I was wondering when people in general apply decals. In the past, I usually do that as a last step, after painting and applying a gloss varnish. But I’m working on a small helicopter (Hasegawa UH-1H Iroquois) and it seems easier to paint and apply the decals on the two halves of the body separately, before I glue them together. This way the two halves lie flat on the table and are easier to work with. Have others had experience in doing painting and decaling earlier in the build?
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I always do it on the next to last step, after gloss coat but before final weathering/final clear coat.
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I agree with Samphoto, I will apply the decals as after the gloss coat, but before the final weathering. I will also apply some decals on hard to reach locations or apply the decals tot he interior while building and mask off those areas during the final painting.
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It is best to build the model as a complete fuselage, fill and sand joints, then paint and decal. After the decals dry/cure, then dull coat and weather. Painting the two fuselage halves first is a pain, then you have to scrape paint to add other parts and join them, then fill and sand joints and go back and touch up those areas. All the while tempting fate to screw up the decals along the way.
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I would paint and decal only after assembly
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It all depends on what I am building as to when I paint and possibly add decals. Armor, aircraft, ships… Those get assembled, then painted and decaled. I may or may not weather after that. If I do, it is usually light weathering. Automotive subjects I paint the body first and put decals on if I am going to.
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Too much can go wrong afterwards and destroy your decals at the point you describe. You can leave off some sub assemblies such as the rotors and skids until after you’ve applied the decals. But applying decals to the fuselage halves before even gluing those parts together is asking for Mr Murphy to apply his law to your project…. What can go wrong, will go wrong.
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Do you plan on using putty to remove seams?
If so, how do you plan on protecting the decals from sandpaper, and when painting the sanded area?
It’s doable, but you will have to take extra steps to protect the decals.
So is it worth the extra trouble?
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I Always apply decals after paint and before clear
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Before clear? I guess you paint is already glossy,or do you apply decals to flat paint? Just wondering?
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I apply to flat paint and use tamiya fit mark , depending on what finish i want i will then use clear coat .sometimes i think the armour looks better in a flat paint finish.
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Generally, it makes most sense to apply decals after assembly is mostly complete and your finish colors are applied. Depending on the subject-car, armor, ship, aircraft, Maschinen Krieger-you may have more work to do after decals are applied.
If you’re building a car, then it might just be to apply a final sealer and then put the model on display.
For a ship, a tank, an airplane, or an armored fighting suit, you might apply a sealer over the decals, then move on to weathering.
As with most things in modeling, there is no absolute rule on what to do, just what makes sense in the given build.
Hope that helps!
Best regards,
Brad
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Interesting,I always thought it was best to apply decals on a gloss surface to prevent silvering,of course when I do armor or flat finish a/c I always use gloss where there are decals,but finish it with a flat clear,can’t have a shiny WWII tank on the battlefield 
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I have always done my decals that way never noticed silvering on decals . I was told that the clear coat locks the decals in and stops them from flaking off with age , I don’t know if the Tamiya fit mark or paint has something to do with it because that’s all use .
I have noticed that the fit mark makes the decals harder to move into place and they seem to stick to the models better
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Oftentimes I’ll buff the surface vigorously with a piece of worn denim instead of applying a gloss coat. Works just fine.
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Ahoy Martyhh. It’s best to make it the last step in building. That’s when the pressure to not screw up is the greatest.
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I have a wide rubber covered Jaw Panavise that tilts, turns and opens very wide.
When applying decals it is important to keep the decal softener on until it evaporates and this vise allows me to adjust to any odd angle I need to insure that it stays on long enough to evaporate.
I apply the decals after a decent glosscoat and before adding stains and wear & tear.
If an aircraft is filthy…that markings will be as well.
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