Once you are happy with the position of the decal, dab another paper towel on the decal to soak up any left over water. Edit @ October 2016: be very careful when soaking up the excess softener as any agitation can cause the decal to warp or break! This type of decal is a little uncommon and should not be confused with water-slide decals or vinyl self-adhesive decals. Wet self-adhesive decals have adhesive on the rear of the decal, which when wet with water, allows the decal to be moved into the correct position before carefully wiping away any access water. This causes the decal adhesive to bond to the model permanently. A small amount of washing up liquid added to the water will help the decal to slide better until you are happy that you have it in the correct position. Once the decal is in position and you’ve removed the excess water, apply the softener with a brush and leave it for a couple of minutes, before soaking up the excess. Your local hobby shop will probably sell a decal softener such as Revell’s Decal Soft. That’s what I use and it works fine for me.

Decal Solutions - Humbrol DecalFix Reviewing And Testing Decal Solutions - Humbrol DecalFix

Decals (or transfers, or whatever you want to call them) can, when done properly, bring a lot to a miniature. But for whatever reason, following the instructions that come with them is guaranteed to result in a really crap result that looks awful. For any tight curves or areas that the decal needs to conform to that is not flat, you can apply a little heat using a hairdryer set to low (so as not to distort or melt the decal or model part). Once the decal is in place, carefully warm the area with the hairdryer to make the decal soft so that you can push out any creases or bubbles that may have appeared. Decals consist of an image printed onto a thin film. The film is brittle and plastic, in the technical sense that it remembers its shape (a flat sheet) and will try to return to it if possible. That means that unless you’re applying the decal to a perfectly flat surface like a mirror, you’re going to end up with gaps underneath the decal, which will result in bubbles that will ruin the finish. Air gaps beneath the decal will result in an uneven finish Edit @ October 2016: nowadays I spray the entire model with a clear lacquer from Halfords (recommended to me by Phil Stutcinskas, a member of the Forge World studio), instead of painting varnish onto the surface where the decal is going to be applied. This protects the model, eliminates brush marks, and ensures an even finish. A layer of gloss varnish provides a smooth surface for the decal to adhere to.

While this is often enough to keep the decal in place, if you feel it necessary you can use the second paint brush to apply the second decal solution on top of the decal. This will set it firmly. I use the Microset/Microsol system myself. It's the blue bottle (MICROSET) which should be brushed onto the model. A dilute solution of white vinegar will serve the same purpose of softening the decal film slightly. The red bottle (MICROSOL) is the one that should be applied later and is a stronger solvent. It's one, or several, applications of this which will get that decal snuggled down. If you like to weather your decals, now’s the time. Google has plenty of advice on doing this if you’ve not done decal weathering before. By process of trial and error (mostly error) I have worked out what I think is the best way to add decals to your miniatures. For anyone who’s built a model kit or wargaming miniature and been really pleased with the paint job, only to have it ruined by crappily finished decals, here’s my guide to doing them right, enhanced by my laughably amateurish diagrams. The best way I’ve found to solve this is to give the surface a coat of gloss varnish before I apply the miniature. I have a pot of Games Workshop ‘Ard Coat which I only rever use for this purpose: by brushing on a generous amount of varnish to the surface, you will get a nice smooth surface upon which you can apply the decal: all the troughs and peaks will be smoothed out and you won’t have air gaps underneath.

Decal Soft, 30 ml - 3DJake International Revell Decal Soft, 30 ml - 3DJake International

The latest discussion I could find on this was three years old so I decided rather than replying to it I would start a new topic. House of Hobbies may release account information when we believe, in good faith, that such release is reasonably necessary to (i) comply with law, (ii) enforce or apply the terms of any of our user agreements or (iii) protect the rights, property or safety of House of Hobbies, our users, or others.

Edit @ October 2016: as above, use a spray lacquer. Another gloss coat protects the decal and gives it an even finish which matches the paint underneath. Edit @ October 2016: use as little water as possible. I use a plastic box lid with just a few drops of water. Essentially the dreaded silvering, where the decal carrier film becomes visible, is caused by microscopic air bubbles under the decal. There is a much higher likelihood of this occurring on a rough, matt, surface than on a smoother gloss one.

Decal Soft 30ml Revell 39693 - super-hobby.dk Decal Soft 30ml Revell 39693 - super-hobby.dk

As always, model making is as much about follow instructions as it is about following your own creativity. Decals are a great way to enhance your model even further, so add them where you see fit and make your model stand out! Once you have applied all your decals, and if you have done it correctly, they should now have the appearance of being painted on. From here, you can either leave the model with a gloss finish, or apply some weathering techniques. So I found some old decals and a painted piece of plastic with both bumps and grooves, put a layer of Pledge on it, let it dry, and then affixed two old decals to the plastic. One I treated with pure white vinegar and the other I treated with my wifes finger nail polish remover (composed mainly of Acetone). Your decal soft is a solution which will soften the decal film allowing the decal to conform more closely to the surface of the model, hopefully to get that painted on look we all want. There is no guarantee that it will prevent silvering. You might be able to mitigate silvering by piercing a decal with a needle or the end of a scalpel blade and flooding it with a decal solution, but again, there is no guarantee. It's far better to get it right initially and that's why I always recommend a gloss coat of your choice. It's only one more step in the process and the final desired finish can be achieved with a final coat of a suitable varnish. In the threads I could find on this topic the question of is solvent white vinegar or not came up several times. Now when I smell solvent I don't smell vinegar at all. I DO smell vinegar when I open an old jar of Testors Decal Set, which is used to clean and wet the model surface in preparation for the decal. When I smell both Micro Sol and the Daco product I get a mild Acetone smell.

Start off by carefully selecting the decal that you are going to place onto your model. Use a fresh hobby knife blade to cut as close to the artwork/lettering as you possibly can, so there is little or none of the unwanted clear vinyl that the self-adhesive decal is printed on. You can use a pair of scissors to cut out the decal, but you may find that a hobby knife is better suited to the task. To seal the decal completely, you can now apply a thin layer of varnish or Klear and allow it to dry. If you are more of a traditionalist, and an array of decals is provided with your model kit, chances are you’ll use them. And for good reason. Decals provide a nice touch of colour, detail, and authenticity to your model, which is especially important for models such as classic planes, or famed Formula 1 racing cars. Below is an overview of the decal process, so give it a read and get your models looking as incredible as possible! First, although Microsol is not the strongest solution available it can be too much for some decals. I always test on an unwanted decal from any decal sheet to make sure it won't destroy the ones I intend to use on the model. If there is a problem you can always dilute the solution with water. I'd recommend this no matter which of the decal solutions you are using. This is a lesson I learnt the hard way!