SdKfz 250 Alte Light Armoured Halftrack - Rommel 161014

[ultravanillasmurf]

It is extremely difficult to get the decal geometry correct as it rests on three different surface on the model.
Furthermore, these lettering take up a lot of sheet space as you can see on the sample.

Wow, how on earth do you do that?

Can you talk us through the application process, I can see the cut mark lines, I assume that that is before getting it set, but how far do you cut?

I am still trying to work out how to get one of your "Allies" stars applied to a Hoplite shield ^___^.

[Rubicon Models]

ultravanillasmurf: It is extremely painful even with today's available technology.  We basically have to "map" the letters onto the armour plates.

The GREIF decal should be very easy to apply if you know what you are doing; just make sure you have the decal softener and setter ready.

1) All the 'black' lines are "linked" to the decal with the transparent decal backing.
2) Before dipping the decal into water, doing the following:
    - the top two cut marks are required to create a "V" shape into the decal with a sharp knife
    - once done, the two cut marks can be discarded
3) You must keep the "line up mark" on both the left and right side.  It is used as a visual marker to tell if you are right on.
4) Dip the processed decal into warm water, soak it thoroughly, and transfer it to the model as required.
5) Line up the decal to the correct location, adjust as necessary.
6) Once set, trim off the two markers, and you are done!

This is more or less the same for the other decals. 

Some decal locations are a bit tricky.  You might wanted to trim off the "excess" transparent backing around the decal BEFORE dipping it into warm water.  This will help the positioning easier!

Have fun!

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks.

How far down the V do you cut?

[Pinky]

From memory, Tamiya did the same thing with the decals on their 1/35 scale 'Greif' kit.

Decal softener is your friend.  I use loads of it when applying decals.  It also helps a lot to paint the area where the decal will be placed with gloss varnish.

[Rubicon Models]

How far down the V do you cut?

Haha... where the two lines intersect, my friend!
Trail and error, and by experience in these matter... most of the the time!

[ultravanillasmurf]

Decal softener is your friend.  I use loads of it when applying decals.  It also helps a lot to paint the area where the decal will be placed with gloss varnish.

What brands do you recommend?

I have been using Humbrol Decalfix (available from my local Hobbyz R Uz franchise), which is okay but has difficulties with Rubicon decals and Zimmerit.

[ultravanillasmurf]

How far down the V do you cut?

Haha... where the two lines intersect, my friend!
Trail and error, and by experience in these matter... most of the the time!

I thought it best to check.

Will the sheets be available separately, it might take more than one attempt.

[Rubicon Models]

Will the sheets be available separately, it might take more than one attempt.

Unfortunately no.  The Rommel's command vehicle expansion kit won't be available until Q3 or Q4/16.
You probably will have brought several of our "standard" SdKfz 250 for other purposes already.
You should have multiple of this decal sheet...

[Pinky]

You should have multiple of this decal sheet...

I certainly will!  I'll auction them off on this site...

[Rubicon Models]

"Attention to Details" does not just apply to the actual product (in this case, our plastic kit), but also to the supporting material that comes with it. We put in a lot of time to create an easy-to-follow assembly instruction and full colour super detailed decal sheet… needless to say a proper packaging to put everything inside!

For example, look at this decal sheet from our upcoming SdKfz 250/1 Alte (280032) model kit. We spend extra efforts to create each label even though it might be too small to read… it’s there, historically accurate too! This is what we called "dedication" and our respect to our supporting fan!

As a side note, the colour of a WW2 "Fire Extinguisher" is not RED! The colour RED is first used from the 1950s… During WW2, most fire extinguishers are the same colour as the vehicle. For open tops, they are usually Dark Yellow, and sometimes Panzer Grey.


Enjoy!

[ultravanillasmurf]

Wow!

Some of those fire extinguisher labels might end up on some 40mm scale kit.

Excellent.

[ripley]

Those look great . Your really going all out on improving your kits and decals .

[Rubicon Models]

Those look great . Your really going all out on improving your kits and decals .

Some of these features are also on our Opel kit, just that no one noticed because
they are really small, and we not not brought it up...

Is planning to make some decal user guides later on!

[Pinky]

The shipping labels and extinguisher labels are a great addition.  It's funny you mention the colour - I remember carefully painting the fire extinguishers bright red on some of my early tank models...

[Rubicon Models]

The shipping labels and extinguisher labels are a great addition.  It's funny you mention the colour - I remember carefully painting the fire extinguishers bright red on some of my early tank models...

Mentioning the FE colour is because most people got it wrong, hahaha!