Because Somebody Asked.... Decals and such

        I from time to time speak about using products in an offhand manner. It occurs to me ( mostly because people ask what I'm talking about) that some of these items may not be widely available/distributed in the wargaming community. I come to the hobby from a scale modeling background; those guys have nearly as many cool specialist products as the railroad modeling boys. So, after that long-winded lead in I come to my point; a reader asked about decals and how I apply them. I don't pretend that this is the best way, but it is my way and I am (often) happy with the results.

 

 

        After painting the model, but before applying weathering and such, give the entire model a coating of Future Floor Wax from S C Johnson. This is a tough, high gloss acrylic coating for floors. It is dirt cheap and comes in a bottle that is about quart-sized. It goes by many names depending where you live but around Michigan I now see it under the label "Pledge Revive It" see picture below.

 

        The bottle that I have is about six years old. It is almost empty now after hundreds of kits and thousands of figures. It can be thinned with water but it's preferred solvent is common ammonia. I use a mix of 50/50 water ammonia for thinning and 100% ammonia if I need to strip the Future off a model. Along with providing a superb floss finish this stuff is very hard wearing (it is floor wax after all) and will accept nearly any sort of top-coat (I have used automotive matte lacquer over it without issues). In addition it will happily mix with water-based paints to make washes that will have nearly no surface tension and will flow beautifully at a tiny fraction of the cost of the fancy washes, shades and contrasts that the brand name miniatures paint companies make. It is also easy to apply with an airbrush, just thin it a little and you are off to the races (but clean your brush using ammonia afterwards).

       So, first step. Give it the gloss. Let this dry for about an hour or so. While you are waiting for that to dry take a look at your decal. Find one of the ones that you don't intend to use on this model and bend the backing paper so that it makes a crease. Carefully examine the decal to see if it has cracked. Lots of old decals will crack or split. I have had ones fall apart even after this test so my next step is to carefully apply Micro Scale Products Liquid Decal Film over the face of the decal. Use a fine-pointed brush and keep the product on the portion of the decal that is the colored area, try not to include the surrounding film if at all possible. This stuff is actually dissolved plastic film (if you are really talented you can make your own decals using this stuff, but that is another story) it will bind with the decal below and hold it together as it is applied to the model even if the old decal wants to crumble. It is very important that you allow this to dry completely.  Now carefully cut the decal out of the sheet and place it in a bath of warm water.

       Once the decal has come off of the backer you can pick it up using the tip of a paintbrush and place it on the model. Position it carefully and use a damp tissue or soft cloth to press out any air bubbles or extra water. Double check to be sure that it is where you want it to be forever, because after the next step you won't be able to adjust it ever again!If the decal shifted when you pressing out the air bubbles you can often lift it using a soft pointed brush and some warm water, start at one corner and try to introduce a bit of water under the edge until it is floating again.

        Now that the decal is in place and had a chance to dry a bit take a very soft paintbrush and sparingly apply Micro Sol to the decal. I start from the center and work my way toward the edges and try to get some under the edges too. This will melt your decal onto the model. Two VERY important things! One, use this product sparingly, it literally melts the decal, too much will ruin things. Second, LET IT DRY COMPLETELY. I give it overnight. If you touch the decal before it has dried it will smudge, shift or come off completely!

       Once we are here it simply is a case of another coat of Future and then the finish coat of your choice. My new favorite is Vallejo Matte finish, it provides a smooth dead-flat cover but takes quite a while to dry completely, the automotive matte finish will dry faster but is very rich in solvent so don't use it on plastic models or indoors! It is incredibly flammable (don't ask me how I found out!).

        That is my method, your mileage may vary. I have used this approach on wargaming models for a long time and they have held up very well. There are loads of videos on the Micro-Scale system on Youtube and Vevo if you want to see these products in action.