Decaling The Tanks

I got some mail deliveries this week that allowed me to move forward with my FOW game. My decals came for my American and German tanks so I got those finished up. I also got a 6' x 4' grass/desert mat to play on. 

Here is the mat:

The American tanks were my favorite to decal. They have far more character than the German tanks in that I can individually name them. Here they are:

All American tanks here are M4 Shermans. Their fronts have a yellow circle with a 30 in it meaning the tank weighs 30 tons. That's important to know when crossing a pontoon bridge or some other weak structure. All of them are 4th Armored Division noted by a 4 "triangle", the 37th Battalion noted by a 37 "triangle" and the letter for the tank company and number for tank number on the same label.

Each tank has an red, yellow, blue armored division symbol with a red lightning bolt in it, The tank name, serial number and stats label. I also put an American flag on the left, rear tail of the tanks.

St. Louis Blues

Purple Heart Kids (Instead of the armor symbot they have a red "devil head".

Channel Blues

Weenie One (I gave it to this tank as it's barrel is slightly smaller).

All American

Sloppy Joe

Daring (not my first choice. I tried to name it "Cool Studs Inc. +4" but I messed up the label trying to put it on. Grrr.

Jane

Now compare to the German tanks. All they get is a "Balkan Cross" beside their tank mumbers. Their numbers indicate company, platoon, and tank number. There is a "B" looking character on the rear, right, tail that stands for the 21st Panzer Division.

21st Panzer Division

Tank 511

Tank 512

Tank 513

Lessons learned about decaling.

1. procedure. prep area to be decaled with varnish, then wet decal, then decal softner. absorb excess water by gently touching with a paper towel. use brush to manipulate the label into position.

2. It was recommended to use gloss varnish in the videos I watched on putting on decals. However, I find, and perhaps you do too from the pictures, that gloss varnish is too shiny. I used matte, no shine varnish on the German tanks and I like how they don't shine.

3. Patience. I would finish one side of the tank then switch to decal the other side. When I turned it back around I messed up the positions of the first  decals as they got moved. Let a whole side dry first before doing the other side of a tank. 

4. Best to do one decal at a time. The others will either dry out or float in the water if I let them stay in it. 

I'm glad the Lord has let me enjoy this hobby for this week as I await Him.