So, I thought I would post up some pics of my work in progress Imperial Knight. I'm doing my take on the House Cadmus color scheme. One thing about this model that I'm not looking forward to doing is the decals. I really don't have much experience doing them, and when I do they almost always end up looking shiny and terrible. I've watched a few tutorials on Youtube and they all suggest using Micro Sol and Micro Set. I've also heard that putting a gloss varnish on the surfaces helps but I really hate gloss varnished models. If anyone has any tips or suggestions for using decals and transfers please let me know.
Something that I have found that works when building scale models (sci-fi, armor, airplanes) is to apply the gloss varnish first. Then the decals and then a gloss layer over the decals. You can use the Micro Sol and MicroSet system with the decals, but I would suggest using a test decal that you are not going to sue on a scrap model. after the decals, then you apply another layer of gloss to even everything out then the flat varnish to get rid of the shine. It sounds more time consuming then it actually is. After everything is said and done, then you apply the weathering so the decals will also be covered. I personally would suggest experimenting on a model that you can test on first.
ReplyDeleteI have only used decals once and that was a long time ago. Some one this weekend said you can use a 50/50 mixture of elmer's glue and water on top to reduce the shine but don't take my word for it. It is just hear say... Hersey!
ReplyDelete+1 Marc. I am no expert on decals, but the gloss varnish helps the decal set into place (helps prevent tears when moving it around)...then the micro products help it fit curves, and lock into place. The matt varnish (or satin) at the end then takes away the gloss. It's a multi-step process for sure.
ReplyDeleteUse lahmian medium 2 to 3 coats to get rid of decal shine. Just paint it onto an on the surrounding panel and it will look natural blended in to the paint, and the paint on that panel area will look exactly the same as the areas where you didn't use lahmian medium. For other tips watch this video it's great, though for myself I didn't find i needed to do a layer of a ardcoat first just go straight to applying the decal
ReplyDeletehttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I36AWCdNJCY