Federation Commander

So for those of you who use Mark's decals for your Fed ships, I was wondering how you deal with the red "war stripes" or combat circles that go on the saucer.

Do you separate them (or need to) from the name and registree number?

How do you deal with the decal on the rear of the saucer where it would cover the upper part of the impulse manifold? Do you cut the decal or just place it directly over the rise in the saucer and paint over it?

And lastly, are they fairly easy to deal with? I've used waterslide decals in the past (Fighting Pirranah for BTech) and AMT Star Trek models, but to be honest, I've ordered a bunch of Mark's and never really tried them out.

I leave the number attached to the circles and put it on as a unit.

Before wetting it though, I do notch out the area in the rear of the saucer where it would run over the impulse deck - this is best done by trimming the decal from the overall sheet, trimming the "hole" from the middle, and just laying it on top of the saucer to get the location figured out. I then make pencil marks where I need to trim.

If I'm doing several similar ships in the same sitting (and that's usually how I work), I actually measure the gap to be cut with calipers (a ruler would work fine too) and transfer this measurement to the subsequent sheets.

The only cautions I would give you is that most of the markings are *way* smaller than anything I had ever dealt with before. It is far, far too easy to have the decal twist or flip during application. I found I had to be extra, extra careful to get the positioning just right before committing to sliding it off the backing paper. You don't get second chances to reposition them.

I've found that with the small ones, where you put it is where it is going to have to live. They are so small and thin that there is very little ability to reposition them once they're down without damaging them (again, be sure before sliding them off the carrier).

The example I can give is the hull numbers on the bottom of Fed saucers; the one on the port side is inverted relative to the starboard side. I ended up placing one on a mini with it reading the same way as the one on the other side.

Oops.

I noticed this moments after I had placed the decal and hit it with Micro-set. Too late.

I tried re-wetting it and spinning it around with a brush and it just turned to goo. I was able to cobble another one together using individual digits from other decals, but I definitely learned my lesson. I always keep a reference picture handy and look at it before I slide the decal off.

Tapering shapes (like the triangles under Fed saucers) can be tricky too. I learned the hard way that it's best to place the narrow corner first, hold it in place, and slide the rest of the decal onto the model (with the broadest end being last). If you go the other direction (which is much easier to get a brush to hold in place) that tiny little point on the decal will always find a way to roll under itself.

Thanks.

I've never used a setting solution such as Micro set. I've normally just applied decals after having them in water for a minute or two and then hit the mini with dullcote after everything dried. That seemed to take the shine of the decal outline away.

Micro-Sol and Micro-Set aren't really needed, they're just nice to have.

I've found that they really do make the decal edges disappear and the decals nest down into nooks and contours. I got good results with just a dull-coat - with the solvents and a dull-coat I've been really stoked at how the decals look. They look painted-on, and there is *no way* I could paint anything that good.

Except for the first Name and NCC Number (put on a Scout), I started separating them (the Name wasnt centered on the NCC Number) --

My fault for not matching it on the hull first --

Otherwise, except as noted (small decals being a tedious exercise at times) Ive been very pleased with Starfighters decals --

As tedious as applying the small decals can be (and it is), I'm finding I stress out about applying them less than I do about painting small details like impulse engines, etc.

I've gotten very tired of having to go back with base hull color to touch up places I've slopped detail painting.

I'm in the middle of preparing my own art for a laserjet decal sheet with tons of impulse engines, etc. Things that most people paint, I'm going to decal instead.

Some things I have no choice but to paint (like nacelle endcaps), but wherever I can, I'm probably going to be using decals.

I separate the circles from the name/number and then cut the rear portion of the circle to allow for the impulse manifold.

Other than that, I've never had any difficulties with any of Mark's decals... although I must confess that I seldom use any of the smaller pieces. I'm still old school enough that I want to paint all the details except the name/numbers and the circles.

Unlike some of the others; though, I seldom use Micro-Set. I typically just use distilled water. I do use a clean brush to apply a bit of water to the area the decal will be going on first. This gives me the ability to maneuver the decal into it's final position without tearing / folding.

Scoutdad wrote:Unlike some of the others; though, I seldom use Micro-Set. I typically just use distilled water. I do use a clean brush to apply a bit of water to the area the decal will be going on first. This gives me the ability to maneuver the decal into it's final position without tearing / folding.

That's what I've done in the past, though I'm not sure how "distilled" it was.....

That depends on the bottler, I guess. Some claim to run the water through as manyas 7, Reverse-Osmosis filters.

Most; however, probably bottle it straight from the tap...

Either way, I've nerver had any issues with Mark's decals messing up on me, so the quality of the product is first rate!