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Made in gr
Regular Dakkanaut





When I put transfers on shoulder pads, because of the radian of the surface of shoulder pads, there is always have a bulge on the transfer. This is always happen, which makes me very angry.

In many videos, I saw people just use cotton swabs to flatten the transfers on the shoulder pads, but I can't do it all the time. I don't know where the wrong is.
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Fireknife Shas'el





Leicester

Stuff like microsol and microset help by softening the transfer and making it more flexible. Also cut as close as possible to the transfer when you cut them out of the sheet. Even then, with the curvature of shoulder pads, I find I have to slit some of my transfers to get them to conform properly (for example, for my Ultramarines I cut down the centre of the U, so that the corners can bend in.

DS:80+S+GM+B+I+Pw40k08D+A++WD355R+T(M)DM+
 Zed wrote:
*All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
 
   
Made in no
Longtime Dakkanaut






They use something called decal softener.

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Collects: Wild West Exodus, SW Armada/Legion. Adeptus Titanicus, Dust1947. 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

 Jadenim wrote:
Stuff like microsol and microset help by softening the transfer and making it more flexible. Also cut as close as possible to the transfer when you cut them out of the sheet. Even then, with the curvature of shoulder pads, I find I have to slit some of my transfers to get them to conform properly (for example, for my Ultramarines I cut down the centre of the U, so that the corners can bend in.


100% this.

Microsol/set are magic in little bottles, and will change your decal game. I think some other companies make alternatives, but they are not very expensive.

I also add an extra cut to my to help them sit flatter. It’s not required (the sage ones with the skull in the center still work fine) but makes it a little easier.

   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





Decal solvent or decal softener. There's several brands, Microsol, Tamiya Mark Fit, Gunze Sangyo Mr. Mark Softer.

Some of them are stronger than others, as some decals are thicker than others and need stronger solvents, so they all do similar things but some will do it better than others for the specific decal you're looking at and specific surface you're applying it over.

There's a bunch of tutorials on youtube and the like explaining how to use them. Basically get the decal as close as you can, put a small amount of the solvent on the decal, it'll wrinkle up and it's very important to NOT touch it while it's wrinkling up as the decal is super delicate at this point in time, after a little while it'll unwrinkle and pull itself down on the surface. You can do multiple applications if needed, don't apply too much in one go, it can damage paint so a couple of coats is better than one heavy one.

Cut off any excess carrier film before you do it, so basically cut the decal as close as you can to the actual design using a brand new hobby knife (don't need to cut all the way through the decal paper, just cut the decal itself).
   
Made in us
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Microsol won't make your decals flatten onto round surfaces like magic as some people are saying. They work fine for gentle curves but they aren't a magic cure for the harsh curve of a space marine pauldron. You need to slice the decal into smaller segments and fit them together on the surface.

Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

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Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Microsol won't make your decals flatten onto round surfaces like magic as some people are saying. They work fine for gentle curves but they aren't a magic cure for the harsh curve of a space marine pauldron. You need to slice the decal into smaller segments and fit them together on the surface.


Might be dependent on the decal, but I’ve never had to slice decals to the point where I needed to fit them together for the ones I use. And I’ve done a lot of marine pauldrons.


   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Microsol won't make your decals flatten onto round surfaces like magic as some people are saying. They work fine for gentle curves but they aren't a magic cure for the harsh curve of a space marine pauldron. You need to slice the decal into smaller segments and fit them together on the surface.


I've always found it okay to cut the excess carrier film away, never had to cut into the part of the decal with the actual design on it, but it probably depends on the decal in question, if your chapter symbol was a big roundel then yeah, it might need something else.

Cutting off the excess carrier film is something I learned in scale modelling more from the perspective of making the decal look nicer on flat surfaces, but it does also mean the decal will go around curved surfaces easier.
   
Made in us
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

I just find nothing flattens onto the pauldron even using microsol. Maybe I'm not using it right. It's normally emperor's children insignia. I normally place them towards the rims of the pauldron because of this

Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

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Made in us
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Los Angeles, CA, USA

You may need to apply the Microsol more than once to get the GW decals to lay flat. They use a fairly thick carrier film. This is a pretty good basic step by step. https://www.themightybrush.com/article/how-to-apply-decals-with-microset-and-microsol/

Also, the best article on the subject is:

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

Give those a shot and let us know if it helps!
   
Made in de
Been Around the Block





The BIGGEST stress I have with them is knees on space marines... those little numbers... Hate it... -.-
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

LeRufus wrote:
The BIGGEST stress I have with them is knees on space marines... those little numbers... Hate it... -.-


Once I finish my company I’m going to go back and give everyone squad numbers. Not looking forward to it.

   
Made in us
Trigger-Happy Baal Predator Pilot





Wisconsin

Microset and Microsol or Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer. Microset and Mark Setter help the decal to stick better to the surface whereas Microsol and Mark Softer soften the decal so that you can get it to conform to odd surface shapes (decals that go over panel lines, curved surfaces, etc.).

   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





Nottingham

I do double slits (two parallel lines about half a mm apart on all the diagonal lines as close to the actual design as I can get, and use Microsol and Microset. I find that the second cuts help it to wrap around the curves of a pauldron much more neatly.

Have a look at my P&M blog - currently working on Sons of Horus

Have a look at my 3d Printed Mierce Miniatures

Previous projects
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Full first company Crimson Fists
Zone Mortalis (unfinished)
Classic high elf bloodbowl team 
   
Made in us
Ship's Officer





Dallas, TX

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Microsol won't make your decals flatten onto round surfaces like magic as some people are saying. They work fine for gentle curves but they aren't a magic cure for the harsh curve of a space marine pauldron. You need to slice the decal into smaller segments and fit them together on the surface.


Microsol decal softner does indeed work, may require 2x coat and let the softner eat away the decal paper overnight, then with a brush go over the decal and smutter it over the surface, then a coat of lahmian medium over the decal and poke any air pockets and let dry.
   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 JamesY wrote:
I do double slits (two parallel lines about half a mm apart on all the diagonal lines as close to the actual design as I can get, and use Microsol and Microset. I find that the second cuts help it to wrap around the curves of a pauldron much more neatly.


I wonder if that works better than just cutting the carrier film off entirely like I do.
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





Nottingham

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
 JamesY wrote:
I do double slits (two parallel lines about half a mm apart on all the diagonal lines as close to the actual design as I can get, and use Microsol and Microset. I find that the second cuts help it to wrap around the curves of a pauldron much more neatly.


I wonder if that works better than just cutting the carrier film off entirely like I do.


It would depend on the shape I'd have thought. An ultra marine symbol has a big hollow that can accommodate a lot movement, so your way would work better. When I did my iron warriors, I had to cut slightly into the design to create enough opportunity for the decal to mould to the curves and lie flat. The double cuts helped it spread in a way that I didn't then need to touch up anything with paint as there were no 'steps' where the cuts were.

If you zoom in on the pauldrons on this picture, you can see how flat they've ended up doing this;

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/01/28 09:57:51


Have a look at my P&M blog - currently working on Sons of Horus

Have a look at my 3d Printed Mierce Miniatures

Previous projects
30k Iron Warriors (11k+)
Full first company Crimson Fists
Zone Mortalis (unfinished)
Classic high elf bloodbowl team 
   
Made in us
Armored Iron Breaker




Charlotte, NC

 JamesY wrote:
I do double slits (two parallel lines about half a mm apart on all the diagonal lines as close to the actual design as I can get, and use Microsol and Microset. I find that the second cuts help it to wrap around the curves of a pauldron much more neatly.


What works well for me is to do the above slits on my Crimson Fists decals. Usually at 10:00 12:00 and 2:00 as you are looking at the fist. I usually don't go any further than the fist itself when I make the slits. Sometimes it may take more than a few layers of micro-sol, and any bubbles sometimes need to be either pinned or cut once again in order for the decal to settle again. It takes a week to do a batch of paudrons if I want to do them right.

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