Advice sought on applying dry transfer tank numbers

How about a piece of masking tape to use as a plumb line.

I've either used a piece of tape as a guide or just eye-balled very carefully!
I'm into dry-transfers and use them as much as I can!

Glenn

I agree with Robert and Glenn. When I use dry transfers I line them up with a piece of low tack tape. My son got me some from the body shop he works at that's only about an eighth of an inch wide. Works pretty good. Once the tape is in position it takes a steady hand.

Hi, Larry!
As Mig suggests, line 'em up reversed on clear Scotch Tape or similar. Then you have the group all together as a unit, ready to burnish onto the model. It's easy to line 'em up like that, as you are essentially taping them to the model first. Make sure you have enough tape showing around the edges to firmly plant it on the model (space allowing) to really anchor the transfers as you burnish.

That's how I do it, anyway! Nice and easy!

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk That's how I do it, anyway! Nice and easy!

I guess that's a good idea. Mig shows them taped at the top, and that looks fine for a larger decal, but as you know the numbers are tall and skinny. I'm a little concerned that they will jump around once I start to burnish them. Well, maybe not! I put off applying the transfers due to indecision, and just glued some roadwheels on instead!

After all that hand-wringing, I sat down to tape the things, said, oh what the heck" (I'm paraphrasing ) and did it freehand.

I did the numbers on one side of the turret. The numbers -- 5 3 and 2 -- had to go over the Mirage resin zimmerit, and the 3 had to go partly on the pistol port as well.

The 5 and 3 went on fine with the recommended blunt lead pencil method. For settling it into the zimmerit, I used a dry, fairly large paintbrush with stiff bristles to push the transfer in, and parts of the 3 onto the pistol port. I'm not sure how firm the connection is, but at least they seem to be on there.

The problem was the 2. Despite a great deal of rubbing on, large parts of it just did not want to stick. Finally, desperate that it was ever going to transfer, I just lifted the paper and tried to get the number to separate from the clear plastic. It mostly did, but the bottom tail of the 2 wrinkled and then settled on the model.

I was pretty disappointed, as I had done everything I was supposed to do. Then I just scratched off the tippy tail of the 2, and made a few more scratches in the number, and it actually wound up looking pretty convincingly like the paint was wearing of chipping off. Phew. It actually looks kind of authentic. I went back and did the other numbers as well.

Still, I am worried that I will have even worse problems with the numbers on the other side, and on the back ot the turret. If I do, that might end my experiment with dry transfers right there -- at least on zimmerited tanks.