Hi all, my Astoria build has been on hold for quite some time as I put more priority into finishing USS Wilson last year and then into my Australia project. But now it´s time to move on with Astoria, too!
Just after spraying her with the gloss coat and adding decals of hull numbers and the ships´name I realized I totally forgot I wished to add hull plating! My original intention was to create the plating using a masking tape and airbrushing Mr. Base White but for whatever reason I forgot to do it before painting the hull. So I was in a situation when the paint was there so using my usual method would mean doing it all once again, with an added danger of overspraying the base coat to where I didn´t want it, adding too much layers to the delicate railings etc.
What to do? I considered masking the plates and spraying more gloss coat but I thought there was a danger of messing up the build. So what about using a clear decal? I draw the outlines of the hull plating in Inkscape and printed them on a printable transparent decal paper. Then I applied three thick layers of Tamiya gloss clear with a brush to gain some visible thickness (how often do you want it to be visible
). The next morning I cut inside the printed lines by Exacto blade and applied the decals over the hull. Some corrections were needed so I removed them before they set. I also found out that using a decal softener should only be the very last step to get out any remaining air bubbles, otherwise it can ruin the work. The second attempt already turned out quite satisfactorily. It actually seems this method provides a crisper appearance of the plating than spraying over the mask. The obvious disadvantage indeed is it only works if there are no portholes or other details on the raised plates, so I had to just miss the prop guards and the open portholes on the bow.
I´ll continue with weathering the ship in my usual way using artistic oil paints. Let´s see how will it look like when the next steps are finished.
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FAQ
Did you solder the main bridge components as you did for the mast? if so the soldered joints are flawless, and considering how small is the bridge that's a remarkable feat. 
). The catch is what if the ship was camouflaged, e.g. USS Vincennes in the Ms12 splotch camo, that one would like to use masking tape for. If the hull plating/decals are applied first, which is what my conservative part is suggesting, I´d be concerned about peeling of the first coat of paint - or even the decal! - while removing the masking tape. Using a matt coat for the decal instead of gloss may be an option how to improve the adherence of the paint. The other possibility is to do the painting first, exactly as on the Astoria. Vincennes even had less portholes so less area to avoid. What are your thoughts?