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Anything flat - transfers work fine - put a curve in it (shoulder pads) and i just can get them to sit, they bubble, sit up and look awful. Any advise is welcome, thank you.

Use Microsol. You can get it at specialty hobby stores. There is a train hobby store that has it near where I live. A buddy of mine found it at a local hobby store. It works perfectly.

how does it work - they are water based transfers, surely they should work with water??

It is a solvent, and breaks the material down so it forms to whatever it is placed on. If you do it right, you won't even see the edge of the transfer. Use it just like you would use water.

sounds good... anyone have sucess with just water??

athba wrote:sounds good... anyone have sucess with just water??

No, no matter how perfectly you do it with water, GW transfer will still have edge (film?) showing.

You need the solvent others have suggested . Seriously

@ixlar , i have this ( didnt try it yet) are these same thing as Microsol?

http://www.hobbymasters.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5240

The thickness of the GW decals combined with the curve of the marine shoulderpads means that you will need something like microsol to soften the decal and make it conform to the shape.

i'll fleabay microsol and see what i can find, thank you all

Micros sol break the decal down to allow it to form to the curved surface of the marine pad, but your still gonna get that halo effect from the decal. The way I do it has a few step but gets rid of the halo. You'll need some brush on gloss sealer/varnish and some brush on matt sealer/varnish as well as the sol.

First coat the area with the gloss varnish, this preps the area with a bit of a tacky surface for the decal to stick to. After this cut out and put your decal in the water, by the time your decal is ready your sealer should be good enough. Now add some sol to the area over the sealer and apply your decal. I use a tissue or a q-tip to draw off excess water and sol. Its best to try to get your decal in the right place the first time as the sol will cause your decal to tear if you mess with it too much.

Once the decal is in place let it set up for a few mins, if the decal is not flat enough for you add sol and wait again, the sol will psudo melt the decal over the curved surface. Make sure the decal is good and dry then add another coat of gloss sealer, this traps the decal between the layers and erase the halo.

After thats dry add some matt sealer/varnish or you can just spray the model with a matt sealer as well. The whole process should take 3 or 4 mins tops really. If your doing a whole squad at once you should be able to do it in under an hour.

Hope it helps

Since you're in the UK, there's a Humbrol product that's similar, IIRC it's called Decal-fix or something similarly obvious. I use a Japanese equivalent, it really helps for both GW decals and the ones I've had to print myself for my Deathwing.

Microsol ey..?.. it just may be the answer to all my problems..

I've used plain old vinegar for mine. Just cut little slits into the edge of the decals and apply using vinegar. It's worked pretty well so far and doesn't require too much in the way of cash to do it.

I've found that using a gloss coat (varnish) on the area you are putting the decal on works. It gives at a better surface to adhere to and once you hit it with the setting solution, discussed previously, the decals settle in pretty well. Spray with clearcoat of your choice and 'Voila'!