Cheating with decals

[stone-cold-lead]

I painted a model up recently where I decided to cheat on the shield design and use a home made decal so I took a few pics and briefly explained the process on my blog and Facebook page. Not exactly a full tutorial but it gives an idea of how to get a decent end result. Here's the model and a lazy copy and paste job from elsewhere:

I took a few pictures of the fighter’s shield as I worked on it to show something of the process. When it comes to heraldic designs for shields I tend to like to cheat and use home made decals. In the following images you can see the design that was required.



With a little manipulation I ended up with a black cut out of the design which I then printed off on clear decal paper. Not having a proper decal printer with white ‘ink’ isn’t too much of a problem as I use the decal as a template to paint over once it’s on the model. That way it looks more natural and you can tidy up what may be a low resolution image. It’s a good way to avoid troublesome freehand.



The decal in place:



Decal over painted:



Shield finished:



I should mention that using an ink jet printer to make decals does require the use of a sealant to make sure the ink doesn’t just wash off. I use Microscale Industries Liquid Decal Film. I find it’s best to leave the freshly printed decals to fully dry over night otherwise when applying the decal film (with a brush anyway!) the ink can smear even when apparently touch dry. Two coats of the stuff should ensure everything is covered.

I also use two other Microscale products when applying decals. Micro Set is a setting solution that helps decals adhere and just needs a thin coat applying just prior to positioning the decal. There’s also Micro Sol which is a decal softener that can help decals mould to irregular surfaces. All very useful and cheap and long lasting too.

Anyway, like I say, the decal in this case is just a template to be coloured in and here I gave it a coat of VGC Ghost Grey and highlighted with pure white before finishing off the shield background colour and adding the damage and dirt.

[cram]

Cool! thanks for sharing. Lovely painting too! 

[Major_Gilbear]

Great idea!

Wouldn't doing just the outline as a decal be easier to overpaint though?

[stone-cold-lead]

Great idea!

Wouldn't doing just the outline as a decal be easier to overpaint though?

I'm not much of a Photoshopper (GIMP in my case) so it's easier to just cut out the image and fill with a colour that'll print. The rest of the process would be the same anyway.

[Major_Gilbear]

Ah, I see! I just wondered if there was a particular reason why it needed to be all black even if you were then going to paint it white (for example).

[Oldben1]

I don't think it's cheating when you actually paint over the decal!

[tyrionhalfman]

Nicely done for a great result. Thanks for sharing

[syrinx0]

No such thing as cheating when the final product looks that good!

[The Voivod]

Agreed, it's not cheating. It's just using your head.

And that's one lovely paintjob. Awesome light effect.

[Daeothar]

Looking fantastic there! Great work all-round.

I don't think it's cheating when you actually paint over the decal!

And even then...

I am of the opinion that, as we're all trying to achieve the best possible results when painting our miniatures, we should be able to use every possible technique.

Decals, to me, are like layering, wet-blending, drybrushing, inking, washing, buffing, filtering, pigment powdering or even flocking; just another tool in the repertoire.

So, unless you're limiting yourself to a certain technique on purpose, like a sort of 'Wet-Blending Iron-Man' or something, I'd say all's fair in love and miniature painting!

[OSHIROmodels]

Moved to 'How To' as its a great little tutorial.

cheers

James