Author: Mark

Introduction

I learnt a lot in the last 24 hours about GunPla Decals. I was aware of a few things coming out the gate. However, before going any further you may be asking yourself what actually is a “decal”. A decal is a design placed on a medium that allows you to transfer it onto another surface. Think like those crappy fake tattoos you could get as a kid, but way cooler, and way better looking on your models.

What I knew so far

I knew that various kits come with different options or levels of decals. In fact one of the things when originally reading around GunPla was that the Ver Ka. kits often come with a lot of decals. From working with the various kits I have, so far, I’ve always shied away from the decals on the whole. I would tend to use the one for the visor if it is say a shiny silver or something that sits behind a clear visor. However, on the whole I avoided them till I decided to try and work with my MG Heavy Arms.

I found myself bamboozled about the different types I had.

Images

The previous ones I had received in a kit had a shiny silver backing and were, quite obviously stickers. However, the translucence of both of these threw me. After speaking to some wonderful people online in the UKGunpla group (you can find it here), I discovered that the ones on the right are stickers, and the ones on the left are press on decals.

Application

Now I’m sure everyone has their own method for working with these so I’ll just outline what I did.

Firstly, you will find the “map” for the decals placements in the manual for the model. I also found using my magnifying glass meant I wasn’t constantly straining. Secondly as a lot of these go into nooks and crannies and corners, you will potentially benefit from taking apart some of the kit to make it easier to work with them and apply the decals. Thirdly, do not rush; a badly applied decal will make the kit look terrible.

First up were the sticker decals (Type 2 Decals in the image above). I used the tip of a stanley knife to gently lift the sticker off the backing (I also found that with multiple stickers in close proximity I would often have to hold down the next sticker to avoid lifting two). Next I would then position the sticker above where I wanted it to go on the model based on the map from the instruction manual, then gently place it down, using my thumb to apply pressure to the sticker against the part and sliding the knife blade out from under it.

Second up were the press on decals (Type 1 Decals in the image above). For these I ensured there was a piece of foam board underneath to be safe. I then used the stanley knife to cut out a specific decal. I then freed 3 sides of the cut out before laying a piece of masking tape over the top and using that to lift it. Note that the masking tape is thin enough to see the decal underneath/through it. I then placed it on the part where I wanted the decal to reside and rubbed it apply a gentle pressure using the flat end of my tweezers. Then when lifting the masking tape the decal is left in place, and the plastic it was adhered to lifts with the masking tape.

Conclusion

I still have some work to do on this, and I know that I need to also work through the weapons and build them up. However, I am, very happy with the results.

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