Sunday, January 15

Adding Decals to Airbrushed 15mm Tanks and Mecha



I am close to the weathering stage on these models from Critical Mass Games and Ground Zero Games. In last weeks video I showed the stencil airbrush technique and in this follow up vid I am covering the use of decals and how to add them to 15mm SCI-FI models. I use the Micro Sol liquid which is great for smoothing out decals and making them very flat against the miniature.

Water-Slide decals are quick to use and add some nice details to 1/100 scale models. I use decals from various ranges including the Bandai Gundam decals and Fighting Piranha Graphics who make decals for Battletech.

Next week I hope to finish the video with the weathering stage. It is important to weather tanks and mecha before you weather to avoid them standing out too much on the model.

7 comments:

  1. Good video. I tend to splash a bit of gloss varnish onto any areas that are going to get decals. It gives a nice, smooth surface for the film to sit on and helps immensly with the micro sol. Once they are dry I dab some more on top as well, to seal them in. You don't notice the gloss at all once you matt or satin varnish them.

    G.

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  2. Thanks for the tip, I might try my GW hard-coat gloss as a test.

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  3. Cheers for the tips Robin. And thanks for letting us know where to find those decals. Much obliged.

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  4. I have a jar of Windsor and Newton that i use for this, easier to apply a thin coat just where you need it. The 'Ard Coat has a slightly grainy texture kind of defeats the object of it....

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  5. GJD is right with the Gloss Varnish Robin, my process is normally gloss varnish the decal area (or use future floor polish), apply decal, then micro sol, only on areas that need the decal to conform to the odd shapes, micro set again only really needed when you have used set on odd shapes, then seal the decal with paint on gloss varnish (I find it especially important to do this as some spray varnishes that you would use to protect your figures for gaming can eat/dissolves the decals).

    Excellent video once again though Robin, thanks for putting it up nice to see those fighting piranha and bandai decals, never seen them close up before and have often wondered about them.

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  6. Love the videos as always Robin.

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  7. Great vid again robin nice one.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment on the blog! Robin