Who printed the decals and on whose paper? Film really as there are thinner films and thicker films. Then the actual printed images may be thick or thin.

For years I've heard that Walther's declas were rpinted on ratehr thick paper and that was likely true as they go way back in time when thin film wasn't. That said Walther's doesn't print decals nowadays but they sell Walther's paper. From what I have seen it appears about the same thickness as Microscale or Bare Metal Foil (my favorite) paper. Tango Papa still has the thinnest film from what I understand albeit I haven't actually used it.

Alps printed decals also get a bad rap for being too thick in the ink department. That may be true depending on how the decal was printed. Properly printed Alps decals using spot colors may be no thinner than screen printed albeit there are variables. Also it is possible to trade off opaqueness for thinness. I have seen many Microscale decal stripes that do a poor job of hiding the color split that is often below the decal and I have printed replacements with my Alps printers that covered well and were no more difficult to apply. So much depends on the what the color is made of. Some are paints and then the are dyes. Alps uses thermo wax ribbons. They all have different characteristics and different degrees of opaqueness. With an Alps one can apply a layer of white undercoat that really increases opaqueness. If the decal will be applied over a solid color background I suggest one layer of white. If it will be covering two or more colors than two white layers will be needed. A nd, if one color is a light shade and the other a dark shade it is possible three layer may be needed to totally hide the color variation. But each layer makes for a stiffer decal. I have seldom used more than two white layers and have had good results.

For riveted surfaces it is generally necessary to "blot" the decals once they have been positioned with soft tissue, either facial tissue or the stuff used for the other end. And don't be shy with the blotting, the idea is to push the decal down around the rivets. DO NOT APPLY ANY SETTING SOLUTION WHEN DOING THIS! After the decal is well blotted, then apply the solution. I do not recommend using the "set the decal in a pool of solution" method of decaling on rivets. In fact I never use that method at all having very poor luck with it. That said a lot of people use it very successfully so play with it.

John Hagen

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