Decals?

Pretty much all militarey vehicles have some type of markings. At a minimum, a Sherman would have some type of serial number on it . Once it was assigned to a unit, they would put some type of unit markings to identify it easily.

I know during the bulge, tank crews covered up the stars with mud. This was for camo and so german tankers wouldn't have an aiming point (I seriously read that, not making it up). US tankers may have done the same elsewhere. Not completely sure.

QUOTE: Originally posted by scubaboy99 I know during the bulge, tank crews covered up the stars with mud. This was for camo and so german tankers wouldn't have an aiming point (I seriously read that, not making it up). US tankers may have done the same elsewhere. Not completely sure.

I heard that too. my dad told me that was also the reason they stoped putting american flags on the sides as well. i'll have to ask my grandfather more about it, he was there. Take adavantage of our Vets while they are here, because they won't be here forever.

Squadron's Armor in VIetnam book indiates that he white stars were painted over or taped over withOD duck tape to reduce the aiming point as well.
If you don't want to deal with water slide sedals, Verlinden and archer coth have dry transfer markings for armor.
It's your mode, so you can do what you want; however, if you're planning to share it with others and are doing something non-standard, you should find some documentation for that.

Though not entirely unheard of John .... the point that Gino has already brought up is that most would still have at least the serial numbers on them. Give it another try, I'm sure you'll get those alligned just fine.

QUOTE: Originally posted by scubaboy99 I know during the bulge, tank crews covered up the stars with mud. This was for camo and so german tankers wouldn't have an aiming point (I seriously read that, not making it up). US tankers may have done the same elsewhere. Not completely sure.

That happened not only in the battle of the bulge, but everywhere. The germans used the stars on the sides, turret or front of the tanks as aiming points, so when the allies found this out, they painted over the stars

Thanks for the input guys ... I have been properly coaxed into proceeding.
John

Game over, I just tried to put the star on the hull and it killed itself! I used a base of future and then used micro sol and shriveled up and broke apart when I tried to smooth.
John

QUOTE: Originally posted by johnpo Game over, I just tried to put the star on the hull and it killed itself! I used a base of future and then used micro sol and shriveled up and broke apart when I tried to smooth. John

There's the problem! You should NEVER touch a decal after applying solvent. The nature of the solvent is to cause the decal to shrivel. I don't profess to know the whies and wherefores, but that's waht it does. As the decal dries, it will conform to the surface below. (I know every instinct tells you to smooth the thing out, help it along, but don't. In act, leave the room for a coupe hours. Throw a DVD in and relax, go for a walk. Play on the computer. Anything. JUST DON'T TOUCH THE DECAL!

Thanks .... now I know. I will be stealing the decal from another kit in order to meet my group build deadline, so, I won't be making that mistake again!
John

John, just make darn sure it's exactly where you want it to live forever before you hit it with that solvent! There is no such thing as even a little tweek once the solvent is on it. btw, incase you're wondering, that's the differenct between "sets" (i.e. Microset) and "sols" (Micorsol). Sets you can do a little positioning. I even put it on the model before I lay the decal down instead of coating the area with water. Then when I get the decal right, I flood it with one of the "sols". Caution here though, too. Some decals do not react well to some solvents. If you haven't used a particular combination before, cut a small piece of decal you don't need off the sheet, put in on some plastic and put the solvent over it. Sometimes they will virtually disintegrate.

Good luck.

If you're trying to model a vehicle accurately, one of the most basic features of any vehicle are it's markings. If, however, you don't care, and are just modelling for youself, then leave them off.
I've left decalling off of many of my models, because I just wanted a model of a particular vehicle, and didn't particularly care about what division/time frame they were from. At the least you should at least provide country markings.
You'll also find that the markings add a LOT of life to your model, as they provide relief from the camo scheme, and something different to look at!