Tamiya Decals

[NOBLNG]

Is it just me, or do they suck? I've wrecked four of the decals for my Porsche 911 GT3. They seem to be WAY thinner than any other decals I have done. That said, I don't usually do a lot of decals, but it seems if I don't get them bang on where they need to be, they will tear if I try to move them. Rant over.

[peteski]

Is this a recently release kit?  In older kits I found Tamiya decals to be on the thick side, I think but some recent sports car kits have decals printed by Cartograf in Italy (the highly regarded decal maker). Those will be much thinner and more fragile.

[NOBLNG]

2001 the box says...made in the Philippines. Item 24229-2500. I'm not concerned with getting replacements from them although I understand they are pretty good about it. I will just be super careful with the rest of them. I did manage to get the 5 itty-bitty guage decals in place. It's the larger ones that have given me trouble.

[935k3]

I use a mix of soapy water and decal set(blue bottle) on the surface where the cal will be applied. This makes it very easy to move around.

[NOBLNG]

Well I had better luck with the front speakers. They have a smoother mounting contour than the rears.

[peteski]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

2001 the box says...made in the Philippines. Item 24229-2500. I'm not concerned with getting replacements from them although I understand they are pretty good about it. I will just be super careful with the rest of them. I did manage to get the 5 itty-bitty guage decals in place. It's the larger ones that have given me trouble.

Ok, those are the old (thick) decals.  If they are tearing then it is either your application technique, or maybe the decals have become brittle with age (or both).  Sompe people put a bit of saliva on the area where the decal will be applied (to get extra lubrication to be able to re-position the decal.  I have not tried that technique, but adding more water to the area should help.

 

EDIT: looks like you are applying them over non-glossy surface. That might be a reason for them not being able to slide easily.  More water, and maybe lift the decal using either a brush or sharp-pointed tweezers.

Edited March 23, 2020 by peteski

[NOBLNG]

I am putting them on bare plastic. I usually use micro-set before and micro-sol after placing the decal. The micro-set would not flow out at all on the plastic so I used the micro-sol first and last. You say the newer decals are even thinner? Wow! I will try the soapy water trick if I ever have to repeat this scenario.

Edited March 23, 2020 by NOBLNG

[peteski]

I believe that if the decals are printed by Cartograf, that will be mentioned either on the deal sheet itself or on the kit's box.  It's been a wile since a bought a new Tamiya kit (I have enough kits for my lifetime, and then some).

[Mike999]

I remember the decals in Tamiya's Opel Astra V8 as being very thin. They'd fold over on themselves easily and I had to be really careful with them.  That kit also dates from around 2001.

Earlier than that, Tamiya did some stand-alone 1/35 scale military decal sheets. Generic Desert Storm ambulance markings and other subjects.  They were just the opposite: very thick, and it took a lot of time and effort to separate them from the backing sheet.  I had to soak them in water for longer than usual, then let the wet decal sit on a paper towel until they loosened up.  That was probably an issue of old age more than a problem with the decals themselves. But it sure was tedious.

I recently used some really ancient ESCI decals, from the early 1980's. They behaved perfectly well. Came off the backing paper after a few seconds of dipping in water, laid down flat and didn't give me any problems.

Conclusion: decals are weird and unpredictable.  Like many things in this hobby.

[Roadrunner]

My experience is related to Tamiya aircraft and armor decals only, and they're generally just terrible. Candidates for the trash can, in almost every instance.

[El Roberto]

On 3/22/2020 at 7:56 PM, NOBLNG said:

I am putting them on bare plastic. I usually use micro-set before and micro-sol after placing the decal. The micro-set would not flow out at all on the plastic so I used the micro-sol first and last. You say the newer decals are even thinner? Wow! I will try the soapy water trick if I ever have to repeat this scenario.

Micro sol should ONLY be put on the decal after it is in it's final position.  It makes the decals too soft and fragile to move around, so don't put it on before applying the decal. 

[peteski]

1 hour ago, El Roberto said:

Micro sol should ONLY be put on the decal after it is in it's final position.  It makes the decals too soft and fragile to move around, so don't put it on before applying the decal. 

Robert has a point.

Even if Micro-Set beads up on bare plastic, just leave the drop of Micro-Set in the middle of where the decal will be placed, and drop the decal onto the fluid,. It will then spread under the decal and should allow you to move it around. Or maybe try the saliva trick (which I find a bit gross).

[NYLIBUD]

I really only use Slixx,but Unfortunately there really only good for race cars.And since most of my builds are drag cars,they are my favorite.Parma makes some excellent drag racing decals too,but they’re not water slide.Working with decals,no matter who makes them,can be pretty frustrating sometimes..

[styromaniac]

On 3/23/2020 at 11:45 PM, El Roberto said:

Micro sol should ONLY be put on the decal after it is in it's final position.  It makes the decals too soft and fragile to move around, so don't put it on before applying the decal. 

I think that might be the problem, if I recall correctly given time MicroSol will actually start to make the decal soften to the point it easily breaks.