Hey Folks,
I pretty much spent the whole day trying to get some markings on one of my Abrams builds and, well... let's just say it didn'nt work as planned...
after several attempts to going through with my original idea I changed plans and drew everything by hand... well gotta say I'm quite pleased when considering the fact it was all done in only one day and with a pair of extremely shaky hands... anyway, I think I'll need some honest opinions here...
does it look good or not??

here's the original dry-transfer for comparison. on the real tank one side of the bore-evac had a negative version of this writing painted on (propably spray painted...), while the other side looked pretty much like this...


and finally here's my attempt:



I also have some alternatives so I can either leave it as it is or try one of the following:

1)sand everything down, repaint, use left over transfer and try again (would mean I'd have to order another set of transfers)

2) scan the remaining transfer and try to print it as a decal. however I tried test printing on normal paper and it looks kinda blurry... also it's extremely hard getting the size right...

3) outsource the printing job to a hobby store in another town that does decal printing. well, their decals are blurry as well but I wouldn't need to worry about the right size...

what do you'll think, any suggestions?
again, I'm looking for some real honest critique, feel free to comment

Cheers, Max

Max;

Hi!

From where I sit, your handiwork looks pretty nice! But I must confess; I pretty much hate decals and even avoid dry-transfer where I can - I like stencils (even if I have to cut them myself) and hand-drawing - as you have done. But that's my opinion and my biases!

As a model-show judge, I would probably "smile" on a pretty-well-done hand-lettering job in many cases as being evidence of good modeling skills and achievement - but again that is my bias and preference speaking a little.

Your lettering looks pretty sharp. IF you want to "clean it up" further, there are a couple of things you can do...

Get a hand-lens or magnifying glass - or better wear a head magnifier - so that you'll better see close-up what you are doing. Use a new #11 or similar hobby knife and go around the letter edges and gently scrape off the undesired bulges and curves. The biggest issue, if any, for your hand lettering is maybe it is a very little bit too thick, compared to the transfer you show. I'm guessing that you painted white over black, so if you are very gentle, you can remove some of the extra white. The places you may most desire to do some of this thinning are at the points where letters touch those base lines - thin a little there and the letters will "pop" quite nicely, I think!

Also, if these letters are fairly large, say 4 or 5mm or more tall, you may be able to further improve things by "overly-thinning" letters as above, and then lay a small piece of tape along the desired edge of straight sections and use this as a painting mask as you repaint some bits.

It's some work - and personally I think your job looks pretty darned nice.

Just my thoughts and suggestions!

Bob

What is wrong with you Max ?

I'm with Bob: "and personally I think your job looks pretty darned nice "
and very realistic aswell.
So be happy that all your efforts resulted in something close to perfect.
I suggest you "knock it off" with this and get on with the rest of the tank.

Well done indeed !
Cheers
Christopher

thank you guys.

Bob,
it's not exactly sand over black but black over sand over black and so on... but thanks for the tip, I'll try thinning the lines with an x-acto.

Cheers, Max