When it comes to markings, I have always used the decals that came with the kit, and i just use water for the application - no fancy setting solution or anything. I've always been a little irritated by the "shine" that the decal gives off when caught against the light. It seems that you can hide this a bit with the clearcoat, and even more if you weather the decal. So, my first question is: "can you apply some magical solution to decals to make them appear a non-shiny part of the surface to which they adhere?"

I keep repainting an old Panther model, and so have no decals for it. To solve this problem, I recently bought a photo-etch stencil set made by Lion Roar (I think) which has various stencils for different iron Crosses. So far, i've been very happy with it. But it doesn't have any numbers on it. Obviously, German tanks usually have three "types" of markings; the crosses, a unit number, and a division insignia. I'd really like to stencil on all markings if possible, since it completely solves the "shiny decal" problem I asked about above. I imagine that the division insignia are too varied and too small to be covered by stencils, but i hope that there is at least a numbering stencil out there somewhere. So, here's the second question: "can you buy a complete set of 1/35th German Markings Stencils? If so, who makes them, and where do you think I could buy them in the UK?".

Cheers for any and all help!

eduard does a generic set of small markings (letters and numbers) that you could use. I have a set but never use them as they are hopeless unless on a flat surface.

you are better going to AM dry transfers like Archers in my opinion.

This is one of the best!
Archer Dry Transfers
http://www.archertransfers.com/

put your clearcoat on before the decal, and then after you put your decal on, let things dry, add another coat of clear over the decal, then follow it up with a dull coat.

works for me, you can still see the decal edges if they are thick,but other than that it looks good

The thing with German unit numbers is that they are very different from each other, and there doesn't seem to be an standard, but you could try it though