Hasegawa Orange-Yellow and Hologram Finishing Films Decal First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

When Hasegawa recently announced this new product, I was curious what this was intended to do for the hobbyist. Two color samples arrived, the orange-yellow and the hologram finishes. You can see in the image below the applications that Hasegawa has in mind for each of these two products.

At the moment, there are five colors in this series - white, red, orange-yellow, hologram, and hologram clear.

So what can you do with this stuff and why? The product comes with a single 90mm x 200mm sheet on a thick coated backing sheet. With the help of a sharp X-Acto knife, I removed a small section of the backing sheet and found that the colored film is quite thin and flexible. The material is similar in application to Bare Metal Foil but I don't believe it will be quite as flexible as BMF. What it will do is conform to simple curves to provide colors where you might otherwise have to paint.

Looking at the images above, you can use the yellow-orange material to reproduce the identification sections on the wing leading edge as used by the Japanese during World War II as well as anywhere else you might want to apply a yellow-orange. The hologram material provides an interesting reflective effect that you can use on visors and other unique areas that need some flash.

While the instructions are all in Japanese, you can apply this like Bare Metal Foil one of two ways: first, cut out the pattern you want to use and apply it to the model; or second, cut out sections and apply to the model, then cut along panel lines to trim the material to shape.

If you're looking for alternative materials to finish your model, here is a new one from Hasegawa that might suit your needs.

Recommended!

For more information about this set and the other releases from Hasegawa, visit their website at http://www.hasegawausa.com/.

My sincere thanks to Hasegawa for this review sample!