RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Has anyone had an issue about getting their Tamiya Tiger I decals to adhere?

Here's the situation: I ordered two sheets of these decals for my Dad's and my Tiger I tanks (Heng Long). My Dad's sheet  came right away, mine took several months as the warehouse was back-ordered (which would suggest I got fresh decals). My dad painted his tank with Testor's Master Modellers paint, I shot mine with grey automotive primer (don't laugh- it's the perfect shade). Both of us used water to separate the decal and Sorbisol and Sorbiset to float and soften the decals to suck in to the contours. The exact same way as i did my Sherman (with no issues, I might add). On both Tigers, the decals are adhering poorly, curling on the edges and occasionally bubbling as well. Some decals are sticking well on the same tank as well. The decals were soaked onlyu for a couple of seconds before being removed from water, so we did not wash off the glue.

So, my questions are....has anyone else had an issue like this, and is there a way to fix the issue? We can start wit hfresh decals- we decided on different decal choices, and we can just swap the sheets and use each others set to redo our own tanks.


HALP!!!

I'm not familiar with the Testors paint but guess it is Matt finish? - the primer will be.  Matt finishes provide very poor adhesion for decals, which rely to a good smooth surface for adhesion - you need to spray a gloss varnish for the decals then spray over them when set with a matt finish. 

Personally I don't rate most of the decals available to us tank modellers - the waterslide ones tend to have thick carrier film that show even when considerable effort is expended in blending in.  Model Railway enthusiasts (like me) are spoiled with 'methfix' and 'pressfix' carrier free decals in the UK and they are superb.  Perhaps some enterprising trader will look into manufacturing these types of decal for us.

Using Sorbisol and Sorbiset is supposed to make the decals stick to smooth surfaces without glosscoating underneath. It actually softens the decals so they can contour over the irregular surface. I just finished doing the decals for my Sherman's K ration boxes, and the Sorbi-stuff actually made the decals contour over the woodgrain of the plastic cast boxes. I've actually seen where it worked so well that (with multiple coats- you can keep doing coats until the decal conforms) a modeller actually was able to decal over a fine grain Zimmeret in 1/32. As I said, the Sherman's decals worked fine with the exact same procedure....I can't see why there would be such a drastic difference.

I'll keep the gloss coat method in mind though- that would really suck- the gloss always shows a bit. That's why I got this Sorbisol and Sorbiset.

Follow Steiner's lead,we have both just completed paintwork and decals on our TIGERS and decal are perfect,part of the decals on my TIGER were over 15years old,TESTERS DECAL SPRAY then follow Steiner's instructions.SAX

I guess I will be doing some glosscoat tonight. Thanks all.