How do you guys cope with decals,i found them a bloody nightmare,i couldnt get rid of the shiny edge,so i stripped them off and painted them in,following the advice i have been given,the muffler has been touched up,kill rings changed,and a touch here and there of rust,the trcks are immovable at this stage but i will take the advice onboard for next time.When part 2 was dry i added some oil stains in Mars black,and stippled them in with a hard brush,i did the same near to the crosses as i made a dogs dinner stripping the decals off,highlights were drybrushed in Titanium white on all sharp edges and at the edges of the green camo stripes to feather them,rust stains were done by diluting Burnt Sienna,when i thought the whole thing was dry i sprayed in Matt Humbrol,and when that was dry did the metal bits with a lead pencil.As an armour novice i found the most difficult bits were the join in the gun barrel and the bloody awfull tracks supplied by Tamiya,they seem to have been designed by a sadist who wants to see folk chucked into the Loony Bin
as usual all comments and critiques are welcome,ta for the help so far.
Arthur.

Well all I can say about your oil painted wespe is Wow! really interesting to see what can be done with oils....Too bad about the tracks that twisted like that ..bummer...As for decals ...I stay away from them when ever possible ...I have a growing stack of dry transfers and templates to paint them on ...If all else fails well you have to go the whole route of a gloss coat ...you put your decals on with a setting solution (love solveset) then I add another gloss coat ..and when all is dry a couple of flat coats to bring it all back to where you started... Your crosses look great painted on ...congrats on this new technique...I'll stick to my airbrush though...lol

Rick

Hi Rick,that sounds way too complicated just for a couple of decals,i think i will stick to free hand painting,the dry transfers sound interesting what are they.
Arthur

Excellent work Arthur, you incorporated the feedback well, this post is an example of how the Rivet Review Board is meant ot work.
I mirror the sentiments of the others when I say too bad about the tracks but great job otherwise.
All the best,

Andrew

A work of art Arthur. You have achieved amazing results on an AFV with figure paiting techniques (which are way more complicated that the ones commonly used when doing AFV).
You had problems with your decals because you applied them on a matt surface. The roughness of the surface traps air and causes silvering (shiny look). If you are ever interested in using decals, here is what I do (dont get me wrong if you already know this ...):
1) Gloss coat surface. Future(US) or Klear(UK) floor varnishes are recommended
2) Microset applied to the surface where the decal is going to be applied
3) Apply decal
4) Let dry for a while
5) Apply Microsol, which will wrinkle the surface of the decal. But don't panic, and let it do its work
6) Let dry and dull coat it.
This process will give the decal a painted-on look. This process is vital if you want to build a plane, but yet not that vital in the case of armor.
Hope it helps.

Zverko

Cheers Andrew,your comments are spot on,Zverko,no i didn't know about the method on putting decals on,i thought i did,hence the cock up,i am obliged to you for your advice,all the best
Arthur

Truly excellent Arthur.
I can only repeat I am going to try this method on an aircraft.
Thanks for sharing it.
Cheers
Peter

I remembered Mal wrote a good article featuring the techniques of applying decals:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/155

Zverko

Hi Arthur sorry I didn't get back to you sooner ...here is the address for the Archer dry transfers...

http://www.archertransfers.com/

some great stuff there ..enjoy the site ....I know your credit card will...lol
Rick #:-)

As i told u before is a very fine work and i admire your patience with oihs and havin such a nice result...wow....you are good

My thanks to all who participated in this thread,and gave me some good advice without rivet counting,i enjoyed it so much i might just do another one sometime,cheers.
Arthur