Rob, Michael R. and Ben
When I first looked at the photos, I noticed the same thing Rob did, that a number of the edges looked a bit sloppy. Then I eventually remembered in my model building days that from time to time I would run across a kit in which all the decals were assembled on one solid, clear backing sheet and they were a pain in the ass to try and cut out the ones you needed. The individually made decals were so much neater to work with but maybe there is a cost factor in producing them that way. The more I think of the use of them to ID storage items on the carrier and other AFV's, the more I see them as a temporary item, that was not expected to have a long life expectancy. They were probably used to support the printed Stowage Sheets issued with the manuals for the vehicle. The crew would quickly get used to where things went, changed things around as they saw fit and if and when the decals wore away, it didn't matter.
Michael R. : I don't know off the top of my head, of any stencils that are capable of producing solid lined closed letters like B, P, D, O, R or Q, without the centre parts of the letters falling out. That it the give away ID for a true stencil. They always have closed letters formed in segments, with small webs of the stencil material needed to keep the letters together. A silk screening stencil will produce a solid lined, closed letter, but silk screening only works well in unobstructed locations, as the screens are quite bulky. You can also often see the screening pattern on the surface of the letters when completed.
Ben. A varnish overlay would make sense. Several of the rub-on lettering kits one can buy today (Letterset???) provide spray cans of coating to protect the lettering after application. Also, the panels on the 19-Sets used decals. These were applied over silk screened radium paint blocks located by each control on the panel and then the panel was given a coat of varnish to lock everything all down.
David
|