Quinta Studio 1/32 F-16C Fighting Falcon Interior 3D Decal Set Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

Quinta Studio continues to show off the future of scale modeling with a series of detail parts that are high-resolution 3D-color printed. Here is one of their first sets in 1/32 scale for the Tamiya F-16C kit. This set comes on two sheets, one with parts for the instrument panel and side consoles, the other for the ACES II ejection seat.

So how do these work? They are waterslide decals and all you need to do is cut out the part you want to apply before dropping it into water. Quinta Studio advises that these are best applied to pre-painted surfaces for better adhesion, and in this set, most of the decals go onto flat surfaces, so there shouldn't be a problem. They also advise NOT to use decal-setting or softening solution with these detail sets as the chemicals will damage the resin-printed materials. For the more complex surfaces like getting the pilot restraints onto the seats, they advise using a gloss clear like Future or Tamiya X22 on the surface of the parts to act as a supplemental adhesive, or let the parts dry on a paper towel and then apply them with a drop of cyano instead.

The printing on these decals is extremely sharp, the only other panels I've seen with this degree of clarity are from Yahu, but those are still two-dimensional in surface details and they don't have the F-16 done yet. This cockpit detail set (which is hard to say for a set of decals) really does add realism to the model, and considering that the Zvezda cockpits have baby-butt smooth surfaces, this set is the perfect remedy. I recently used one of these sets for the Zvezda 1/48 Mi-24V kit and this is by far the easiest time I've had detailing a complex cockpit.

I am going to be doing more projects with these details (decals) as I'm hooked!

The good news is that HobbyZone USA stocks this set.

My sincere thanks to HobbyZone USA for this review sample!