I noticed the big beautiful doll, And obviously you had no prob with those decals… sweet!!! I had no prob with it either though you decals a step above mine… It just seems that some kits are luck of the draw with Tamiya, that Zero was so dissapointing… it had a lot of promise, lot’s of exterior detail, crisp panel lines. I got the aftermarket ones but I was expecting a lot from the model due to how nice it went together and looked. (Maybe I am becoming a grumpy old man, I dont know haha)
ive only had one major problem with the tamiya decals but it was on a kit 9 or 8 years old. sorry i couldnt help.
I have built several Tamiya armor kits and I never have a problem with the decals. even on older kits… I use Solvaset made by Walthers… It literally softens the decals so that when it dries they look just like paint on the model and snuggle down into every bit of detail… I’ve tried Microsol and Microset and testors Decal Set but nothing ever has come close to working as well as Solvaset.
I too have been using Tamiya decals for about 30 years and never a problem. The Microsol, set duo or Gunze’s Mr Softener have all worked well, along with a little hairdrier heat if it needs to go over a compound/complex curve or shape.
i have used tamiya decals and not liked it. i use micro set its ok, but using micro sol is like dissolving the decal, it may or may not un-wrinkle, depending on lady luck. gah. will try Mr mark softer
From my experience, I have found that most of the large decals go on fine, but the small stencils always "silver ". I got fed up of the ruined kits due to the decals, so I will throw the Tamiya decals in the bin whether it`s a tank kit or an airplane. Also Tamiya decals always seem too thick to me, regardless of the age of the kit.
There has been some instances that I used the Future as the glue! Put the decal on and then some Future right over it. Not orthodox, but it did work.
Some people may not like my solution. I throw the Tamiya decals out and use after market decals. I have found that the Tamiya decals (at least the ones I have come across) are very thick and unresponsive. With a little bit of looking you can find markings for just about everything that Tamiya makes.
Derwin
Here I thought it was just me. I’ve always thought Tamiya decals look great… on the sheet that is. Even when I first lay them down they look good until I break out the solvaset. The fogging I can always cure with a little future. The wrinkles are another story though. There’s nothing quite so disheartening as being near completion of a project and zang! But I’ve learned it’s not too difficult to remove a set decal and replace it.
Great looking 109 Saltydog.
build on,
mahoney
I used to be terrible with decals then I built a couple of Nascar models… now decals are not trouble… even tamiya ones…
Hmmmm, most Tamiya decals I’ve used ar OK. Just abit thick maybe, but that’s nothing I’m not. LOL. They go on ok, and react well to the testors decal set stuff. I would reccomend aftermarket decals. As for me, I haven’t used aftermarket decals yet, but I will eventually…
hey ive made a few tamiya cars and have had no probs with the decals. i think i read somewhere on the box that a coupke were cartograph decals. my first kit was a wrc wrx and all the decals ( even c/f ones) went on good with not solvent solutions… a few cars later im now using micro sol and set and my decals look awesome… heres something which may help u guys…
dont let the decals soak in water for a long time, i place mine in the water, shake it round for a few secs ( till all air bubbles are off) then let it sit on my bench till it comes off the paper. while im waiting for this i apply micro sol/set?? ( #1 bottle, i get mixed up) to the model, then i transfer the decal with a brush., then apply some more #1 ontop. while im doing this i will work out any airbubbles underneath with the brush, and postion the decal to conform as best as i can. when it is dry, then i will apply soloution #2 sparingly ontop of the decal. i always get good results doing it like this, have never ad any wrinkle up on me…
i also have some mr mark softner, but dont like to use this as i feel its stronger than micro sol"set (#2) and it leaves a rough surface on the decal…
hope this helps…
Last week I had the misfortune to have the decals of my 1/48 scale Tamiya Mitsubishi Dinah disintegrate before my very eyes after I had dipped them in water. They just cracked up into small bits - totally unusable.
Had to send away for a set of Aeromaster decals which haven’t arrived yet…
In about 1,100 posts, this is, to my loss, the first time I’ve visited this room. It just so happens that last night I had a typical Tamiya nightmare. And this one counts, because it’s being done for money and reputation as well, because it’s part of an assignment for (Mumble, mumble) Well-Known Foreign Model Magazine. Flying is my hobby, but scale modeling and researching those models are my passion. Journalism has always been my profession. After a long lay off, I’m taking another dip into combining my profession and my passion, and have taken on more work than I can handle.
But enough of the boring part, that was just so you’d know what’s at stake. I won’t go into the details of what the feature is about, but it involves making two A6M3’s (among four total 1/48 builds for this one project). I started Zero No. 1 using a fine old old warhorse in plastic, still in production, still one of the best bargains in modeling, the Tamiya series of Zeroes that came out in the late 70s, early 80s. They’ve risen steadily in price until my modern number came up to a staggering $14.00. From box art to, yep, the decal sheet, not one thing has changed about this series of Zeroes since its release. Not even the box. My build was the clipped wing Type 32, and it was to be built alongside a much newer kit, the Hasegawa A6M3 Type 22, which, in real life, actually came out after the type 32, but that’s a different story. They just put the wing tips back on, basically. I wanted the two zeroes so I could compare one type of decals with another type of markings.
What in God’s name was I thinking using an old Tamiya kit for this project, to illustrate a plane with markings right out of the box? Not that their latest decals have improved much. But considering how many transluscent decals we get with no adhesive on the back, here we get decals that are the texture of vinyl and are seemingly held down with expoxy of some sort. I mean, if you don’t position them exactly where they belong on the first pass, you can forget it, buddy. Especially on anything the size of a hinamaru or larger. I wound up stripping off the attractive wide blue and yellow fuselage and tail stripes, which were ruined, and using the scheme with nothing but a mixture of black Japanese and Western characters. And, even after a good coat of Testors semi-gloss laquer had had a full 24 hours to cure over a Polly Scale gray, the surface still became sticky under the usually very benign, tame Micro Set and Sol. Well, I know Tamiya’s decals, and I know they’ll wrinkle up almost to a wad, and I know that usually, if you don’t mess with them, they will, like magic, settle right down to nice round hinomarus. They did. But all else was ruined, and I don’t know yet how it’s going to stand up to close up color photography (BTW, if you live in my area, and are a model photographer, and need some good international magazine exposure, my email’s right here. Ha, I broke a rule, I just know I did!)
Anyhow, to wrap up this saga, to replace the really destroyed and necessary markings, like the data plate under the leading edgeof the horizontal stabilizer, I robbed the Hasegawa kit, whose marking didn’t interest me anyway.
But now I need to find some new ones, and I can’t seem to find a good supplier of AM decal sheets for WW II Japanese types. One reason is the really pitiful lack of accurate historical records on such things as striping and stencils, which is another thing addressed in the article. If anyone can steer me toward some good A6M3 decal sheets, I’ll forever be in their debt, which is worth about…squat. But if you ever need markings, and I got em, they are yours. I’ve been piling up on that kind of thing lately, unsolicited review copies of this and that in which I have duplicate copies.
Thanks for hearing my tale of woe,
Tom
I just had a revelation that requires its own space: I recently went way out of my usual territory and built the two classic Tamiya Mid-60s F1 cars, the Lotus 25 Coventry Climax (my favorite all time F1 car) and the attractive Honda RA 272 of the same period (sure wish Tamiya would give us a whole series, continuing with a BRM). Anyhow, the decals on both kits were exquisite, including some very find striping around compound curves on the Lotus. It didn’t hit me until that rant a half-hour ago that those models, very satisfying builds all around, were finished with Tamiya’s own decals. Now, if they can do it on a car kit of the same price, why can’t they do it on their airplanes?
Tom
I have never had a problem with Tamiya decals, but I have only used there armor decals (the Tamiya aftermarket German Panzer Sheets I and II). I use libral amounts of Solva-set and leave them alone until they are dry. They do wrinkle up alot when wet, but flatten out fine (this even worked when I put some over the view ports in a Panzer I). I then top coat with Testers Clear Flat.
No, I should have made a very long story very short: Tamiya’s a/c decals are way too thick, and if you want to move them in place more that two second after you place them on the model, they will rip apart and distort. The will wrinkle after you put setting solution on them. If you don’t touch them, they will settle down. But you must get them in the right place on the first pass. In short, even on their most expensive kits (and that’s very expensive indeed) the decals are a disgrace.
Tom
Greetings,
Just had to add my $.02. I am back in the hobby after 12 or so years of other interests. As a result, I am trying to sharpen up my modeling skills and learning new ones. I am finishing a Tamiya 1/48 Corsair and am to the point where I am adding decals. I used the Tamiya decals out of the box and did not have any problems at all. I found that they responded well to Microset and Microsol. I also used a few decals, nose art, from Cutting Edge and didn’t really notice a difference. I also used some of the small Tamiya decals. Other than being a pain to position, didn’t have any silvering problems. It is probably true that the Tamiya decals are a little thicker but once on the model, didn’t notice a difference.
Well, you pointed out something else about Tamiya decals. They are a pig in a poke. I always (except in this case, where I deliverately used the kit decals) but an AM sheet when I but a Tamiya kit because you never know what you are going to get as far as decals go. Like I said above, the F1 cars had decals as good as any aftermarket sheets I’ve used, but for the most part, at best you can say they’re too thick and won’t settle into panel lines. At worst, they are, quite simply, the worst. And for the most expensive mass market kits out there, that’s shameful and there is no excuse. Are you listening Tamiya? I doubt it, because this complaint has been shouted at deaf ears for twenty years.
BYW, I wound up canning a $36 F4D Skyray model because I opted to use the kit decals, even though I knew better, and I used the scheme where the decals covered half the plane. It looked like I’d glued guady construction paper on a really nice model. I stuck it in the box without even finishing the canopy and landing gear. I was so discouraged at trying to strip them off, I gave up.
Tom
This is a big problem. I have old Tamiya decals that are thirty years old and they are great with a little Solvaset. Tried to decal the new Tamiya Stug III B and the decals turned out to be a wreck. Ditched those decals, pulled some old Tamiya ones from the stash and they did great.
Need to contact Tamiya about this and find out whats up. We need instructions on how to deal with the new decals.
I will watch this thread like a hawk.
Rowdycat