howzit all
I am having trouble whenever I apply decals to any of my models thats exactly what thet look like, decals. How do you make your decals appear as if they are painted on? I apply my decals after a coat or two of future to even up the srface a bit so it sticks nicely but thet stil appear shiny and you are able to see the decal outline. incidentally I am using kit supplied decals.
any help much appreciated

Micro Set and Micro Sol should help you with your decal problem. Most hobby stores have it in stock. The two differant solutions help eliminate the "silvering effect" that plagues some decals and they also soften the decal so that it will conform to irregular surfaces. Generally, I use model master gloss coat first, then decals with micro sol and micro set, then a coat of Model Master dullcoat. That should fix your problem.

Ther is another solutions, which is more expensive: use transfers instead of decals!

Transfers (From the likes of Archer) are simply unbeatable but as noted are very expensive per sheet. However, each sheet will typically last for many vehicles.

If using waterslide, THE most important aspect is to have a gloss base coat. Then (again as noted above) use Microsol/set around any form of lumps, bumps or crevices. Finally matt/satin varnish.

Lee

PS - or you could actually paint them on :-) :-) :-)

Working with solvent takes a little practice and patience. MicroSet is a bonding enhancer and really will not damage or soften the decal. You can use it quite liberally before sliding the decal off the backing paper, and re-wet a decal for repositioning. Make sure the decal is pretty much in position and blotted before using sol.

Sol is MUCH more agressive and litterally will soften the decal to the point of pretty much becoming paint. The hardest part is to NOT TOUCH IT after you have put sol on as it will wrinkle. The sol will also soften Future and some paints. The decal will settle down and can get mulitple coats of sol if needed, you just have to apply it and let it be until dry each coat. I will apply sol sometimes more then 10 times on one decal. Sol can pull a decal into the actual paint texture, and over details like casting numbers or zim with a little practice. Once it is dull/matte coated it will 'disappear'. The trick is to make sure it is positioned before using Sol as it becomes pretty much unmoveable in seconds. As you get better judging the chemical's properties, you can spot decals and situations that you can wet the model with SOL before setting the decal, but you only have a few seconds to get it right. Usually you use Sol as the initial bonding agent on a very complicated surface, such as over a grille, or a small decal over a raised texture that won't even sit flat on the model at all.

Some brand's decals, such as Tamiya, are a little thicker then the cartograf ones in most Dragon kits. You can apply all the decals, set/sol, clean off the excess residue the next day, and apply one more coat of gloss/future before dulling to help hide a decal's thickness.

Testor's scaleworkshop has a video on it.

http://www.scaleworkshop.com/workshop.htm

These little buggers fit on a quarter and each have about 30 decals, getting the yellow leading edges and tail boom stripes to actually bend over on these took a LOT of patience. Each of these probably got 'painted' 20 times with sol until you cant even see the decal's thickness, in this scale the warning triangles for the ejection seats can get lost on the tip of a toothpick.

kevinb120 that is sheer madness!!! What are those 1/350 scale? You my friend are compeltely patience and should be bowed to.

Sensai hai!

Believe it or not mine are pretty simple, some of the ship builders have actual PE ejection seats and instrument panels on theirs with full armament

Okay, I'll agree to that - that is sheer madness. In that case I'm pretty sane

MicroSol and MicroSet are a great combo. I personally use Solvaset to get my decals to conform to complex surfaces. It works pretty much like MicroSol. Position the decal on a glossy surface (I use Future), blot, brush Solvaset on, let it dry. Then repeat as often as necessary to get the decal to conform to the surface. It also helps make thick decals thinner. The only instance where it has failed me was using some 10-year-old-plus Academy decals for a Humvee. Those babies just would not snuggle down or thin out. In the end I had to push the decal into the crevices and carefully repair the areas where they had ripped with black paint.

The other guys have given you great advice, but from what you've said, you may be using realy thick decals. Try cutting off the clear carrier film before dipping them in water. If it's not there, you can't see it!
It's not clear from your post, are you spraying a clear flat (NOT Tamiya flat base, though.) over the model after the decals have set?

hey all!
thanks for the great advice i am not using any decal solution at present but am going to go order some today! I am actually using Tamiya decals and they do appear thicker than the dragon ones I have used... by the by what is the differnce(besides the obvious) between decals and dry transfers? how do you apply these transfers? and al no I am not spraying an actual flat coat afterwards as I have been weathering with pastels and do not want to destroy the dusty affect?

and thanks again especially kevin for the help.. and you must be amazingly patient to put such detail into such a small scale!

Matt--you definitely want to use a flat coat to seal the decals, blend them in with the finish, and eliminate their shiny appearance. If you use pastels to weather, wait until after you apply the flat coat before applying the pastels.

As for the difference between decals and dry transfers, the biggest one is that decals are printed on a thin film and are applied wet, while dry transfers have no decal film and are burnished onto the model dry. Dry transfers are basically ink with an adhesive printed right onto the ink. You cut them out, place them ink-down on the model in the exact location, and then burnish them down so that they stick. You can't reposition them once you've burnished them--they are stuck in that position forever. They can be very hard to apply, but look great.

hey lucas
thanks for the tips i think i am going to try dry transfers from now on they sound like a good concept to try out but what type of flat coat should I use? at the moment I only have a humbrol flat coat and I read somewhere that its not a great make?

and when you say burnished do you mean they are rubbed on until it is on the model? thanks for the help and sorry for the newbie questions

I use Testors Model Master Dull Coat (it comes either in a spray can or a bottle for airbrushing). There are other brands available, too. Polly Scale, Revell, Microscale, Tamiya, and others all make flat coats (sometimes also called "dull," "matt," or "matte"). Your local hobby shop should be able to point out the brands they carry, or you can get them over the Internet (at least the acrylic-based ones). Make sure to mask any clear parts before spraying the flat coat, since it will cloud them.

Oh, I forgot to mention that you are right--when I mentioned burnishing, I was talking about rubbing the transfer onto the model.

thanks lucas that clears those issues up!
now to find some dry transfers...
thanks again for the help
matt

Kevin,

My wife admires the talent and craft that goes into my models not to mention the patience. However, I just showed her what you have done with these tiny planes and she was completely blown away. Me too!!! Awesome!

Gary

Thanks for the compliments. You should see the true masters of ship models that really go nuts. I don't know if I would shun decals for dry transfers completely, Decals are much easier on uneven surfaces and the Sol works wonders.

Check out some of Kelly Quirk's work on his nimitz, it shows the ejection seats

http://www.shipmodels.info/mwphpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7494

wow this thread started out with a qeustion bout decals
and now were talking bout photo etch seats....

those seat are small id loose most of them before i even paint them !!!

I know Kelly Quirk -- he was one of the honchos of the Kansas City crew who put on the latest IPMS Nats. Kelly is an insanely awesome modeler.