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I tried applying some squad markings transfers to my space marines, and I wasn't happy with the result. The biggest issue is I just couldn't get the tactical arrow to lay completely flat and always had at least one small ripple usually in the upper portion of the tip of the arrow. I have placed a fair amount of transfers before (but it has been a little while) and didn't have too much of an issue then. Of course they were usually bigger transfers on flatter surfaces (tank markings). Although, my Dark Angels didn't have any issue that I remember either. My setup is very basic. A dish with warm water to loosen them and place a little water on the model surface to allow better placement and tools to cut and place the decal itself.

One of the tutorials I watched showed scoring the decal on the edges to help it lay flat. I don't know how effective that would be in removing my issue, nor do I know what angle would be best to score it (I do know not to cut through the whole decal making two pieces). Most tutorials also mention using a fixer and/or vinegar to aid in the placement which I haven't ever used before. I am not exactly sure what the good advice is and what is the doesn't really make a difference/bad advice is.

Even on Dakka Dakka, quick search didn't have anything too current or too focused on placing smaller transfers and the potential issue that might occur on curved surfaces that I could find. So, I kinda wanted to ask as someone that has just used water before what is the recommended medium to place transfers and what methods are used to get the transfer to lay flat and integrate with something like a space marine shoulder pad?

If anyone has a method that produces good results, I would like to hear it as I want these models to look better than how the test squad decals came out.

Microsol/set. Magic in little bottles. Worth the investment.

Winterdyne has a very good tutorial out there.

Edit:
http://www.winterdyne.co.uk/maz/winterdyne_tutorial3.pdf

Edit with link.

I place the transfers on as normal, then use tamiya gloss varnish to soften as its solvent when dry I put Matt varnish over to dull it down

@Nevelon

Thanks for the link. I came across Winterdyne's Dakka thread, but I didn't see the full article that you linked. I think I will pickup some microsol/microset. My decals are almost there, but I need just a little more to get them where I want them. The below photo has one of them in a Kill Team game. It photographs well enough, but if I had anything closer you could see the shoddy job that they actually are. It is kinda frustrating to be so close yet so far away from what I want and not knowing how to close that distance.

Decals were something I stopped doing for years. After one to many bad experiences with curved shoulderpads, I just gave up. But they really do help bring the miniature home and make it complete. Especially on mostly monochromatic marines.

I don’t seal my models, so diverge from the tutorial in that regards. I find that I notmally get a smooth enough finish with my paints that I don’t get silvering, and haven’t had any transfers rub off yet. But I do tend to be careful with my minis. YMMV., thisis not one of my better habits.

Your boys do look pretty sharp there on the table. Purge those ‘Nids!

MicroSol / Set seem to be the default answer. My local store doesn't stock it though, so I've tried Humbrol DecalFix instead and had some pretty decent results.

I bought a set of Mr Mark Setter/Softer, but at least the softer didn't have any effect on the decal. Which was confusing since some threads suggested that Mr Mark were much stronger than MicroSol/Set since they were designed for thicker Japanese style transfers. I wonder if they have a shelf life or whatever because I read that the decal should become soft/brittle in 5-10 seconds after application.

Anyway, they should be the default solution for those pesky shoulder pads, but YMMV as it seems.

I ordered a set of microsol and microset and will give it a try. I don't use transfers as often anymore. That is why I felt I was out of practice or forgot something when I tried again with my space marines. I originally wasn't going to put transfers on them either. However, I have had a few people ask about it, and given my chapter's color scheme of WWII U.S. tanks, I felt adding a bit of white with squad markings would help them out. I think they do look good on the test squad. Or at least they will look good once I get them transfers to set properly and can weather them up a bit.

As for the photo, that was a 2 vs.1, 250 point game kill everything game Kill Team game. My Avenging Eagles (using Imperial Fists chapter tactics) along with another space marine player had to fend off a huge (for Kill Team) swarm of nids. I think the Avenging Eagles killed like 17 hormagaunts, 3 warriors and 2 lictors by the end.

Hi.
I currently use Winsor & Newton Galleria gloss for decalling, as it cleans up easily and thins with regular airbrush thinner.

Other than that, still doing it the way I put in my tutorial (linked above).

And I'm just about to run out of microsol/set. I spilled it.

Also, holy gak, that was written in December 2010? I'm getting old(er)!

winterdyne wrote:
Hi.
I currently use Winsor & Newton Galleria gloss for decalling, as it cleans up easily and thins with regular airbrush thinner.

Other than that, still doing it the way I put in my tutorial (linked above).

And I'm just about to run out of microsol/set. I spilled it.

Also, holy gak, that was written in December 2010? I'm getting old(er)!

I really appreciate it. Yours was one of the best tutorials I saw when researching. I did note that it had been a while and wasn't sure if there had been any changes in that time. Thank you very much for the update.

Like I said, I had always used just water before and they turned out fine, but that was mostly on large flat panels. I put some of my best painting effort into my Primaris. I don't want that effort marred by poorly affixed decals. I will be following your tutorial for my next test squad which sounds like it will completely fix the issues I am having. If it works really well, I may even put squad markings on Phobos armor which have a smaller area with a tighter radius to work with and no lip to help with alignment like standard space marine pauldrons.