Shinsengumi have brought out six new German camouflage decal sheets.


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If you have comments or questions please post them here.



Thanks!

I've seen these camo-decals before, and while I think it's a good idea in theory, I can't see it working in practice.

Cutting to size / shape must be a complete nightmare. And what about shading / highlighting? And assuming (for the sake of argument) that the modeller does actually manage to get them properly in place, it seems to me that they'd make the finished figure look very toy-like.

In fact come to think of it, I've never even seen a built-up figure with these decals on it - only the items themselves advertised on the Net. Which probably says a lot about them.

I remain to be convinced as to their useability / practicality. Quite apart from which, these patterns just don't look right at all to my eye.

- Steve

I have to agree that while it is great in theory I have never seen it used as yet, can anyone enlighten me and show a successful application of this product type of product? I would honestly like to see it can be done before I tried it.

A fellow estonian modeller used these, and to great effect IMHO:





Marek

The Tasca page shows a pair of figures with the decals:

http://www.tasca-modellismo.com/english/item3.html

This buildlog has figures that use the decals:

http://cs.finescale.com/forums/1102012/PrintPost.aspx

Some on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshua_x/sets/72157607233948498/

I believe it is incredibly difficult to use this in a realistic way on any figure NOT in a straight up, arms and legs straight position.

Any fold would render the decalsystem completely useless unless you get extremely crafty with a knife.

Hello!
Like Marek says , I have used this product on my figues, and can tell that it`s not harder than painting with brushes. Only need do some planning , ....like fashion designer. All irregular surfaces are not a big problem because setting solution do the job. Itś respond well to Microscale Micro-Sol. Only give good basic paint to figures.

I had a go with some of these a while back, on a Mig figure. It was a little daunting at first (because i normally hate using large decals) but i found, if you planned things, it looked quite good. You can't expect to cover a whole figure in one big piece, but if you cut it to fit a specific panel of cloth it makes sense and does work.
If you think it's a "Quick fix" it's not it takes time and patience, and may take as long as painting. But for someone like me, who isn't great at detail camo pattern painting on figures, it works. Just make sure you have setting solution for the decals and allow time between panels.

Paul

Who (besides Tasca) sells them? I'm intrigued, because there's no $%#@ing way I can paint camo in that detail at that scale....

Hello Bill,



HLJ sells them.

Danke, Marco, Tshuess!

I have used their products to great effect on my projects. You must use 'micro sol' and 'micro set' to achieve the expected result, but i for one are their number one fan,
(It does exactly what it say's on the tin), which is great, as i cannot achive the same effect by manually painting. If they want to introduce more products, i for one will say... '' BRING IT ON'' !!!

There is a great artical in Model Military International, Issue 33 Jan 09 "Stucco'd Stug" Pete Usher, does a great converson on Dragons Gebirgsjager figures. The 2 that are using the little mortar. He uses Oakleaf Spring A decals. He quotes "Carefully cut to size, which took some doing. They were coaxed into place with some Daco Strong setting solution. Final painting was done by Enamels and Oils" I've got to say the figures look awsome, really well done. All I can say is this product does work but I would'nt like to waste a few sheets trying Geraint

Hi Bill, Tankrat's AFV Depot sells them as well. I've used them before and the results are nice if you've the patience to work with it. I found Walther's decal solvent a lot easier to use than the Micro-Sol. You won't do a fig in one night, but it will come out nice. My only beef with them is the one German pattern they show is godawful. I don't know what pattern they were replicating but they missed by a mile. The splinter patterns are good but the ss patterns are great.

Thanks, Ed, that's good to know. They really do handle something that painting just defies for most of us. I'm not familiar with that solvent, I've used Micro-Sol with few problems, but that doesn't mean it can't be bettered.

The decals are very thick and will tear if you don't wait for the softener to do it's job. I use a soft short bristled brush to work the decal around. The best way I found was to start with the sleeves and then do the tunic as a back piece and two fronts. This way the camo pattern is varied as you look at the figgy. A new sharp x-acto blade is rquired for trimming. I wait till the decal has mostly set up, but not fully cured. This way you can trim the excess off and not damage the previous work. As for shading and highlighting, I seal the fig with a matt coat and then use a thin umber pin wash only in the creases, not over the whole camo pattern. When that has cured I do a very dry brush of vallejo color that is lighter than the base color of the camo. I vary this color depending on the camo pattern so it looks like a nice blend with the camo. The end results are very nice and while it's not as quick as just slapping on a decal, it makes a dang nice finished product.

"If we do not achive final victory, then it will not be my fault... it will be the fault of the German people.
They will have failed me............ they will not have deserved me."
(Words of a former world war 1 corporal, former painter and decorator, political thug and failed artist..)
ADOLF HITLER (1945)