Dealing with thick decals ie Tamiya!

[Jusjay]

So how do you guys go about getting thicker decals such as Tamiya ones to snug down nicely in the panel lines etc? I've tried microsol/set to no avail and they just won't snug. I've just given it (luckily it's a test decal on a mule) one more coat of microsol to leave over night but I'm not hopeful. I've had no bad experience with Eduards decals or even Airfix ones but these Tamiya seem just too thick. Even decalfix isn't working does anyone have any good tips that work on these?

[The dragonborn]

Try Revell aqua color mix/thinner, but beware it might eat some acrylic paints.

[Tomjw]

The only way to get Tamiya decals to fit snugly into panel lines is to use near boiling water and Daco Strong decal solution. Or my other method is to avoid them completely and buy aftermarket ones.

I would not recommend using Revell's Color Mix thinner as it will eat your gloss coat (unless you went for a lacquer based clear coat, of course).

Cheers,

Tom.

[Gary C]

The best way to get all Japanese decals ( Fujimi, Hasegawa, Tamiya etc)to work as they're supposed to is use hot water and the correct setting solutions. You'll need a bottle each of Gunze Mr Setter and Mr Softer. Micro sol and others won't work as they're formulated differently. Do not use Gunze on Microscale or Cartograf decals as it will chew right through them.

Dip the decal in hot water, it doesn't need to be boiling but it does need to be fairly hot. The temperature of a drinkable tea will do. The glue is heat activated and is what makes up most of the thickness. If you dip it in cold water you'll spend the rest of the day waiting and cursing.

Lay down some Mr Setter, this is in the blue bottle. It acts as an additional glue. Slide the decal onto it and into postion and leave it alone. The decal should wrinkle a little.

Give it 10 mins or so and go over the decal with a brush with a little Mr Softer (green bottle) on it. Use sparingly as it is extremely hot. Too much and it will damage the paint, especially the weaker acrylics. The decal will now wrinkle a lot. Do not touch it as it is almost liquified at this point.

Once it is dry it will have smoothed out and will lay down beautifully over just about any raised or recessed detail you care to think of. Used properly it is probably the best conforming decal process in the industry. Used incorrectly and you'll be just another guy complaining about crap Japanese decals.

[Rabbit Leader]

Thanks for the explanation Gary.

Very concise and especially useful.

Cheers.. Dave

[AdriaN (MLT)]

by far the best solution is Mr setter and Mr mark softer! i built a whole tamiya f16 thunderbirds kit with it and it even worked on a 1970s kit.

Edited August 29, 2016 by AdriaN (MLT)

[Jusjay]

Thanks for the comments guys, I've just found some aftermarket tech mod deals on the bay which I'll hopefully win, if I don't I'll try the other solutions. No idea why Tamiya make them so thick!

[cpoud117]

Hi guys,

I'm digging this one up to ask how to deal with said Tamiya decals now that Mark Setter and Softer aren't available and that the Neo variants are weak?

[TheKinksFan]

22 hours ago, cpoud117 said:

I'm digging this one up to ask how to deal with said Tamiya decals now that Mark Setter and Softer aren't available and that the Neo variants are weak?

Mr Mark Softer and Mr Mark Setter has recently been re-formulated. I just received a bottle of that new Mark Softer ordered from Taiwan. It is supposed to be stronger than the original (not NEO, which I don't think is sold in Asia) according to a Japanese blog. Unfortunately I have no experience of the original, so I can't say if its stronger or not. But I tested it, comparing it with Tamiya's Mark Fit Super Strong. I would say that it didn't perform better than Super Strong, maybe the opposite. I can use Tamiya Super Strong straight on MRP, without gloss coat, and it doesn't seem to damage the paint. This new Mark Softer on the other hand did. I should still test it on GX112 gloss, if it damages that. 

Anyway, If you haven't tried Tamiya's Super Strong, I would suggest trying it, with the warm/hot water method. It's also worth trimming the edges on the decals, it will look better. Not great still, as the decal itself is still quite still thick even if it sinks into to panel lines and surface details. 

Tamiya decals are a big problem, buying aftermarket will cost money, especially when the shipping is often expensive, and the replacement decals can be difficult in other ways.

 

[cpoud117]

Thank you @TheKinksFan

I'll get some Tamiya's Mark Fit Super Strong on my shopping list and hope for the best.