introduction

I don't think you'd get much argument if you said Archer Dry Transfers are among the best marking options in the 1/35th scale hobby. The brilliance of the colors, as well as the spot-on accuracy of the printing, makes Archer Fine Transfers stand out. In a hobby where there is always someone trying to compete with existing manufacturers, Archer Fine Transfers pretty much has the marketplace to themselves.

It's no wonder given the quality of the issues coming out of their company. Increasingly, though, Archer Fine Transfers has been issuing waterslide decals covering markings like D-Day invasion stencils or UK & Commonwealth placards that are better served by conventional decals.

Only in Archer Fine Transfers case, their decals are anything but conventional. The latest is a set of German roadsigns.

what you get

In the usual Archer Fine Transfers glassine and paper hang tag is a sheet of road signs, as well as a sheet of instructions & translations.

No point in putting up "Harbor Commander" in the middle of a diorama of the Russian steppes.

the review

These decals aren't your father's waterslide decals: they have to be cut out from a single transfer film, and should be trimmed right up to the edges. Then you dip then in HOT water for a few seconds, give them 15 seconds to soak in the moisture, then slide off the backing with a brush dipped in decal solvent like Micro Sol or Mr. Mart Softer.

And the instructions give you templates for making plastic card stock signs for the decals. The signs aren't the usual (and mostly apocryphal) "Moscow 2,349 km," but the kind of signage armies would use:

Zentral Ersatzlager: central spare parts depot
Wasser Ausgabe: water supply point
Tankstelle: fueling point ("filling station" in modern day German usage)
Feuerngasse Einfahrt freigehalten: fire access alley- keep clear

conclusion

The quality of the production values is excellent, and a big improvement on their paper signs I have seen elsewhere. Leave it to Archer Fine Transfers to find a need and fill it.

Thanks to Archer Fine Transfers for this review copy. Be sure to mention you saw these reviewed on Armorama when ordering your set.