Tutorial – Decals with Microsol and Microset

The first time I ever applied decals was to my Inquisitorial Stormtroopers. I added the “I” to the shoulder pads, and watched in horror as the 2d shapes utterly failed to dry flat on a 3d surface. Trying to stick them down was fruitless and cutting them made it even worse. I swore a vow – topography had failed me for the last time!

Much toil and internet followed until I discovered Microsol and Microset. Opinion seemed divided over the best one to use and the best way to use them so I placed my order, rolled two dice and entered the difficult terrain of experimentation.

The bottles are cheap and, unless you plan on drinking the stuff (warning: do not drink the stuff), will last you for ages. £5 plus postage gets you both bottles here.

So what do they do? They both describe themselves as “setting solutions for decals”. Both soften the decals as well, one more than the other. In fact, Microsol acts a bit like an acid and dissolves the carrier the decal image is printed on. Don’t worry – I’ve never had it dissolve anything else, eg. paint. It is intended for use on models, after all. It does actually contain an acid similar to vinegar. Some modellers have tried using vinegar as a cheap substitute for Microsol and if you like uncontrolled yellowing of your model, vinegar is the choice for you. If you think of Microset as the glue (it SETs the decal in place) and Microsol as the agent to disSOLve the decals, you won’t go far wrong.

I found that the best solution was to use both at once and, to demonstrate this, I picked out a couple of Forgeworld Heavy Gun Drones I bought off Ebay for a song a while back. A basic paint job hid the fact that they were probably recasts. That, or Forgeworld were having a real off day with the burst cannons. Who cares? – onto the pics!

(click for extreme closeups)

Step 0. I wanted some air bubbles for Step 3, so I didn’t do this bit, but you should. The surface of your model is not perfect, at least at the scale the decal is working on. It is full of imperfections, pits and microscopic ruts. All of these will do their damndest to make air bubbles under your decal. Air bubbles bad. The best way to avoid them (other than applying your decals in a vacuum – warning: do not apply your decals in a vacuum) is to make the model surface nice and flat and shiny. You could use gloss varnish in a pinch, but I prefer to use Future floor polish. It is available in the UK as Klear, made by Johnstons. Paint a thin coat of this on and let it dry – takes a few minutes. You are now much less likely to get air bubbles. Doesn’t that make you all warm inside? No? Don’t hate me because I care. Err, moving on.

Step 1. Paint on some Microset. Doesn’t matter if you use too much – it dries clear and matt. Soak up any excess with cotton buds or paper towel. Soften the decal in some warm water in the usual way (ie. around 20 seconds depending on the age of the decal – older ones need longer soak time), lift it out (I use a wide, flat brush) and slide it onto the model in the desired location. I hold the decal paper in one hand and use the same wide, flat brush to slide the decal off and onto the model. Use the broad tip of the brush to gently nudge the decal into the exact position you want. Gently. If any part of the decal is overhanging (as the edge of this one is) use your brush to tuck it under. The Microset will hold it in place.

You can already see the telltale glint of the decal carrier (the clear, shiny bit), defining the edges of the decal. Usually, this won’t go away and will plague you and your model for evermore, but we’re going to make it disappear with a step I brazenly call Step 2.

Step 2. You don’t need to wait for the previous step to dry – just go right ahead and apply a liberal amount of Microsol. Soak up any excess, but be careful not to touch the decal as you do so. Within a few minutes you will see it starting to look like this picture. The decal is starting to sag over the panel line and, if you look closely, you can see the decal itself starting to assume the same texture as the surface beneath. Wait for the decal to dry before sampling the vintage delights of Step 3.

Step 3. Even with Microsol turning the decal softer than pony-flavoured sunbeams, it won’t always be able to adhere to the exact contours of your model. That is why I put this decal over the panel line – Forgeworld always make them wide and deep and the decal won’t venture in there without some help. Once the Microsol from Step 2 is dry, take a scalpel or craft knife with a new blade (it must be razor sharp), and cut the decal. In this case I cut it along both sides of the panel line. You would also cut it where you see any air bubbles. I didn’t get any air bubbles this time (I was kind of hoping I would, so I could show you what to do!), but just slice right through them. Gently. Then apply some more Microsol.

I then took some watered down black paint and carefully ran the brush along the panel line again. Simple, but it looks good.

Step 4. Weathering. Unless you want your decal to look like it was painted on that morning take a needle file (you might find a rounded one works best) and very gently start scraping some wear and tear into the decal. It must be dry, or you will simply glom it into a horrible mess. Do as much or as little as you want, but beware of scraping away the paint underneath. A coat of Klear at Step 0 helps to protect your base layer of paint, here.

Step 5. Apply a coat of Klear over the decal and surrounding area. In this case I coated the whole top dome of the drone. Once it has dried, it will help to protect your decal and stop any further layers of paint or washes softening it or lifting it. You can now complete your model, and I will edit this post later to include a pic of the finished pair of Heavy Gun Drones. You will see that with the final coats of varnish, the decals are rendered completely invisible. Here is an example from another model of mine where I followed the same technique:-