear coat between decals.
Having just finished one of these I thought it was a nice basic kit. Had to scratch an instrument panel and head rest but not a biggy.
I suggest glueing the outer struts to the top wing first, the fuse-top wing struts to the fuse next. Landing gear struts should be attached but leave wheels off. No tail work yet. Glue top wing to fuse struts.Align fuse and top wing at this time. When dry, insert lower wings,align, and then glue and align for final.
A nice decal softener is a must.
HTH!
Rick

The secret to Academy's decals is not to use them. I have built a few aircraft models of theirs and found the builds enjoyable. But the decals refused to sit down, and in fact, peeled off after a few months. The newer ones may be better, but I have enough spares that I choose not to chance it. Just my opinion though.

Amen to that! I love their kits, but have taken the vow to just junk the decals and save myself a lot of heartache.

Cheers,
Mike

Concur!

Sorry Dave, I am sure this is not what you wanted to hear.

I completely agree.

I haven't bought any Academy kit anymore after my last disaster almost ruining a kit with their poor decals.

There are so many high quality kits on the market that there is not any reason to buy poor quality.

05sultan I will follow your advice,thanks, I paid $22.00 plus shipping for these, they will make good practice projects for someone....like me who had a near meltdown trying to get an eduard bi plane together.Seems I need to purchase aftermarket decals

If you don't feel confident about the kit decals,then by all means get some you will be happy with.
I used the kit decals and yes,they were a little stubborn and required more effort but patience and solvent prevailed..........





Have fun,
Rick

Decent build Rick.

I think I will go with the stock decals now that I see it is possible, I have two $11.00 models and to spend more than that on decals? I will use better ones after my skills have improved..thanks to all 1/32 decals are a bit sparse aftermarket

will keep that in mind when I get past the rookie stage..then on to better quality

Thank you Stephen. It was a fun build for the NMF(?) campaign. My first NMF anything and my first bi-plane since age 9 or so. Just didn't want to do 9 miles of crusty string everywhere to keep a prehistoric Batplane aloft! Have a Sopwith Pup around somewhere and a 1/32 Albatross DV something also. .
No way in hades I'm going to do a 1/32 lozenge Acid Trip scheme though. Was that supposed to throw off aim by kalaidoscope irritation to the gunner?
Anyhow, i got an NMF done.
Rick

The actual aim of the lozenge scheme was to hide the aircraft characteristics and keep the enemy guessing if the aircraft were approaching or flying away. Earth tones on the upper surfaces and sky toned pastels on the under surfaces.

See the thread called "Lozenge 101".