Has anyone used these successfully?
I'm doing two 32nd scale Corsairs, Revell's old F4U-1A and Tamiya's F4U-1 Birdcage. The decals for the older kit disintegrated upon the mere sight of water; the Tamiya decals, specifically the US insignia roundels, managed to shred when I inadvertently touched them after applying them to the kit. Argh. So I bought two sets of the HGW wet transfers (the one for the Birdcage is currently listed as "out for delivery" so I should receive it today).
The other I have already put on the old Revell kit. I followed the application instructions. You cut out the decal, soak in warm water for approx. 20 seconds, then put some Mr. Mark Softener on the area where the decal will go. After you blot out any oozing softener, you are to leave it to set for 6-8 hours. After that, there is carrier film that is very visible that you are supposed to be able to just lift away. Yeah, about that ...
On my Corsair, the carrier film is quite adhered to the surface. I cannot get the tip of a knife under it, and doing much more than that results in damage to both the decal and the underlying surface coating.
I used Color of Eagles and Vallejo paints, and there is a coat of Tamiya clear X-22 covering that. All the paint was put down over a coat of Stynylrez primer. I wonder if I used too much of the Softener, or is that 6-8 hours a hard rule, in that you should not go beyond 8 hrs?
The Revell was looking pretty good, but at this point, I'm considering a full repaint job if I can adequately get these transfers off. I am currently thinking I will buy a set of decals for the Tamiya, as the kit is a far more expensive one that I am not willing to send to the trash box if I was to totally ruin it.