# how do you use transfer sheets??



## pezza2000

hey im collecting and painting a black templars army as my first ever 40k army and im quite pleased with my results although iv been pulling my hair out on how to get the best results using the black templar stickers on the shoulder pads grr

i went into GW and i have such a bad memory that i forgot what he said, apart from use ardcoat to help the sticker.. stick. he mentioned something about cut the sticker in the shape of the pad..
before i go and do that, have any of you got any good techniques?
thanks


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## RedHookRusty

really all you have to do is to place the decal into water for about 25 seconds remove and use like an x-acto knife to gently pull it onto the shoulder pad and straiten out any wrinkles in it and just let it dry. good luck with BTs, i tried to have a BT army as my first and quickly got tired of the monotony of painting all black plus the highlighting was an adventure that i wasnt thrilled about.


btw the guy meant that you should cut out each individual decal from the sheet with a craft knife to make it easy to apply them.


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## Mad King George

i think the instructions are on the back


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## Engelus

i was never able to smooth out the wrinkles as people say, because the shoulderpad is convex, and the decal is flat, it doesn't work. theres gotta be some method of streching or shrinking it onto the model.


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## angels of fire

Yeah I now only use transfers on tanks, because on the shoulderpads I just can't get the wrinkles out of it.:angry:


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## pezza2000

let me just re-word my question,

i know how to transfer the stickers but my problem is the wrinkles like engelus said. the bloke in the shop was telling me to cut them a special way for them not to wrinkle on shoulder pads, thats the bit i cant remembe how he said to do it.

thanks for the replys though


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## RedHookRusty

OH I SEE NOW! what you have to do is to cut the decal from the top sides and bottom until you reach the cross part and stop this allows the decal to spread apart thus alleviating the wrinkling.


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## bl0203

OK, there is a product called decal softener, its sold at most hobby stores. I use Polly's its water based so it doesn't remove the paint from your model. 

Soak the decal in water lay down some decal softener with a paint brush and apply the decal. Use a moist brush (water) and flatten your decal out. Use a dry tissue twist it into a point and slowly dab the decal removing the water. If its still wrinkled give it a gentle brush over with your decal softener and hopefully it will smooth it out.

If your really meticulous, go in with some paint after words and cover the edge of the decal with the appropriate color and you should be good to go. Oh and give the model a once over with some dull coat and the decal looks real. 

I hope you understand everything I wrote this post quickly. I you have any questions let me know. Hope this helps...


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## Stormbolter88

Okay here is how:

1. Cut your transfer from the sheet, as closely to the edges of the transfer as possible. All transfer have a transparent part that stick out past the actual colored part, try to trim away the transparent part.

2. Cut some partial slits onto the transfer, not enough to cut any parts of it totally off though. Generally, for any transfer you want to cut slits at the points where the transfer would develop a wrinkle if it wasn't cut. For a Black Templar tranfer you should probably cut 4 slits, 1 between each leaf of the 4 leaf clover-like design. In other words, cut 4 diagonal slits into it, stopping a tiny bit short of the black part at the center. These will allow all 4 leaves of it to bend around the shoulder pad indepedently. 

3. Soak for 30 second, then slide the transfer half way off the paper. Put it up to the shoulder pad and use your finger to slide it onto the pad. Don't worry about perfect centering yet.

4. Take a brush, dab it in water. Dab the brush on the pad with the transfer. Put enough water on it so that the transfer is floating on a layer of water, kind of like a hockey puck. Push the transfer around with the brush, from the edges of the transfer, until it is centered. Flatten it as best as possible with the brush and allow to dry. It should be fairly free of wrinkles if you cut the slits well.


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## Brother Shrike

here is a good tut, just ignore the part about printing and sealing, start at step 4. That should help a bit.


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## pezza2000

thanks this really helps! though i have to wait a few days till some transfer sheets arrive from ebay..


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## Andrew Luke

Well if you are impatient you should try to paint one yourself. It can take a little patience, but if you draw it with a marker and then paint over it and then highlight, it gives a more seamless look + greater satisfaction.


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## Stella Cadente

I use the decal sheets to wipe my butt on, thats all there good for, just paint the crosses onto Black Templars, its pretty easy, and looks better, and they won't fall off after the first game


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## The Son of Horus

Stella Cadente said:


> I use the decal sheets to wipe my butt on, thats all there good for, just paint the crosses onto Black Templars, its pretty easy, and looks better, and they won't fall off after the first game


 
Agreed. As Chapter iconography goes, the iron cross is outrageously easy to paint.

I don't think I've used a transfer in about four years now. It's more effort to get the stupid things to stay on and not look like they're stickers than it is to freehand the iconography.


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## Bloodied Skulls

you have to admit tho, their good for noobs who cant freehand.....


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## NerdyOgre254

You can do the freehand of the templar cross by drawing it in pencil and then filling in with white paint. just take your time, and be prepared for your first attempt to suck.


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## Bloodied Skulls

change of thought here. i HATE transfer sheets! darned things are impossible! i wasted two trying to get a skull on my space marine. in the end i got it on but SHEESH! never use them.


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## aardvark

*Awkward Decals*

The best answer is indeed to use decal softener. There are at least 3 different brands: Micro Scale (who invented it), Humbrol and Tamiya. Humbrol is most widely available, but Micro Scale is best.

All work the same way: a softener solution and a setting solution. All work best on a gloss base, and none harm the paint. You paint the softener on to the model where you want the decal to be, while the decal is soaking. Then place the decal and leave for a few minutes. Then press it down with tissue, tease out any air bubbles or wrinkles, etc. Apply more softener if necessary. After that, apply the setting solution over the top. Once completely dry, varnish over the top to protect and preserve.

Don't float the decal on water as suggested above - you're just washing off the adhesive and doing nothing to soften the decal film. The softener solution allows you to slide the decal about before pressing down.

GW decals don't need much trimming as each has its own carrier film which doesn't overlap the printing by much, Some other brands just print on a single film, so each decal does need to be trimmed individually.

Another tip - don't leave the decal in the water too long or you risk losing all the adhesive. Try to float them on the surface, don't submerge. I allow mine to get wet all over, then take them out and wait until the decal comes loose from the paper. One the backing paper is wet all the way through (goes darker), that should be enough soaking.

Get yourself some very fine-point tweezers for handling the decals once soaked.


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## rob12763

follow directions,decals adhere best to a glossy surface.A little setting solution followed by a decal solvent will help decals conform.Let dry 24 hours an seal.Rob


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