Plywood veneer was used to cover portions of many early aircraft. Some times this extended to the entire fuselage or both the fuselage and wings. Here a fellow modeler brings us his own version of the types used on Albatros D. type fighter aircraft.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Hi Stephen
A key issue for nail head decals is to what extent the strip of carrier film is visible after it has been laid down. Do you have any feedback concerning that? Have you tested how well these decals respond to softening solutions? I have got some of these myself, and haven't used them yet, but plan to in the next week or so. If you have specific guidance based on actual usage that would be very helpful.
Thanks
James

Greeting James,

I am testing these out on scrap plastic. More on that to come. They are drying now. I also have set that Microsculpt experimented with. They come in panel squares so the edges match up with the fuslage ply panels. Also HGW has a set out (with in the past week of this post) but I don't have thos yet. More as soon as I can get it.

You have good questions and mirror my own concerns.

I will be posting some results on my tests with these decals in the next couple of days. Here is a bit from the manufacturer.

"Hi Stephen,

Thanks much for the great writeup! A couple of points:

. . .The paper I'm using really doesn't need "hot" water, nor any solvent solution whatever. It is outstanding quality decal film and will suck down into and around details quite well without any help. In any event, on the Albatros, you don't really need to apply the nail heads across any kind of raised or engraved detail. They just go along the edges of and across smooth areas of plywood. As with any decal, a nice smooth (not necessarily highly glossed) surface is helpful. Very hot water may well make them too pliable to work with. Just use tepid water and things will be fine.

Cheers,
Jennings"

I used these on my Albatros D.Va build over the weekend. The size and colour work well IMHO. Depending on your viewing distance the clear film is hard to see.

Key success factors: Check references for where the nail strips should go. The middle longeron is tricky to get right and this is important for the diamond shape on the fuselage sides. High gloss base is essential to prevent silvering. Need to minimise the width of the nail strip - I would recommend using a sharp rotary cutter and a metal straight ruler. The nail heads can easily unglue when another decal is applied over the top the next day, so clear coat after is a good idea.

The decals do not appear to be ink jet printed as I did not clear coat before using and there were no ink running issues.

I didn't use any decal softeners, these *may* help the clear film to be even less visible.

Would I use them again? Yes, the nail heads look right and the clear film was not as big a problem as I had thought it might be. Photos to follow after I have finished clear coating the fuselage

There are lots of nail heads on one A4 sheet. Enough for 4 or more kits depending on how much of the fuselage is in natural wood finish