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Hi team,

I'm interested in a Iron Hands transfer sheet that's on Ebay. But it's only about 15 dollars in my currency which is a lot cheaper than the forgeworld website. Would I expect this to not be legit and maybe a counterfeit?

I'm interested if anyone has ever bought the ones with free chinese shipping - and what is the quality like?

Being out of China/Hong Kong, the likelihood of it being legit is pretty low. Any low-level graphic artist can create a decal file for printing.

Easiest way to tell, though, is look at the sheet they're posting. Some tells:

No Games Workshop copyright notice

Tells you on the sheet what the various logos are (GW/FW just put the logos on the sheet and maybe put out a placement guide PDF)

No raster images; strictly vector images. If all the logos are only in one or two solid colors, with no gradient transitions from one color to the next, it's a sure sign it fake.

Compare this...

...to this...

You can probably print it yourself for a great deal cheaper.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/files/file/229-iron-hands-logo-sheet-bols/

^^ Can't print white decals on transparent sheet without an expensive printer, though (needs white ink/toner and only the really pricey printers can do this).

DIY decal sheets come in clear or white for this reason. If you need white decals, you use the white sheet and print the non-white bits onto it. Or you paint the white on the surface to take the decal and use the clear sheet over it.

(They also come in laser and inkjet types and you have to get the right one for your printer. Inkjet sheets in a laser printer may kill your printer - different kind of film that can't take the heat of the laser and may melt to the drum).

I have printed on decal sheets many times - both white and transparent. I had to do some custom decals for a helicopter unit and the ones I printed on the Testors decal sheets actually worked better than the ones supplied in the kit.

All you need is a basic inkjet printer. However, tiny small resolution may not come out, since you cannot saturate the sheet at the highest print setting. The tricky part is if doing white decals (because there is white in the design) you have to trim it right up to the design outline, where the transparent can be trimmed just close enough.

The Testors top coat spray after you print is a must. I tried to use generic basic clear coat and although it worked OK to seal the sheet, it did not let the decal set work properly to soften the decal to blend around curves and such..

printing decal sheets, for White an Alps printer is best, but hard to find, laser jet over ink jet any day of the week, laser printers you don't need to seal or any of that gak, just print, soak and place.

 Carlson793 wrote:
No raster images; strictly vector images. If all the logos are only in one or two solid colors, with no gradient transitions from one color to the next, it's a sure sign it fake.

This is NOT true. Before the current generation of transfer sheets FW did simpler, solid-color transfer sheets for various chapters. The gradients and fancy banners and stuff only came later, in the second batch of transfers that have come out with 30k. If you see a simpler one for sale it's possible that it's just one of the older sheets.

Asterios wrote:
printing decal sheets, for White an Alps printer is best, but hard to find, laser jet over ink jet any day of the week, laser printers you don't need to seal or any of that gak, just print, soak and place.

I would LOVE to use laser print decal sheets - I found an online source: https://www.decalpaper.com/category-s/3.htm

Are these working good for anybody? Does decal set make them mold and bend nicely?

I have a huge number of sashimono flags I need to apply decals and I think the resolution would be so much better printed laser instead of inkjet.

I've used the decal set from Micromark www.micromark.com

The starter set, iirc, comes with a clear and white sheet, a can of fixative (which they recommend for ink and laser) and a set of fixatives/softeners, and gloss, satin, and matt finishes. They worked great for me, and the softener/fixative helped with should pads and forming. Of course, there are several other options that work as well.

Also, either google or search Dakka for Winterdyne's transfer tutorial. Its top notch for applying transfers!

Finally, I've found inkjet and laser to be similar sharpness, depending on the printer. I've used Epson, and they were great, Canon was terrible. I have a lexmark laser now, and it works similar to the Epson.