D7/Aztec Dummy style: trouble with vinyl "plates"

[Dukat, S.G.]

All,

I've applied the gorgeous Aztec Dummy vinyl plates to my Polar Lights D7, but I have a slight problem: there is small (1-3mm) lump -- almost like bubbles -- underneath nearly every panel.

I've already sealed the vinyl with two wet coats of lacquer. I don't think the lumps will look really bad or anything, but it would be nice if they're not prominent once I get to painting the base colors.

I've tried burnishing the areas down with little success. Part of the problem's the way I traced the patterns onto the model's surface; there might be particulate matter (pastel dust) underneath the vinyl.

My current plan is to build up a few layers of lacquer in the hopes of smoothing things out. I'd rather do something like that before puncturing the vinyl and puttying/sanding those areas smooth, y'know?

All thoughts are welcome.

[Joseph Osborn]

Sounds like you do indeed have dust under the vinyl. If it were just a bubble, you could pierce it with a pin and it should settle down (like on a decal). If the surface has enough solid lacquer on it, you can probably use a sanding block to level the lacquer and eliminate the imperfection at the surface.

[Dukat, S.G.]

Sounds like you do indeed have dust under the vinyl. If it were just a bubble, you could pierce it with a pin and it should settle down (like on a decal). If the surface has enough solid lacquer on it, you can probably use a sanding block to level the lacquer and eliminate the imperfection at the surface.

That's what I'm doing (thanks, Joseph). I really don't want to ditch this model and have to buy new templates. They're so beautifully-cut and stick perfectly. The only problem -- as Mr. Aztec D. notes -- is they're hard to place on the D7. The method I used to trace a pattern onto the hull's also my trouble with the blemishes under the panels :-\