Beyond the flatlands

If all decals were centered on a perfect plane we could call this article quits and go get a taco. Sadly, models tend to have contours and edges. Ah well. Onward.

Our Battlemaster is sporting a big ol' PPC (that's "Particle Projection Cannon" for the uninitiated) on his right arm. A gun that big needs some caution stripes. We have two problems here: the stripe has to wrap around the arm, and it dead-ends at an angle. I'm going to approach the angle first.

It's obvious from this photo that this decal will need to be trimmed. I have only one decal, but I have a whole bin full of paper recycling. Time to make a template. I cut a strip of paper to the same width as the decal. Then I start trimming the end of it until the angle matches up to the angle on the model.

Now that I've got a snug fit, I can trim the end of the decal to match. I position the template next to the decal...

...and then cut.

Easy. The only problem is, I burned through it too fast and cut the decal the wrong way round.

Object lesson, kids. Take your time on every cut. Fortunately for me (and this article), I lied to you earlier—I actually have a whole sheet of little stripey bits. I cut another one, properly this time, and I'm ready to deal with applying it to the arm curve.

Curved surfaces actually aren't that hard to deal with. Start the same way you would on any surface: slide the edge of the decal onto the model wherever you want it. Then, instead of continuing to slide the decal off the backing paper, pull the backing paper out from underneath the decal.

Take it nice and slow, and hold your hand steady. The decal will cling to the model, and you can wrap the decal all the way around the surface. If it winds up off-kilter, you can push the edges back into alignment as described earlier.

I'll use a similar process to deal with an oddly-shaped area of the model. I want to put a checkerboard pattern on the shoulder pad, but I have to work around a heat sink that's been sculpted in.

As before, I use a paper template to define the shape of the decal. I get the shape of the whole pad first.

Holding that tiny piece of paper on the model, I can outline the heat sink in pencil. Then I cut it out and check to see that it looks right.

Pay attention to the contours of the model when you do this! In cases where you're dealing with "square" or "rectangular" sections like armor plates, you might be tempted to square things off on your piece of paper before you cut. Don't be fooled. A model is the shape it is, and that's the shape you need to work with.

Once I've got the template shaped properly, I can trace the outline onto my decal sheet. In this case, I can start in a corner.

After tracing around the edge of the template with a fine-point Sharpie, I'm left with a straightforward cut line.

Then I cut, following the outline. This cut will never be perfect—just be as careful as you can.

Now it's the same routine: Micro-Set, water, slide, Micro-Sol, done.